Nelson writes:
Images of 18th century Shoreham residents are few and far between but we do have these four:-
Henry Roberts, hydrographer who sailed with Captain Cook and mapped the Australian oceans. Henry lived initially in Church Street before moving to St.Mary’s House.
John Butler, another Church Street resident – he captained ‘The Hound’ customs cutter and his exploits are recorded in ‘Memories of a Shoreham Seafaring Family’ on this web site.
Elizabeth Hawkins, John Butler’s sister who married John Roberts Hawkins
John Roberts Hawkins, an earlier captain of ‘The Hound’ under whom John Butler initially served as first mate. Hawkins and his wife lived at Chantry House in East Street.
Lofty adds to the story: Apparently, Henry Roberts was a bit of an artist himself.
The image below is of a 4 x 3inch (10 x 7cm) drawing with watercolour highlights which has been attributed to him and was sold recently at auction. The drawing is of HMS Resolution at anchor, probably sketched off the coast of Tahiti between August 16th – 24th in 1773.
At the auction (April 2022) it realised £32,000 against a pre-sale estimate of £10,000 – 20,000.