Suffolk Records Society
1 total work
Vol XXXIII
James Oakes had the good fortune to pursue his business and social interests in one of Georgian England's leading provincial towns. He was blessed with good connections from birth, a fine education, sound commercial training, and a rapid accumulation of personal wealth from an early stage. From this solid foundation he became, among other things, yarn manufacturer, coal merchant and banker; business confidant to many local personages; active member of Bury corporation; political agent and Land Tax collector; Deputy Lieutenant, JP and Grand Jurist. He was a theatre-goer and attender of assemblies, traveller and early holiday-maker, and, not least of all, a man neither untouched nor unmoved by the darker side of Georgian life. His 50 years of assiduous diary-keeping, contained in 14 leather-bound volumes, record the minutiae of his full life. Jane Fiske's contribution has been to unlock this valuable record and place it in the context of the wider issues of his day: banking crises and political activity dominate, but there is also a wealth of social detail.