No diligent student of the Collier Letters, which contain references to current political and other events, illustrating the manners of the time, and elucidating the family history of Mr. Collier, can come to any other conclusion than that Mr. Collier was a gentleman of a kindly nature and a devoted husband and father. The Collier Letters cover a period from 1716 to 1780, a copy of which is in the Public Library in Claremont.
Mr. John Collier was born at Eastbourne in November, 1685, his father being the proprietor of the " Lamb " Inn there, which is still a well-known hostelry in the Old Town, to which I recently paid a visit. It is a fine specimen of the Tudor Period of architecture, and may be in some parts of a much earlier date.
The crypt used as a cellar is well worth inspection. Mr. Collier adopted the profession of the law, and settled in Hastings early in life. He became Town Clerk, and afterwards Mayor, to which office he was elected five times, and was one of the Barons of the Cinque Ports. (For extracts from his Letters see page 51.)
