Watsoc News April 2020 the Watkin Society Committee & Looking to The

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Watsoc News April 2020 the Watkin Society Committee & Looking to The WatSoc News April 2020 Welcome to the second edition of the newsletter of the Watkin Society. Spreading the news about Absalom and Edward Watkin. Such a lot has happened since our first newsletter just before Christmas. The spread of the awful coronavirus is of course dominating our lives, either directly (some of us come in the High Risk grouping!) or indirectly through concerns about our family, friends and neighbours. Even the most committed Watkin enthusiast has had to put Edward and Absalom to the back of the queue so it might seem strange to be sending out the second edition of our newsletter at this time of crisis. But even in a war ordinary life goes on and we all need something to take our minds off the serious stuff. And anyway, even wars end. We have to be ready for the future, when hopefully we can 'resume trading'. So we wish you well and hope you will be interested to read what has being going on in the World of Watkin in the last three months and our plans for the future - whenever that arrives. The Watkin Society Committee & Looking to the Future The WatSoc committee has been meeting without losing the enthusiasm which has regularly (until recently) and doing the achieved so much. spadework for the next steps. The plan will be ready in the next few We want to meet the requests of weeks and will then be discussed by the supporters who would like to follow their committee, even though face-to-face interest in a particular side of the Watkin meetings are out at the time of writing. Story. We can do a lot by email and snail mail post but we are also exploring video and We are going national! At the same time phone conferencing. (Edward, who was as we are keeping up our interest in always excited by new ideas, would have Absalom and Edward's local activities, we loved that, though Absalom would have intend to publicise to a wider audience worried about the cost and the possibility the amazing range of Edward's work in of failure.) Britain and abroad – particularly Canada. When we have agreed on the final details We recognise that if we want to make an we will email these to you in full. We hope impact we have to take a more you will be interested and that you will professional approach. We have give us your reactions, including your commissioned a business plan to set out own suggestions. the guidelines for 'where we go from here'. We think that we can do this One feature will definitely be to set up a being chaired by Andrew Bradley, the number of study groups. The first of rector of St Wilfrid's Church, where these had just met for the first time, when Edward and Absalom are buried and all meetings ceased. It is exploring 'The which contains several beautiful stained Northenden Connection' of the Watkin glass windows commissioned by Edward Story for both Absalom and Edward. It is and two family memorials. Reaching Out The past three months have seen some very promising links with other groups, though these are all now on hold for the present. Photo credit: Great Central Railway/AJM Andrew Morley The Great Central Railway written: "Personally, the more I (www.gcrailway.co.uk) operates a have learned about Watkin I have tourist attraction (with steam!) in become increasingly interested in the East Midlands, using what him, the breadth of his interests remains of Edward's mainline GCR, beyond railways and his which was chopped by the involvement with prominent Beeching Axe in 1968. (see photo) reformers of the mid Victorian After a very positive meeting with period." The GCR plan to open an the chair of the company, Richard Education and Heritage Centre for Patching, we have been asked to displays. Ian wants one to be on contribute a series of articles about 'Who made the Great Central Edward as a railwayman for their Railway?', comparing the lives of quarterly magazine, which has a Sir Edward and one of the navvies circulation of 5000. Ian Wilson, the who built the line. Richard would leader of the education team at the like to explore the possibility of a railway, is particularly interested in Victorian Open Day involving EW. working with us on a project (Opportunity to dress up?) involving young people. He has The GCR Historical Society Quintain, a major property (www.gcrsociety.co.uk) is a investment and development separate group, though it has links business, to develop Wembley with the railway. They are Park. Investment in the project has interested in setting up a meeting already been £1 billion. Quintain's with us as soon as possible to website states: "Our vision for explore 'ideas of mutual interest'. Wembley Park is founded on a deep respect for the site’s rich heritage" The north west secretary of the and goes on to describe Sir Edward Railway and Canal Historical Watkin as the pioneer who saw the Society came to one of our potential in the park. His vision in presentations on EW and is 1894 was "To create a parkland with considering organising a study day a dedicated station on London at the Central Reference Library. Underground’s Metropolitan Line, an The morning session would be a inspirational destination for London presentation by us on Watkin, not workers that can be enjoyed every just as a railwayman, then after day." After a meeting at Wembley lunch two of the Society's members with us and James Moher, the chair would speak about aspects of of the Wembley Historical Society, Watkin's railway work in the area. Julian Tollast, Quintain's Head of The north west secretary is also the Masterplanning and Design is national secretary of the Society, looking at the possibility of which has over 500 members. promoting a Watkin day conference Brent Council, whose area includes about EW's work at Wembley Park. Wembley, have joined with The proposed Wembley Park with Watkin’s Tower at full height! Based on our experience as from Ringway to Northenden, and members of the Friends of Rose read the following communication: Hill with schoolchildren in Large Boulder near Ringway. This Northenden we are preparing a boulder lies at the margin of a field schools package designed to close to the road from Northenden to interest schools outside the Ringway, about half a mile from immediate area. The Principal and Ringway Church. It is at the present senior staff of one of Manchester's time being cleared from the high schools, the Manchester surrounding soil, previous to Health Academy, are very conveyance to Sir Edward Watkin’s enthusiastic about the Watkin grounds at Northenden. The boulder Story. As soon as schools reopen …is a hard volcanic rock….and has they have asked us to meet them to probably come from the Lake District, help plan how Edward and borne to its present place by ice.”. Absalom's achievements can best The boulder is now known as The be introduced into the school's Sharstone and is still in place in curriculum. front of what remains of Rose Hill House. The rumour at the time was On 9 December 1890 the that EW had buried a time capsule Transactions of the Manchester under its stem. The staff and Geological Society contained a students of the Archaeology report on what they called ‘The Department of Manchester Cheshire Boulder’: “Mr. Stirrup University are interested in finding (Honorary Secretary) exhibited a if the rumour is true. Their portable photograph of the large boulder now X-ray equipment may help! lying in a field near the road leading The Sharstone in the 1950’s and 2019 (top) with a panorama of the rear of Rose Hill House and the entrance to the Woods to the right (bottom). Damian O'Doherty, a professor Manchester's parks, was made at from Manchester University, and a the Gorton Monastery just before Northenden resident is particularly the coronavirus axe fell. It went to interested in Absalom's cultivation Lyn Blinkhorn from The Friends of of the land at Rose Hill. Clayton Park/Hall, shown here at the ceremony in the Monastery with The first presentation of the annual Ann Taylor, the chair of the Friends Manchester City Council's Edward of the Rose Hill Woods. Watkin Award, to the volunteer who has done most to support community involvement in one of The Society has been contacted by the amazing story of Manchester's David McKie, former deputy editor forgotten star'. The publishers say and leader writer of The Guardian. that 'forgotten' is an off-putting David is researching for a book on word and since nobody has heard Herbert Ingram, who was the first of Nimble Ned casual browsers in editor of The Illustrated London bookshops wouldn’t be attracted to News, the most successful national buying the book. They will choose 'picture' magazine in nineteenth their own title. The book should be century Britain. Ingram was a a publicity boost for the Society, personal friend of EW. Four years which will receive all proceeds from after the death of his first wife, sales. The Landmark, one of Mary, Edward married Ingram's London's biggest hotels, are widow, Ann. We were able to fascinated by EW (he built supply David with new information Marylebone Station and the hotel about the Ingram-Watkin next to it). Andrew Batchelor, the connection and are looking forward General Manager of the hotel, to the publication of his book.
Recommended publications
  • Manchester Group of the Victorian Society Newsletter Spring 2021
    MANCHESTER GROUP OF THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY NEWSLETTER SPRING 2021 WELCOME The views expressed within Welcome to the Spring 2021 edition of the Newsletter. this publication are those of the authors concerned and Covid 19 continues to seriously affect the scope of our activities, including the not necessarily those of the cancellation of the Annual General Meeting scheduled for January 2021. This edition of Manchester Group of the the newsletter thus contains details of the matters which would normally have formed Victorian Society. part of the AGM including a brief report from Anne Hodgson, Mark Watson’s Annual Report on Historic Buildings and a statement of accounts for 2020. © Please note that articles published in this newsletter Hopefully, recovery might be in sight. A tour of Oldham Town Centre has been organised are copyright and may not be for Thursday 22 July 2021 at 2.00pm. It is being led by Steve Roman for Manchester reproduced in any form Region Industrial Archaeology Society (MRIAS) and is a shorter version of his walk for without the consent of the the Manchester VicSoc group in June 2019. The walk is free. See page 19 for full details. author concerned. CONTENTS 2 EDGAR WOOD AND THE BRIAR ROSE MOTIF 5 WALTER BRIERLEY AT NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS 7 HIGHFIELDS, HUDDERSFIELD – ‘A MOST HANDSOME SUBURB’ 8 NEW BOOKS: SIR EDWARD WATKIN MP, VICTORIA’S RAILWAY KING 10 THE LIGHTNING EXPRESS – HIGH SPEED RAIL 13 THE LODGES AT LONGFORD PARK 15 “THE SECRET GARDEN:” FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT 19 WALKING TOUR OF OLDHAM TOWN CENTRE 20 MANCHESTER GROUP MATTERS Report by the Chair,.
    [Show full text]
  • Sir Edward Watkin and the Liberal Cause in the Nineteenth Century
    Edward William Watkin, born in Salford, Lancashire in 1819, was an exact contemporary of Queen Victoria; he exemplified the Victorian spirit of global awareness, pride in a British civilisation with the intention of sharing its benefits with others, and the excitement of participating in the development of new technology and scientific advancement. John Greaves examines his life. SiR EdWARD WATKIN AND THE LIBERAL CAUSE IN THE NiNETEENTH CENTURY dward William Because of his success in the Corn Laws – the imposition of Watkin, born in Sal- sphere of railways, he was seen tariffs on corn imports to pro- ford, Lancashire in as having a sound grasp of the tect or benefit sectional interests, 1819, was an exact financing and administration which was creating great hard- contempor a r y of of the new engineering and ship for the poor. The organis- EQueen Victoria; he exempli- commercial projects of the day. ing of a free trade campaign was fied the Victorian spirit of glo- In particular his thinking was to give rise to a new political bal awareness, pride in a British informed by the emergence of party, inspired by Christian ide- civilisation with the intention the world’s first industrial city, als of fairness and compassion.1 of sharing its benefits with oth- Manchester, and by the first Watkin was one of those who ers, and the excitement of par- wholesale application of Adam quickly grasped the econom- ticipating in the development of Smith’s theory of free market ics of the capitalist system, and new technology and scientific Edward Watkin capitalism.
    [Show full text]
  • THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR and the BRITISH IMPERIAL DILEMMA TREVOR COX a Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
    THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AND THE BRITISH IMPERIAL DILEMMA TREVOR COX A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2015 This work or any part thereof has not been presented in any form to the University or to any other body whether for the purposes of assessment, publication or for any other purpose (unless otherwise indicated). Save for any express acknowledgements, references and/or bibliographies cited in the work, I confirm that the intellectual content of the work is the result of my own efforts and of no other person. The right of Trevor Cox to be identified as author of this work is asserted in accordance with ss. 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. At this date is copyright is owned by the author. Signature ................................................... Date ............................................................ 1 ABSTACT The following study argues that existing historical interpretations of how and why the unification of British North America came about in 1867are flawed. It contends that rather than a movement propelled mainly by colonial politicians in response to domestic pressures - as generally portrayed in Canadian-centric histories of Confederation - the imperial government in Britain actually played a more active and dynamic role due to the strategic and political pressures arising from the American Civil War. Rather than this being a basic ‘withdrawal’, or ‘abandonment’ in the face of US power as is argued on the rare occasions diplomatic or strategic studies touch upon the British North American Act: this thesis argues that the imperial motivations were more far-reaching and complex.
    [Show full text]
  • Canada and the States
    Canada and the States Edward William Watkin Canada and the States Table of Contents Canada and the States..............................................................................................................................................1 Edward William Watkin................................................................................................................................1 CANADA AND THE STATES, RECOLLECTIONS 1851 to 1886............................................................1 PREFACE......................................................................................................................................................2 CHAPTER I. PreliminaryOne Reason why I went to the Pacific...............................................................4 CHAPTER II. Towards the PacificLiverpool to Quebec..........................................................................12 CHAPTER III. To the PacificMontreal to Port Moody.............................................................................15 CHAPTER IV. Canadian Pacific Railways.................................................................................................20 CHAPTER V. A British Railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific..............................................................22 CHAPTER VI. Port MoodyVictoriaSan Francisco to Chicago..............................................................25 CHAPTER VII. Negociations as to the Intercolonial Railway; and North−West Transit and Telegraph , 1861 to 1864...............................................................................................................................................30
    [Show full text]
  • September 2019
    Oxford DNB: September 2019 The September 2019 update adds 35 new articles, containing 32 biographies, accompanied by 6 portrait likenesses. 2019 is the bicentenary year of Queen Victoria’s birth and the particular focus of this month’s update is on the Victorian age. The themes covered include art, literature, music, business, medicine, women Chartists, suffragists, and the Great Exhibition. From September 2019, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB) offers biographies of 63,399 men and women who have shaped the British past, contained in 61,131 articles. 11,709 biographies include a portrait image of the subject – researched in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, London. Introduction to the suffrage biographies, by Elizabeth Crawford Mrs Pankhurst, leader of the militant Women’s Social and Political Union, was a follower of Thomas Carlyle in believing that history was the biography of great men, his theory amended, of course, to include women. This notion was until relatively recently one to which the popular narrative of the women’s suffrage movement also adhered. Published biographies and autobiographies had revealed something of the lives of the leaders of both the constitutional and the militant wings of the movement, but the individual women who had conducted the campaign remained ciphers, their names perhaps known, their personal histories a blank. It is, therefore, particularly pleasing that since 2004 the ODNB has chosen to bring to the fore those whom we might regard as the ‘foot soldiers’ of the women’s suffrage movement. By giving space to so many suffrage campaigners – both constitutional and militant – the ODNB has opened up the movement, allowing us into the lives of those who thought it important that women should be treated as full citizens.
    [Show full text]
  • Study of an Historic Site the Development of Wembley Stadium in the Twentieth Century
    Study of an historic site The development of Wembley Stadium in the twentieth century. Timeline of Wembley Stadium 1913 Wembley selected to host the 1924 British Empire Exhibition 1922 Work begins on the Empire Stadium 1923 Completion of the building. Staging of the “White Horse Final” 1924 British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley 1927 First greyhound racing event 1929 First Rugby League Cup Final and first speedway event held 1934 First baseball fixture held 1936 First World Speedway Championship held 1942 First Rugby Union international held 1948 Wembley used for events during the London Olympics 1953 “The Matthews Cup Final” 1966 World Cup Final, England beat West Germany 1985 Live Aid Concert held 1988 Concert for Nelson Mandela held 1999 Wembley Stadium sold to the English National Stadium Trust and designs for the new stadium unveiled Watch Ollie Murs offers a brief outline of Wembley Stadium - https://youtu.be/yBzDOJHbbYQ The evolution of Wembley stadium in the early twentieth century The building of the Empire Stadium for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 Background In the mid-19th century the area of Wembley was mostly farmland and sparsely populated with the 1851 census recording just 209 inhabitants. This was at a time when the suburbs of London were expanding and investors and entrepreneurs recognised the opportunities for housing and other related developments. In 1880 in an attempt to encourage population growth, the Metropolitan Railway Company extended its line from central London to Wembley Park and Harrow. The chairman of the company Sir Edward Watkin, aware of the potential of the area, purchased 280 acres of land near the station and so began his vision of a major tourist attraction.
    [Show full text]
  • Watkin's Struggle at the S.E.R. Board 1876–79, and R.W. Perks
    March 2021 REVISED DRAFT Watkin’s Struggle at the S.E.R. Board 1876–79, and R.W. Perks By Owen E. Covick* * An earlier version of this paper was presented to a seminar at the Flinders Business School, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, in May 2014 Telephone: 61 8 8272 2693 Email: [email protected] Abstract Becoming a trusted confidante to Sir Edward Watkin was a key step in the business career of Sir Robert William Perks (1849–1934): a career that included the financially successful ‘rescue’ of the Barry Railway during 1887–1889; the rather less financially successful rescue of the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway from 1894; and securing the commitment of C T Yerkes and his backers to the expansion and electrification of the London Underground from 1900. How did Perks become Watkin`s right-hand man? The 1909 biography of Perks by ‘Denis Crane’ (pen-name of Walter T Cranfield, 1874–1946) tells us that the trigger was a telegram from Watkin received by Perks as he sat eating Christmas dinner in 1878 with his wife of eight months, at his father-in-law’s house in Banbury. Crane tells us that Perks cut short his family festivities and travelled to meet Watkin at 6.00 p.m. that same day in London. But Crane is evasive about what the ‘important business’ was that Watkin wanted to see Perks about with such urgency. All we get is: ‘From that day forward for fourteen years Sir Robert was by Sir Edward Watkin`s side in all his battles’ (pp 72–73).
    [Show full text]
  • J Citutifi C !Tutritau
    Jcitutifi c !tutritau. 34 [JULY 21, 1888. ITHE PROJECTED TUNNEL BETWEEN FRANCE AND I awful cohorts of the French wheeling and running in The British Parcel Post. ENGLAND. absolute security through the bowels of the earth right Parcels not exceeding seven pounds are now received The bill to authorize Sir Edward Watkin and his as- into the heart of England; and they have never for- at any post office in the United Kingdom for transmis­ sociate8 to proceed with the construction of the pro- gotten the terrible scare. sion to the Argentine Republic and Chili, via Germany. posed great tunnel under the English Channel, from We reproduce from the London Graphic a copy of Parcels for the Argentine Republic and Chili will be in­ Dover to Calais, was recently again brought up in one of the old prints of 1801, in which not only war ves- cluded in the mails for Hamburg dispatched from Lon­ Parliament. It has been defeated before this. On this sels, but the Channel tunnel and war balloons, were don every Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday morn­ last occasion Mr. Gladstone made a strong and able shown as brought into action for the nefarious purpose ing. From Hamburg parcel mails are dispatched to speech in advocacy of the measure, by which the rail- of invading Great Britain. the Argentine Republic every Thursday, and to Chili way systems of England would be directly connected The London Graphic says: every alternative Monday. The parcel post is already with those of the Continent, and the vast populations "During the long war between England and France, in operation to Algeria, Ascension, Austria-Hungary, of Europe brought into direct communication with which raged, with two brief lulls, from 17D3 to 1815, two Azores, Barbados, Belgium, Beyrout, British Guiana, London.
    [Show full text]
  • Victorian Railway Networks, 1860–1900† ∗ by SHIMA AMINI and STEVEN TOMS
    Economic History Review, 0, 0 (2020), pp. 1–26 Elite directors, London finance, and British overseas expansion: Victorian railway networks, 1860–1900† ∗ By SHIMA AMINI and STEVEN TOMS This article considers how international economic expansion impacts on the composition of elite groups on boards of companies. We examine, why, at the height of the British Empire, boards of national, imperial, and international railway companies, financed from London, were dominated by elites drawn differentially from the aristocracy, the military, finance, and politics. To investigate the reasons for these differences, we conduct a social network analysis of railway company boards in three countries during the second half of the nineteenth century. Results reveal that aristocratic directors were dominant in Britain, military directors in India, and financier directors in Argentina, suggesting that their influence drew on local knowledge, resource access, and network connections. They did not serve on boards for merely ornamental purposes. he role of the British elite in the expansion of the international economy T before 1914 has attracted significant research interest.1 Several reasons for the prominence of elite groups on company boards have been suggested, including accessing finance, and enhancing the value of businesses on capital markets. 2 Empirical results are mixed, with some suggestion that aristocrats, in particular, performed only an ‘ornamental’ function to attract investors to otherwise low- quality issues, without full participation in their firms’ administration.3 In this article, we examine whether the presence of elite directors reflected the expertise required by the international location of investment, including their ability to access resources, such as connections to human, social, and financial capital, and their ability to influence governments through political access and lobbying.
    [Show full text]
  • The Book Reads So Well
    The book reads so well; it's as if the authors take you, the reader, by the hand and walk you along the river's full length of sixteen miles describing minutely the flora and fauna found on the way with lots of explanations as to why things are the way they are. This book is not only a sheer delight to hold in the hand but to read as well and to learn from. Largely written by professional botanist Walter Meagher, who lives in Deddington, and Peter Sheasby an amateur botanist who lives in Bloxham. It is Peter who has taken those gorgeous photographs already mentioned. This elegant book is designed by Wendy Meagher; she has so organized it that its contents are very easily accessed. Many more people have also contributed to this book, they are all acknowledged. It is so well written that it will not only satisfy the serious botanist but the interested amateur and those who just wish to know more about the little rivers that abound locally (Adderbury's Sor Brook for instance!). I can also see it being used as a teaching aid and it is most certainly an exemplar to any budding author who would like to produce something like it for their own area. N.J.A. The Second Railway King: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Watkin 1819- 1901, David Hodgkins (714 pp., illus.), Cardiff: Merton Priory Press, 2002. ISBN 1 898937 49 4. £40.00. Merton Priory Press Ltd, 67 Merthyr Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff, CF14 1DD. This is a scholarly biography of one of the eminent Victorians who created Britain's railway system.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chester and Holyhead Railway and Its Political Impact on North Wales and British Policy Towards Ireland, 1835-1900
    The Chester and Holyhead Railway and its political impact on North Wales and British policy towards Ireland, 1835-1900 Philip Michael Lloyd PhD University of York Railway Studies September 2017 ABSTRACT This thesis presents a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between technology and politics, and then applies it to the use made of railways by successive British governments in their Irish policies between 1835 and 1850. It questions why the Chester and Holyhead Railway was chosen over its rivals in 1844, and what political influence government applied to ensure its success against a technically superior alternative. The thesis also examines the interaction between politics and technology between 1850 and 1900 in North Wales by assessing the political implications of the London and North Western Railway monopoly, including the Holyhead line. Uniquely, the study shows that successive governments between 1835 and 1850 included railways in their Irish policies, but did not achieve the required results. Politicians failed to implement the impressive 1839 Irish Railway Commission proposals, and then did not focus sufficiently on reducing journey time between London and Dublin. Government allowed regional and personal interests in Britain to guide its decision-making, rather than technical advice. Railways produced paradoxical political results in North Wales between 1850 and 1900. They assisted both Anglicisation and Welsh nationalism, and the thesis adds to knowledge by showing that railways featured on the nationalist agenda of the region, particularly after 1867. By exploring railways and politics in North Wales and Ireland, this thesis enhances knowledge about their role in day to day governance, nation-building and larger imperial ambitions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Wembley Park Story – Part 2 the First Part of This Story Took Us from Saxon Times up to the “Birth” of Wembley Park in 1793
    The Wembley Park Story – Part 2 The first part of this story took us from Saxon times up to the “birth” of Wembley Park in 1793. If you missed it, “click” here. 1. Repton's sketch of his proposed mansion, in its parkland setting. (Extract from a copy at Brent Archives) Humphry Repton was landscaping the grounds of Wembley Park for Richard Page, but they disagreed over Repton’s proposed “Gothic” designs for the mansion, which were never carried out. By 1795, Page had moved to Flambards, another mansion on Harrow Hill, that he inherited from Mary Herne. This had mature grounds, which had been laid out by Capability Brown around 1770. When Richard Page died in 1803, his estate was valued at £400,000 (worth over £25 million now). He had never married, and his will left a “life interest” in his estate to his next eldest brother, Francis, and then down the male line. Francis Page did not marry either, nor had the next youngest of the five brothers, John, who died in 1801. The family seemed unaware of the “truth” which Jane Austen was writing about at that time! 2. The opening line from an early edition of Jane Austen’s "Pride and Prejudice". (Image from the internet) By 1809, Francis Page had sold Wembley Park to John Gray, a wealthy brandy merchant who was a Freeman of the City of London. However, as the Page family’s Wembley Park legacy was to continue into the 20th century, I need to finish their story. Francis died in 1810, and as he had no children, the Page estate passed to the fourth brother, William.
    [Show full text]