Beau Nash

Nash's mother was a niece of the Welsh merchant John Poyer, who was mayor of Pembroke town and served during the English Civil War.

[4] His father then bought him an officer's commission in the British Army, but he found the demands on his time too great, and instead opted to become a barrister, for which profession he had originally been intended.

[4] He entered as a student of the Middle Temple in 1693, where he was known for "good manners... his taste in dress, and... leading so gay a life" without any obvious source of wealth that his friends suspected him to be a highwayman.

[6] He met new arrivals to Bath and judged whether they were suitable to join the select "Company', of 500 to 600 people who had pre-booked tables, escorted unaccompanied wives, and restrained compulsive gamblers and warned players against risky games or cardsharps.

[citation needed] He was notable for encouraging a new informality in manners, breaking down the rigid barriers which had previously divided the nobility from the middle-class patrons of Bath, and even from the gentry.

[citation needed] The Corporation of the city funded an elaborate funeral for Nash, and he was buried in the nave of Bath Abbey, not far from where a memorial was raised to him[7] in 1790.

[citation needed] His death caused quite a stir at the time, with the celebrated author Oliver Goldsmith being moved to write The Life of Richard Nash as early as 1762.

Nash had been interested in taking control at Tunbridge Wells for some years, but had been excluded by the formidable Bell Causey, who "presided as absolute governess"[citation needed] until her death in 1734.

In order to ensure that visitors paid subscriptions for services provided, he introduced Sarah Porter, "Queen of the Touters", who eagerly pursued defaulters.

Under Nash, Tunbridge Wells attained the height of its fame as a fashionable resort, patronised by royalty, nobility, and the most famous names in the country.