If you are going to make a fortune in the 1800s, building and brewing are two very good options.
My Best Friend's several greats uncle died in 1884, leaving £15k. He was a builder, but in no way remarkable. He seems simply to have taken the opportunity of the times. The rest of the family were small tradesmen, several dying in the workhouse.
I note that by 1881 his Croydon home is unoccupied,
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The chestnuts cast their flambeaux
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