Henry Ray Freshfield (2 February 1814 – 8 February 1895) was an English lawyer and conservationist. Freshfield was the fourth and youngest son of James William Freshfield and his wife Mary Blacket and was born at Lothbury. His father was a lawyer who established the firm of Freshfields. The family moved to Abney House on Stoke Newington Church Street in the village of that name, then a few miles distant from the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. Henry Freshfield was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

from 1824 to 1829. He became a solicitor with the family firm in 1838. He lived at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, another suburban village beginning to be encroached upon by the growing metropolis, where he participated in a long and successful struggle to rescue Hampstead Heath from landlords and builders. Freshfield was solicitor to the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

from 1857 to 1877, succeeding his brother Charles Freshfield. He became very prosperous. In 1874 he acquired Kidbrooke Park,

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

, an 18th-century house with . He took an active part in local affairs; he was Justice of the Peace for

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and presented the village of

Forest Row Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead. In January 2023, it ranked as Britain’s 3rd poshest village. His ...

with its village hall. He was High Sheriff for the County in 1885. As at Hampstead, he was interested in the preservation of open spaces for the people, and was closely involved in the proceedings which led to

Ashdown Forest Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald National Landscape. It is situated south of London in the county East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation of above sea level, its ...

being placed in the hands of conservators charged with preserving the rights of commoners and the public. Freshfield married Jane Quinton Crawford on 1 October 1840. She was the daughter of

William Crawford William, Bill, or Billy Crawford may refer to: Entertainment * William Broderick Crawford (1911–1986), American film actor * Bill Crawford (cartoonist) (1913–1982), American editorial cartoonist * William L. Crawford (1911–1984), American p ...

, MP for the City of London (1822-1841), who had made a fortune in the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. She was an author and her publications included "Alpine Byways" and "A Tour of the Grisons" (the Swiss Alps now known as Graubünden). Their son Douglas William Freshfield became a mountaineer and travel writer.

References

* Judy Slinn A History of Freshfields, (1984) Freshfields {{DEFAULTSORT:Freshfield, Henry 1814 births 1895 deaths English conservationists English solicitors People educated at Charterhouse School 19th-century English lawyers People from Forest Row People from the London Borough of Hackney