Henry Stopes (1852–1902): Engineer, Brewer and Anthropologist
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F. Wenban-Smith: Henry Stopes HENRY STOPES (1852–1902): ENGINEER, BREWER AND ANTHROPOLOGIST Francis Wenban-Smith School of Humanities (Archaeology), Avenue Campus, University of Southampton, SO17 1BF, UK. Contact email: [email protected] ___________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Henry Stopes was a prominent Victorian brewery architect and engineer with a lifelong passion for flints and fossils, and an active participant in the Eolithic debate of the late 19th century. He amassed possibly the largest ever private collection of lithic artefacts and, foreshadowing today’s conflicts between development and heritage, endeavoured to mitigate the impact of building near the key Swanscombe site of Dierden’s Pit by prior excavation. Drawing from a substantial archive of original material kindly made available by his grandson Harry Stopes-Roe, this paper introduces Stopes the man, and revisits aspects of his archaeological contribution, sadly curtailed by his early death. Full reference: Wenban-Smith, F.F. 2009. Henry Stopes (1852–1902): engineer, brewer and anthropologist. In R. Hosfield, F. Wenban-Smith & M. Pope (eds.) Great Prehistorians: 150 Years of Palaeolithic Research, 1859–2009 (Special Volume 30 of Lithics: The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society): 65–84. Lithic Studies Society, London. Keywords: Henry Stopes, Eoliths, Benjamin Harrison, Tertiary Man, Dierden‘s Pit (Ingress Vale), Victorian heritage curation INTRODUCTION occurred on the threshold of what might have been his flagship legacy. This brief Henry Stopes is a minor, and to most, paper attempts to present a more rounded unknown figure in the canon of 19th century picture of Stopes the man, to review his antiquarians whose activities provided the Eolithic advocacy within the wider context foundations of today‘s Palaeolithic of his other anthropological endeavours, and archaeology. He made no seminal to consider his work not just as of historical discoveries, or at least none published interest, but for its enduring legacy. sufficiently for posterity to recognize, although he was one of the first to collect at Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe. He carried out FAMILY BACKGROUND AND no groundbreaking methodological work PROFESSIONAL LIFE acclaimed in the present day. And, worst of all, he backed the wrong horse in devoting Henry Stopes was born in Colchester, 17th the majority of his anthropological energies February 1852, youngest child of to passionate pursuit and promotion of Christopher and Maria Stopes, into an Tertiary Man and the ―Eolithic‖ cause. And affluent, professional background. yet, there is much to be gained from Christopher Stopes (a Quaker elder, born in revisiting Stopes‘ anthropological Britwell, south Oxfordshire, and from a long contribution, inevitably diminished by his line of predominantly clergy stretching back early death, which, as revealed below, to Bishop Aylmer of Tudor times) had spent 65 Great Prehistorians: 150 Years of Palaeolithic Research, 1859–2009 (Lithics 30) time in America, but returned to Colchester was also elected to the Royal Historical and prospered there, having established a Society, and thereafter he continued to brewery in 1828. His first wife Ann gave accumulate an astonishing array of birth to Henry‘s eldest brother Alfred in Fellowships and Memberships in both the 1834, but then died in May 1835. However, commercial and academic worlds, later being Christopher Stopes rapidly remarried to made a Freeman of the City of London. At Maria Nice (born in Layer Marney, not far this point Stopes, although only in his mid- from Colchester) who gave birth to a twenties, was now the complete package of succession of six children from 1837, brewer, engineer and architect, not to concluding in the birth of Henry in 1852. mention geologist and antiquarian. Henry was privately educated at two Colchester schools, firstly Stockwell House Stopes was a regular attendee of the annual until the age of 12–13, and subsequently late summer meeting of the British Linton House Academy, where he was a Association for the Advancement of Science very capable all-round pupil, excelling (henceforth, the British Association). He met particularly in mathematics, and developing his wife Charlotte (née Carmichael, daughter an interest in fossils and archaeological of a well-known Edinburgh painter) at the remains that would continue throughout his Plymouth meeting of 1877, and they were life. married in her home town of Edinburgh in June 1879. They set up home in Upper As recounted in the British Journal of Norwood, south London in summer 1880 on Commerce (9th July, 1887) in the article return from their honeymoon tour of Europe, accompanying his pin-up portrait, issued as a the Middle East and Egypt. Their eldest loose enclosure with that edition of the daughter Marie was born shortly after, in journal (Figure 1), his eldest full brother October 1880, and they later had a second Aylmer died after a hunting accident in daughter Winifred (usually called Winnie) September 1871, and Henry was summoned early in summer 1884. from a city apprenticeship at the age of 19 to replace Aylmer as his father‘s junior partner Stopes doted on his daughters, and on the in a rapidly expanding business. Henry was family dog Daisy, but does not seem, despite evidently highly successful in this the fact of his daughters‘ birth, to have had partnership, and furthermore developed a an especially warm relationship with his complete understanding of every aspect of wife. This has been extensively dissected by the brewery process, and of the engineering others, particularly Hall (1977), since this and structural technicalities underpinning the relationship was instrumental in the equipment used and the brewery premises psychological and emotional development of themselves. He was made a full partner in their eldest daughter Marie, subsequently the family business at the age of 21 in 1873, and consequently to become such a key alongside his slightly older brother Arthur; figure in the related fields of birth control their father retired shortly after, making over and satisfactory marital relations that she the whole business to his sons. At the same was voted ―Woman of the Millennium‖ by time, Stopes became friendly with W.H. Guardian readers in 1999. There must have Dalton of the Geological Survey, who was been an unbridgeable chasm between mapping in Essex between 1873 and 1876. Henry‘s unbridled and passionate enactment With Dalton‘s support, Stopes, who had of his Victorian male role and his wife distinguished himself in helping map the Charlotte‘s independent intellect — she was Essex Red Crag, from which he was a keen a prominent Shakespearean scholar and fossil collector, was elected one of the proponent of female suffrage — allied to her youngest ever Fellows of the Geological own restrictively puritanical instincts, as she Society in 1874 at the age of 22. In 1876 he was to later to write to him on his deathbed: 66 F.F. Wenban-Smith: Henry Stopes Figure 1: Henry Stopes, pin-up of the Victorian commercial world 67 Great Prehistorians: 150 Years of Palaeolithic Research, 1859–2009 (Lithics 30) ―The sensual look has passed away from instigated an annual exhibition and your face that so pained me, & you seem to competition for British barley producers in have regained the chastened expression of an attempt to raise standards, remaining your youth which made me trust you‖ (HSR- Chair of the judging committee until the end 1) [Throughout this paper, material from the of his life. And he published what, for many Harry Stopes-Roe archive is referenced decades, was regarded as the standard text HSR-n, and details given in the book on the subject: Malt and Malting (H. bibliography]. Nonetheless, there was no Stopes 1885). question of infidelity or divorce; rather they seem to have remained on friendly and It was, as the brewing fraternity saw it, his mutually supportive terms but evolved betrayal of brewers in support of farmers that increasingly separate lives, spending lay at the root of his professional downfall. increasing time apart and pursuing their own As an undesired result (from the perspective academic and intellectual interests, not to of British farmers) of the repeal of the malt mention business interests in Henry Stopes‘ tax in 1880, brewers were focusing on use of case, which included frequent travel across the cheapest imported grain enhanced by Britain and Europe, as well as to Canada and additives such as gelatinised rice. These the US. factors led British barley producers to agitate for a Pure Beer Bill restricting ingredients of Coinciding with the start of his married life beer to barley, hops, water and yeast. Henry in London, Stopes established his own Stopes initially took the lead in resisting this independent firm of H. Stopes & Co, with move on behalf of the brewing community, premises in Southwark. One of his early becoming founding president in June 1886 of projects was the rebuilding of his own the Free Mash-Tun and Pure Beer family‘s brewery in East Hill, Colchester, Association — formed to lead opposition to conducted in two phases between 1880 and the Pure Beer Bill, the effect of which would 1888, the frontage of which still survives in be, the brewing lobby anticipated, to greatly the present day (Pearson 1999). H. Stopes & increase brewing costs and restrict use of a Co flourished through the 1880s, carrying number of convenient additives. However, out a range of jobs across the UK from Stopes rapidly became converted to the Pure minor installations of technical equipment to Beer cause, into which he then threw himself complete brewery rebuilds. According to ―heart and soul‖ and ―greatly distinguished Pearson (ibid.) his architectural style was himself‖ (East Anglian Daily Times, 8th severely functional with zero decoration, December 1902), having become shocked with the dramatic exception of his and astonished by evidence of the range of brewhouse tower column for Barrett‘s often poisonous additives used by less Brewery in Vauxhall, south London, known scrupulous brewers.