FROM MANCHESTER TO BURNLEY: SIR JAMES KAY-SHUTTLEWORTH AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE MORAL AND PHYSICAL WELFARE OF THE POOR IN THE PERIODS 1828-1835 AND 1842-1877 by Catherine Janet Shutt BA (Hons) MA A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of MPhil at the University of Central Lancashire June 2014 1 STUDENT DECLARATION FORM Concurrent registration for two or more academic awards I declare that while registered as a candidate for the research degree, I have not been a registered candidate or enrolled student for another award of the University or other academic or professional institution _________________________________________________________________ Material submitted for another award I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work _________________________________________________________________ Signature of Candidate ______________________________________________________ Type of Award ______________________________________________________ School _______________________________________________________ 2 Abstract This study presents evidence that the noted Victorian educationalist, Sir James Kay- Shuttleworth, was willing and able to implement a number of his own theories designed to improve the moral and physical welfare of the poor. The thesis compares the time Kay- Shuttleworth spent in Manchester as a physician to the poor, and his own effort at social investigation that resulted in the publication of the pamphlet, The Moral and Physical Condition of the Working Classes Employed in the Cotton Manufacture in Manchester, with evidence from his activities in Burnley and Padiham, Lancashire, where he became a member of the landed elite due to his marriage. It is argued that after his retirement from public duties in 1849, Kay-Shuttleworth was able to fulfil the role of a paternalistic landowner, and attempted to use his own theories to improve the condition of the poor. He used his newly acquired disposable wealth to build upon the public recognition that his professional career had helped him to establish in order to interact with the poor. He consistently argued that educational provision was the most effective means of working class improvement. Kay-Shuttleworth also remained involved with issues in Manchester after he had moved away, becoming particularly active with the distribution of relief during the cotton famine. A continued involvement in national educational matters also later diverted Kay-Shuttleworth's attentions away from Burnley and Padiham, although he remained active in the improvement of the poor until his death in 1877. 3 Table of Contents List of Tables and Illustrative Material .................................................................................. 5 List of Appendices ................................................................................................................ 6 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 7 Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................... 8 Chapter Two: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 18 Chapter Three: Sources and Methods ............................................................................... 30 Part One: Manchester 1828 to 1835................................................................................ 41 Chapter Four: Doctor James Kay in Manchester 1828 to 1835 ......................................... 42 Part Two: Burnley, Padiham and Lancashire 1842 to 1877 .......................................... 69 Chapter Five: Kay-Shuttleworth and the Provision of Education in Burnley and Padiham 70 Chapter Six: Kay-Shuttleworth's Emergence into Local Society: Burnley and Padiham .... 87 Chapter Seven: Kay-Shuttleworth's Activities Further Afield ............................................ 103 Chapter Eight: Conclusions ............................................................................................. 113 Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 124 Appendix A: Most notable Publications of Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth ................................... 124 Appendix B: A list of the members of the Burnley Relief Committee 1862-1863 ...................... 126 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 128 Primary Sources ...................................................................................................................... 128 Secondary Sources ................................................................................................................. 131 4 List of Tables and Illustrative Material Table One Number of candidates examined by the East Lancashire Union, 1857 to 1871.................82 Table Two Number of people receiving aid from the Burnley Relief Committee, October 1862 to March 1863.........................................................................................................................99 Table Three Amount of relief issued by the Burnley Relief Committee, September 1862 to March 1863....................................................................................................................................99 5 List of Appendices Appendix A Most notable Publications of Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth................................................124 Appendix B List of members of the Burnley Relief Committee 1862 to 1863.......................................126 6 Acknowledgements I have been fortunate that several individuals have supported me during the writing of this thesis. My initial interest in the topic of Kay-Shuttleworth and Burnley was stimulated by my time studying in Leeds and I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to take this interest further under the guidance of my supervisory team. In particular, I would like to thank Dr Keith Vernon for his support, particularly during my examination, and the insightful and thought provoking feedback he provided on many occasions. I would also like to thank colleagues at the various jobs I have had whilst completing this research. These include Mike Millward at Gawthorpe Hall and Kiara Clarke, for her understanding and unexpected, but very gratefully received, help with proof reading. My family have also been supportive, and I would like to thank Gill Heath and Chris Kingsbury for their help and Martha Shutt for her assistance with grammar and spelling. Finally, and most importantly, I would never have completed this research without the support, encouragement, understanding and endless patience of my parents, Heather and Graham. For this I am eternally grateful and extremely thankful. 7 Chapter One Introduction This thesis will describe and assess Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth's contributions to initiatives aimed at improving the moral and physical welfare of the poor both in Manchester, where he began his career as a physician and lived between 1828 and 1835, and in Burnley and Padiham, Lancashire, where Kay-Shuttleworth relocated in 1842 and remained until his death in 1877. It will examine Kay-Shuttleworth's activities in both of these areas, as well as investigating his continued involvement in Manchester even after he moved away. Examining these areas will allow for an assessment of Kay-Shuttleworth's interventions at a local level in physical reforms such as public health, and moral reforms such as education, as well as assessing how willing he was to actively contribute to improve conditions for the poor. Kay-Shuttleworth was a hugely important and influential figure in Victorian social welfare. He was active in public health reforms, the implementation of the new Poor Law, and is widely regarded by historians as the founder of elementary education. Kay- Shuttleworth's professional career was illustrious and his public reputation notable. Furthermore, he was an upwardly mobile individual, who progressed from a lower middle class student doctor, through the ranks of the professional middle classes, to gain a prominent social position as a member of the traditional and established landed elite with huge disposable wealth. Such a journey is unusual, and provided Kay-Shuttleworth with many opportunities that make him a very intriguing character to study. Kay-Shuttleworth's background therefore deserves some consideration. James Phillips Kay was born into a modest middle class family in Rochdale on 20 July, 1804, the oldest of six children.1 Educated at Leaf Square Grammar School in Pendleton, a school set up solely for educating the children of Protestant Dissenters, Kay studied medicine at Edinburgh University between 1824 and 1827. Despite some ill health which would later blight his career, Kay graduated from the university with a Doctor of Medicine degree, and additionally sat a preliminary examination in the arts – a private examination held in the home of a professor designed to test medical knowledge, as well as literary 1 Note that James Phillips Kay became Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth as a result of his marriage in 1842. Therefore I will refer to 'Kay' before this date and 'Kay-Shuttleworth' afterwards. 8 attainments and Latin – which he passed.2 As a student, he lived in the New Town