Henry Willett
1823–1905
Businessman, property owner, collector, and geologist. Changed his name from Catt to Willett in 1863. Moved to Brighton in 1841; owned the West Street Brewery, Brighton, and successfully invested in other businesses. Bought property throughout Sussex. Carried out excavations on the Sussex Downs; established and managed the Wealden Exploration Fund to investigate the geology of the Sussex Weald, 1872–5. Collected natural history specimens, especially chalk fossils, also historical artefacts and artworks. One of the founders of Brighton Museum.
Sources
Royal Pavilion & Brighton Museums, 2011, ‘Personality of the month’, rpmcollections.wordpress.com/category/geology-2/page/3/ (accessed 28 November 2012)
[Willett] 1878.
Bibliography
[Willett, Henry.] 1878. The record of the sub-Wealden exploration. Brighton: W. J. Smith.
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