The Norwich Milk Boy

John Brighton was born in Forncett in 1832 and as a competitive runner he found national fame but his achievements became almost forgotten until local historian, Dale Wiseman, decided to research his life and to write a book about him. Dale came to talk at Forncett Village Hall on the 11th September and told us John Brighton's fascinating story.

John was born in Forncett on 14th July 1832. His mother was Patience Brighton, who was born in New Buckenham in 1811, and no father's name was given at John's baptism. We don't know where in Forncett Patience was living when John was born, nor are there any clues as to who his father was. In June 1834 Patience Brighton married a man called John Wyatt from Devon and by 1841 the family was living in Butcher's Yard, off Barrack Street in Norwich. Ten years later they had moved to Lakenham and John had found employment as a milk boy at Tuckswood Dairy which is believed to have stood on what is now the site of the Hewett School. 

In the mid-1800s the sport of pedestrianism, in which athletes competed in walking and running races, had become extremely popular, and it was whilst running alongside the milk cart that John Brighton realised that he had a special talent: he could often beat the horse and cart to its next destination! His first competitive race was a one-mile event along the Earlham Road. The race was against Brosh Sherman, then considered the best pedestrian in Norwich but Brighton won by 50 yards. Henceforth, John Brighton began to compete regularly in one-mile races, with up to £10 prize money. He soon began to compete outside Norfolk as the "Norwich Milk Boy" and by 1854 he was travelling to races in Sheffield and in London winning serious prizes such as a silver watch.

As pedestrianism developed, special venues were built. These were usually tracks behind pubs, the largest of which could accommodate 1000 spectators. In May 1860, Brighton won the Four Miles championship which was held at the West London Cricket Ground, and two weeks later he won the Six Miles Belt with some 3000 people watching!

By 1861 John Brighton had a manager, a man called George Martin who had brought a native American runner, called Deerfoot, into his team. Deerfoot was a huge draw and crowds of 5000 would attend the largest events. On one such occasion, the Prince of Wales (son of Queen Victoria) came along and the pedestrians, including John Brighton, were introduced to the Prince. The Norwich Milk Boy had come a long way since he was delivering milk in Lakenham!

In the early 1880s John Brighton had stopped racing and for a time he worked as a boxing trainer with his friend Jem Mace, another Norfolk man, who was a very successful pugilist and Heavyweight Champion of England in 1861 and 1866. Mace became a boxing promoter and in 1883 Brighton travelled with him to New York where Mace had arranged a fight at Madison Square Gardens. The sell-out event attracted a crowd of 10,000 with purses of £13,000 and £20,000 for the fighters.

By 1888, John Brighton was living in Manchester where he was the groundsman and trainer at Fallowfield Stadium, the home of Manchester Athletics club. John Brighton died, aged 63, on 10th June 1896. The Sporting Life reported "the death of Jack Brighton, a famous distance runner known as the Norwich Milk Boy." However, despite his fame, he was clearly not a rich man, and he was buried in an unmarked grave a very long way from his birthplace in Forncett.

Photos courtesy of Dale Wiseman (dalewiseman1@icloud.com )

The full story of The Norwich Milk Boy can be found in Dale Wiseman's book of the same name.