Journal of the Southampton Local History Forum No. 22 Spring 2014 Contents Abraham Abraham: a forgotten politician of mid-nineteenth century Southampton by Richard Preston Page 3 Henry March Gilbert 1846-1931: ‘Staunch Liberal and Nonconformist’ by Roger Ottewill Page 11 Chief Justice Richard Lyster 1480-1553 by Alec Samuels Page 19 New Place House, Southampton by A G K Leonard Page 21 John Plaw, John Kent and John Taylor: three late-18th/early-19th century Southampton architects by Richard Preston Page 33 Southampton Local History Forum Southampton Local History Forum is sponsored by Southampton Library Service. Membership is free and is open to everyone interested in the history of the city and its neighbourhood. A programme of evening meetings is arranged for the third Thursday of each month (August and December excepted) between 7.00pm and 9.00pm. Anyone interested in joining the forum should contact - David Hollingworth Southampton Central Library Civic Centre Southampton SO14 7LW Tel: 023 80 832205 Email:
[email protected] The articles in the Journal are written by members of the Forum, to whom thanks are due. Contributions from members to future editions are always welcome. Cover illustration: Block plan of the Central Library showing the site of New Place House. The plan is from the rejected designs for the new library by Sidney Robert James Smith. Richard Preston Abraham Abraham: a forgotten politician of mid-nineteenth century Southampton This brief political biography is a study in unfulfilled potential. It draws inspiration from the discussion of Abraham’s rise and fall by Professor Tony Kushner in Anglo-Jewry since 1066: place, locality and memory, published by Manchester University Press in 2009.