William Levett (Rector of Buxted)
| The Rev. William Levett | |
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 1495 The Grove, Hollington, East Sussex, England |
| Died | 1554 Buxted, East Sussex, England |
| Resting place | St Margaret the Queen Church, Buxted, East Sussex, England |
| Nationality | England |
| Education | BA, University of Oxford |
| Occupation | priest; cannon founder |
| Known for | Anglican Rector 1533–1554; chief supplier of cannons and armaments to the English Crown |
| Parent(s) | John Levet or Levett |
William Levett (ca. 1495 – 1554) was an English clergyman. An Oxford-educated country rector, he was a pivotal figure in the use of the blast furnace to manufacture iron. With the patronage of the English Crown, furnaces in Sussex under Levett's ownership cast the first iron muzzle-loader cannons in England in 1543, a development which enabled England to ultimately reconfigure the global balance-of-power by becoming an ascendant naval force. William Levett continued to perform his ministerial duties while building an early munitions empire, and left the riches he accumulated to a wide variety of charities at his death.
Thrust into running a family iron business, this rector of the village of Buxted, Sussex, seized on emerging technologies to help establish the iron foundry industry in England. By perfecting the technology behind the iron cannon, and building a business upon it, Mr Levett set in motion events that would make England the envy of the world's powers for its cutting-edge armaments, changing the balance of global power. Parson Levett was the first to cast iron cannons in England.
The first iron cannon manufactured in England was cast in Buxted in 1543 by Ralf Hogge, an employee of Parson Levett, a Sussex rector with broad interests, paradoxically enough, in the emerging English armaments industry.Henry VIII's reign was good for Parson Levett's business. While charged by the church with praying for peace, the Sussex parson's business thrived on the prospects of war.
William Levett was born at The Grove, Hollington, East Sussex, the son of Joane (Adams) Levett and John Levett, a large landowner and descendant of a knightly Anglo-Norman family who owned the manor of Catsfield Levett (now simply Catsfield), as well as property across Sussex, including in Hollington, St. Leonards-on-Sea, Bulverhythe, Firle, Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea and elsewhere. Lawrence Levett inherited the family seat at Hollington, leaving his brothers the Rev. William Levett to pursue a career in the ministry, and brother John to turn to business and ironfounding.
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