City Business Man. John Lambert Walker was born in 1821 in London. He left school at the age of 15 and through personal endeavour became a very successful and well travelled City business man. His wife died young leaving seven children.
He purchased Woodgate Park estate in 1874 and moved to Bexhill the following year. His census return six years later indicated that he farmed some 150 acres. Over the years he became the owner of considerable Old Town property. Extremely public spirited, his many benevolent actions were always undertaken with complete lack of ostentation.
He was largely responsible for bringing into existence the much needed Local Board of Health and in 1893 he was unanimously voted a member. He donated part of his wealth to the building of St. Stephen’s Church. The foundation stone, laid on the 15th October, 1898 contains a scroll of dedication with the following words ‘as a humble mark of gratitude for His continuous mercy throughout my long life’. The words speak volumes; he was extremely modest over his gift, shunning all publicity.