Last updated 3 October, 2023
John 'Mad Jack' Fuller
Squire of Brightling, 1757-1834
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Who was John Fuller?

Many people first learn about John "Mad Jack" Fuller in association with the follies he built in and around Brightling, Sussex, England. These structures stand in testimony to Fuller's desire to be remembered long after his death. 

But the follies are  not the most important legacy he created. He was a philanthropist, a patron of the arts and sciences and a founding member of the Royal Institution. 

Jack Fuller  is immortalized in the lasting gifts he bestowed upon the community: the Fullerian Professorships,  the Eastbourne Lifeboat,  the barrel organ & bells at St Thomas a Becket Church, Brightling and Bodiam Castle which he bought to save from demolition.

The Fullers of Sussex were wealthy ironmasters and owned a vast amount of property, including sugar plantations in Jamaica.

Fuller was a Squire, a Member of Parliament, a captain in the Sussex Militia, and Lieutenant Colonel in the Sussex Yeomanry Cavalry.  He was well connected socially and is associated with many notable figures of his day. 
Was he 'mad'?

John Fuller has been called eccentric, ebullient, and obstreperous.

Was he larger than life? Yes.  Was he mad? No.
Mad Jack the Many Lives of  John Fuller Squire of Brightling
Read more about his remarkable life and legacy.