Place Name
The Fitzgerald family were for a long-time were large landowners around Mortlake. The estate had previously belonged to the Jeffe family and then the Joye family before passing to Keane Fitzgerald (died June 29, 1782) following his marriage to Mary Frances Joye on July 19, 1746 at Oxford Chapel. The Joye family had property interests across London, including a stake in Seven Dials. A James Joye is recorded as treasurer of St Thomas’s Hospital, London in 1738 and 1739. His brother Charles had previously held this position, as well as that of treasurer of Guy’s Hospital, until his death sometime around 1737. The Fitzgerald family owed huge tracts of land across England allowing Keane, a member of the Royal Society, time to indulge his interests in inventing and experiments, among them was one to use distilled salt water in steam engines and another on pruning fruit trees. In 1775 he was chair of the independent proprietors of East India stock. The Fitzgerald family were still prominent members of the community in the early 19thCentury. Another member of the family – also called Keane – bequeathed the interest from £1,000 (less legacy duty go £101 7s 2d) to be divided annually among 30 poor inhabitants.
