Background
Sarah Whitear was born in 1787, the daughter of Review William Whitear, a prebendary of Chichester, at Hastings Old Town Rectory.
Sarah Whitear was born in 1787, the daughter of Review William Whitear, a prebendary of Chichester, at Hastings Old Town Rectory.
The countess used her position and wealth to help the poor of Hastings and also endowed seven churches in the town as well as many Sunday schools, poor schools, wash houses, public baths and a Fisherman"s Institute. Lady Waldegrave persuaded people to do things her way, especially as she attached strict conditions to her donations, such as separate entrances for boys and girls in the schools she founded and prohibition of alcohol in public areas she designed. In 1861, money was collected from the town"s children to erect a drinking fountain in her honour, but it fell out of use within a few years.