RECOLLECTIONS OF A BUSY LIFE.
[Illustration: _Painted by S. Walters._ _Engraved by R. G. Reeve._
VIEW OF THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL, 1836.]
RECOLLECTIONS OF A BUSY LIFE
BEING THE REMINISCENCES
OF A LIVERPOOL MERCHANT
1840-1910.
BY
SIR WILLIAM B. FORWOOD D.L. J.P.
ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVENTEEN PLATES
"_Work for some good, be it ever so slowly;
Cherish some flower, be it ever so lowly;
Labour! True labour is noble and holy._"
LIVERPOOL:
HENRY YOUNG & SONS
1910.
TO MY CHILDREN
AND
GRANDCHILDREN.
PREFACE.
Many of the following pages were written for private circulation.
Influential friends have, however, urged me to publish them, as they may
appeal to a wider circle of readers. I have consented, with diffidence,
but have availed myself of the opportunity to add some chapters upon
local affairs, which I trust may be of public interest, and recall
pleasing memories of bygone times.
W. B. F.
BROMBOROUGH HALL,
_December 1st, 1910_.
A FOREWORD.
There are but few men whose lives are worthy to be written for general
publication, but there are many who have accumulated recollections and
experiences which must be interesting and instructive to those of their
own kith and kin, and it is for these I am about to jot down a few
reminiscences of a life which has been largely spent in public work--in
helping to build up the fortunes of a great seaport, in the local
government of an important Municipality, and in the administration of
Justice. Should these pages fall into the hands of friends I am sure
they will be read with kindly and sympathetic feelings, and strangers
will, I hope, accord to them the consideration and indulgence due to a
narrative written only for private publication.
Life is said to be short, but when I look back upon the events which
have crowded into mine I seem to have lived a long time, and one cannot
but reflect that if the prospect had always looked as long as the
retrospect, how much more patience and deliberation might have been
thrown into the ordering of one's affairs, and how entirely this might
have altered the course of events and changed the goal of one's
endeavours. It is perhaps a merciful and wise ordinance that no man can
reckon beyond the day that is before him, and therefore each day should
be so lived as to be typical of our life; for it is the only portion of
time of which we may truly say it is our own, and at our own disposal
for good or for evil.
As each life, therefore, has its ambitions--small or great--its
conquests, its trials, and its failures, so each day has to bear its own
burden of trials and anxieties; and as the daily life is lived, and the
daily task accomplished, so will our life's work be fulfilled; but how
few there are who can look back and say their lives have been a success,
and that they have accomplished all they should or all they might have
done.
A great philosopher and thinker, who passed away only recently, stated,
on the Jubilee of his Professorship, when his contemporaries were saying
that future generations would proclaim him as having accomplished
greater things than Sir Isaac Newton, that "his life had not been a
success, that he had given his time and his mental powers to the
solution of practical problems of everyday life rather than to the
claims of the higher philosophy;" and so, in our more humble spheres
each of us must feel that we have neglected opportunities, and perhaps
the opportunities which we most regret having neglected are those by
which we could have done good to our fellow-men, and not those which
made for the satisfying of our ambition.
There can be no isolation more dreary than the isolation of an old age,
cut off by the lack of training and habit from sympathy with humanity,
alone in its selfishness, untouched by the joy of feeling and caring for
others. But even short of this isolation of a selfish old age, there
must come to all of us a feeling of disappointment that our part in
helping forward the well-being of others has not been larger and more
fruitful:
"Frail is the web the tired worker weaves
Left incomplete:
Fair was life's promise, scanty are its sheaves;
What are its laurels, but a few sere leaves
Withering beneath our feet."
I will, however, cease to moralise, and will conclude with this thought
which, I think, forms an appropriate preface to an autobiography.
How much greater would be the sum total of human happiness if men would
accept as their guide the experience of those who had gone before! How
many disasters might be avoided! How many successful careers might be
shaped and built up! But I suppose as long as men are as they are they
will refuse to accept the experience of others, but will make their own,
and through blunders and mistakes a certain proportion will arrive at
success, but a larger proportion will struggle on, on the ragged edge
and under the cold shade of adversity until the end of their days.
W. B. F.
BROMBOROUGH HALL,
CHESHIRE,
_January 21st, 1910_.
CONTENTS.
A FOREWORD.
PAGE.
CHAPTER I.--EARLY YEARS 1
My Father 2
Edge Hill 4
Everton 5
Bootle 5
Seaforth 6
The "Great Britain," s.s. 7
Wrecks on the Seaforth shore 8
Walton 10
Aigburth 10
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone 12
His last speech 13
1848--Waterloo and Southport Railway: Opening 15
Edge Lane 16
Early School-days 17
Home Life 21
Wavertree Park 23
CHAPTER II.--VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD 25
1857--Sail in the "Red Jacket" 25
Australia 26
West Coast of South America 27
Easterly gales in the Channel 28
CHAPTER III.--LIVERPOOL 31
Liverpool in 1860-1870 32
The Town 33
The Docks 35
The Dock Board 37
Election 38
Birkenhead 39
Bootle 41
The Exchange 42
Cotton Brokers 44
Commerce 47
Shipowners 48
Merchants 49
The American War of 1861-1865 51
Blockade Running 53
The Southern Bazaar 55
The Volunteer Movement 55
Intellectual Life 57
Society 60
CHAPTER IV.--BUSINESS LIFE 64
My Father's Office 64
Financial Panics, 1857-1866 65
1861--Wrecked in the "Great Eastern" 67
1861--Arrested in New York 69
Leech, Harrison and Forwood 71
My brother Arthur 72
CHAPTER V.--PUBLIC LIFE, 1867 78
1868--President Philomathic Society 78
Professor Huxley 78
1868--Elected to the TOWN COUNCIL: Early Experiences 79
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:
1870--Elected Vice-President 80
1871-1874--President of the Chamber 80
1878-1881--Elected President of the
re-constituted Chamber by the votes of the
subscribers to the Exchange News Room 80
1870--Fellow Royal Statistical Society 80
1872--President of the American Chamber of Commerce 81
1873--Chairman of the Joint Committee of the Northern
Towns on Railway Rates 81
1877--President United Cotton Association, the precursor
of the Cotton Association 82
1877--President of the International Cotton Convention 83
1880--Mayor of Liverpool 83
Visit of General Sir Frederick Roberts 83
Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales 84
The Opening of the North Docks 84
Fenian Scare 85
1903--Lord Mayor 87
CHAPTER VI.--THE FENIAN TROUBLES 88
1882--Attempt to blow up the Town Hall 88
Infernal Machines 90
The Pensioner's cork leg 91
Thanks of the Home Secretary 92
CHAPTER VII.--THE TOWN COUNCIL 93
The Town Hall--Its Hospitality 97
Work in the City Council 100
1868-1882--WATCH COMMITTEE 100
Burning of the Landing Stage 101
1870-1884--WATER COMMITTEE: The Vyrnwy Scheme 102
Hawes Water 102
1874-1886--PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE 106
Chairman 106
Extension of the Boundaries 106
The Manchester Ship Canal 107
The Dock Board and the Bridgwater Canal 108
1887--CORPORATION LEASEHOLDS: Chairman of Special
Committee to enquire into 109
Report 110
1908--ESTATE COMMITTEE: Chairman 110
CHAPTER VIII.--LIBRARY, MUSEUM AND ARTS COMMITTEE 112
1889--Chairman 114
1908--Extension of Free Libraries 114
Mr. Carnegie 115
The Museum Extended 116
The Art Galleries 117
Among the Studios 118
Lord Leighton 118
Mr. Greiffenhagen 119
Sir John Millais 120
Sir Hubert Herkomer 121
Sir John Gilbert 122
Mr. Whistler 123
1908--Retired from the Committee 123
Mr. R. D. Holt 128
CHAPTER IX.--KNIGHTHOOD AND FREEDOM OF LIVERPOOL 130
1883--KNIGHTHOOD: At Windsor Castle 130
HONORARY FREEDOM OF CITY OF LIVERPOOL 131
CHAPTER X.--POLITICAL WORK 141
Party politics in Liverpool 141
Conservative Whip 142
1865--S. R. Graves, M.P. 143
1873--John Torr, M.P. 143
1868--Viscount Sandon, M.P. 144
1880--Edward Whitley, M.P. 144
Mr. Rathbone, M.P. 145
1868--Election, South-West Lancashire: Mr. Gladstone
and Mr. R. A. Cross 145
1869--Chairman Waterloo Polling District 146
1880--Chairman of the Southport Division 146
1886 {The Hon. George A. Curzon 146
to {
1899 {Mr. Curzon Member for Southport 147
Lord Curzon's work as the Viceroy of India 149
Duties of a Chairman of a Division 151
Free Trade and Protection 152
CHAPTER XI.--JUDICIAL WORK 154
1873--Placed on Liverpool Bench 154
1882--Placed on Lancashire County Bench 154
1900--Placed on Cheshire County Bench 154
1890--Deputy-Chairman of Quarter Sessions, West Derby
Hundred 154
1894--Chairman of Quarter Sessions 154
1894--Chairman of the County Bench 155
1894--Chairman of the Licensing Justices 155
Chairman of the Visiting Justices, Walton Jail 157
1902--Appointed a Deputy-Lieutenant for Lancashire 154
1909--HIGH SHERIFF FOR LANCASHIRE 159
Interesting Ceremony at Lancaster Castle 161
The King and Queen at Knowsley 162
CHAPTER XII.--BLUNDELLSANDS, BROMBOROUGH & CROSBY
Blundellsands 164
Crosby Grammar School 166
Bromborough 168
CHAPTER XIII.--DIRECTORSHIPS 171
1889--Chairman Overhead Railway 172
1893--Opening by the Marquis of Salisbury,
Prime Minister 173
1898--Chairman of the Bank of Liverpool 176
1888--Director of the Cunard Company 177
Some incidents 179
Castle Wemyss 181
Making of the Cunard Company 181
Liverpool and Mediterranean Trade 182
White Star Line 184
Mr. T. H. Ismay 185
Sir Alfred Jones, K.C.M.G. 186
1888--Director Employers' Liability Assurance Company.
CHAPTER XIV.--THE CHURCHES 188
The Church, 1860-1870 188
Dr. McNeile 189
Dr. Ryle, first Bishop of Liverpool 190
Nonconformists 192
THE BUILDING OF A CATHEDRAL 194
Early History 194
Chairman of Executive Committee 198
Foundation-stone laid by the King 199
Consecration of the Lady Chapel 201
Convocation 203
Church Congress 204
New York Cathedral 204
CHAPTER XV.--PHILANTHROPY, CHARITABLE AND SOCIAL WORK 206
Crusade against intemperance 207
Workmen's dwellings 208
Local workers 209
CHAPTER XVI.--THE SEAMEN'S ORPHANAGE, ETC. 211
1905--ROYAL COMMISSION ON MOTORS 212
CHAPTER XVII.--THE EARL OF DERBY 215
Appointments to the County Bench 215
Prince Fushimi of Japan 220
CHAPTER XVIII.--TRAVELS 223
Improvements in Modern Travel 223
1871--Franco-Prussian Battlefields 225
1891--Costa Rica 225
Jamaica 228
1892--Mexico 228
Conversion of Mexican Southern Railway Bonds 229
President Diaz 230
1905--America: Tour with Lord Claud Hamilton 235
President Roosevelt 236
1906--The Desert of Sahara 238
The Count's Garden, Biskra 240
Egypt 243
1907--India: Impressions of 244
1906--Lord Clive: The result of a Motor Tour 250
CHAPTER XIX.--RECREATIONS 253
Yachting 253
1874--Obtained Certificate from the Board of Trade as a
Master Mariner 255
Windermere: Happy Days 256
History of the Royal Windermere Yacht Club 257
Yacht Racing Association 258
One of the Founders 258
Member of the Council 258
Chairman of the Committee of Measurement 258
Royal Canoe Club 258
1879--Rear-Commodore Royal Mersey Yacht Club 257
Gardening 259
Orchids 260
CHAPTER XX.--OBITER DICTA 261
Success in Life 263
Observation 266
Imagination 267
Integrity 267
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Liverpool, 1836 _Frontispiece_.
Shaw's Brow _Facing page_ 34
Dock Offices 37
The Old Liverpool Exchange 42
The Town Hall 93
Laying Foundation Stone, Vyrnwy 102
Free Libraries 112
"Ramleh," East Front 162
Bromborough Hall, Garden Front 168
The Old Dutch Garden 170
The Lady Chapel, Liverpool Cathedral 201
Fatehpur Sikri 244
Benares 245
The Himalayas 248
The Taj Mahal 249
Yachting on Windermere 256
Portrait 261
CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS.
A Great City--its people and its institutions, as seen by a contemporary
presents incidents that do not specially appeal to the historian, who is
more concerned with the larger features and events which mark its
growth; but those incidents may serve as sidelights upon the movements
and the spirit of the times, and woven round the outlines of a life
which has been threaded in the weft of its activities, may afford a
background to bring into more prominent relief and give juster
proportion to the characters and the actions of the men who have built
up its prosperity.
My story will therefore be of the men and the incidents of my time,
which I think may perhaps possess more than a passing interest, and I
hope serve to awaken pleasant memories.
As I do not intend to write a record of my family life, which with its
abounding happiness--some great sorrows--successes and
disappointments--must be a sacred thing, I shall only make such
references to my family, or to those friends still happily with us, as
may be necessary to my narrative.
My great-grandfather, who was born at Plymouth, was a Lieutenant in the
Royal Navy and served on board the "Foudroyant." He was killed in
action, and his widow, in recognition of his courage, was awarded a Post
Captain's pension. She had one son, my grandfather, George Forwood, who
came to Liverpool, where in 1812 he joined Mr. John Moss as partner in
the Otterspool Oil Works (Mr. Moss was the father of the late Sir Thomas
Moss, Bart.). My grandfather appears to have been a man of considerable
ability. Mr. Hughes, in his _History of Liverpool Bankers_, describes
him as "an exceedingly able man, possessing some public spirit." His
published letters and pamphlets on economic subjects show that he took
much interest in the pressing questions of the day, and was very active
in promoting the repeal of the Corn Laws and in the amendment of the
Poor Laws.
My father, the late Thomas Brittain Forwood, was born in Russell Street
in 1810, and was educated at Dr. Prior's school in Pembroke Place; he
received what was known as a good classical education, and up to the
close of his life his knowledge of Latin was fresh and accurate, and he
could quote freely and aptly from Latin authors.
He was gifted with a love for mechanics, and he claimed to have made a
locomotive when a boy, using as cylinders two surgical syringes.
He entered the office of Leech, Harrison and Co. in 1824, when he was 14
years of age, became a partner at the age of 27, and retired in 1862,
when he purchased the estate of Thornton Manor, in Cheshire; here he
resided for the remainder of his life. My father was endowed with a
quick and bright intelligence, and was a most excellent correspondent in
days when letter writing was a fine art. He had a love and capacity for
hard work.
He was too much absorbed in his own business to take an active part in
public life, but he was for a time a vice-president of the Chamber of
Commerce, and took a leading part in the effort to obtain a reduction in
the railway charges levied upon Liverpool traffic. He was for twenty-two
years a member of the Mersey Dock Board, and chairman of the Traffic
Committee. After he retired from business he became a magistrate for the
county of Cheshire, and greatly interested himself in the restoration of
Chester cathedral.
He died at his London house, in Regent's Park, December 18th, 1884, and
was buried at Thornton Hough, Cheshire. My mother was a daughter of
William Bower, the founder of the firm of William Bower and Sons, cotton
brokers. My grandmother, Mrs. Bower, was left a widow when quite young,
but must have been a woman of much ability, for during the minority of
her eldest son, for several years she carried on the business, going
down to the office every day. In this she was actively assisted by the
late Mr. Geo. Holt, the founder of the firm of Geo. Holt and Co., with
the result that when her son came of age the business was one of the
largest and most prosperous on the Cotton Exchange. I often heard her
speak with gratitude of the noble self-sacrifice of Mr. Holt during all
these years.
I was born at Edge Hill, Liverpool, in 1840--it gives some perspective
to this date when we remember that the year 1839 witnessed the first
publication of Bradshaw's Railway Guide, and the inauguration of the
penny post. It was the year after the accession and marriage of Queen
Victoria, and one of the last of the dark years of the fiscal policy of
Protection in England; so that I may claim that my seventy years have
witnessed a material progress on every side, which has been simply
marvellous, and has eclipsed in the brilliancy of achievement any former
period in the history of our country. The use of the steam-engine has
been increased and extended until it has become the handmaiden of every
industrial occupation; and following in its train we have seen the
development of the spinning jenny, and the blast furnace. And to-day we
see that steam is being dethroned from its high position by the
electrical dynamo and the hydraulic ram, and the turbine is taking the
place of the reciprocating engine. The internal combustion engine has
been invented, and the motor-car is rapidly superseding the horse-drawn
vehicle; while the biplane and monoplane have given a reality to
aviation which never entered the most visionary dreams of a few years
ago.
My father's house at Edge Hill overlooked the grounds of Mount Vernon
Hall and the gardens of the vicarage; to the east were open fields, with
a few large villas dotted about. Fashionable Liverpool still dwelt in
the large Georgian houses fringing Everton Hill, which looked down upon
one of the loveliest views imaginable. In the foreground were the trees
and woods which ran along what is now Netherfield Road; beyond these the
river flowed; in the distance the Wirral peninsula stretched out, backed
by the Welsh hills. But the town of Liverpool was pushing its way up to
Everton, and San Domingo Road was ceasing to be fashionable; while
Aigburth, Prince's Park, and Edge Lane were rapidly becoming the most
popular suburbs of the fast-rising seaport.
Soon after I was born my father removed to Marsh Lane, Bootle, and there
were few more charming spots at that time. I remember the grand trees
which encircled Bootle Hall and overarched Marsh Lane; here dwelt in
sylvan retreats the Mathers, the Birches, and the Tyrers. The trees
extended down to the sea-shore, where Miller's Castle stood sentinel--a
modern building remarkable for its keep and battlemented walls. About
half a mile nearer Liverpool there was a row of large houses, known as
Fort Terrace; here one of my uncles lived. The garden ran down to the
sea-shore, and we as boys passed out of the garden to bathe. The Canada
dock is built on the site of Fort Terrace.
My father removed again, further out, to Seaforth, to a large house on
the Crosby Road, facing an open space known as "Potter's Field," which
was bounded on the further side by the shore. I was sent to school at
Mrs. Carter's, a celebrated dame's school, where many young Liverpool
boys were educated. Mr. Arthur Earle was one of my classmates. Seaforth
was a very prettily wooded village, fine elm trees margining the highway
right up to the canal at Litherland. The village at that time contained
two other important schools, Miss Davenport's and the Rev. Mr. Rawson's.
Mr. Rawson was Vicar of the Parish. Mr. Gladstone, Lord Cross, and Dean
Stanley were educated at Mr. Rawson's. Mr. Rawson was very fond of
telling the story of Mr. Gladstone, when a boy, spending his holiday
afternoons lying before the fire reading Virgil; even in those days he
had formed great expectations of his pupil's future career. Seaforth
vicarage stood between the church and the railway, and was surrounded by
large gardens. Litherland was also a charming rural village, containing
many grand old elm trees, and several large houses. Waterloo was a
rising seaside place, very fashionable in the summer; here Liverpool
merchants occupied cottages, for in those times a cottage at the seaside
was the usual method of spending the summer: fishings in Norway, moors
in Scotland, and tours all over the world not then being in vogue.
Our home at Seaforth commanded a very beautiful marine view. I remember
seeing the "Great Britain" sail, and the same night she was stranded on
the coast of Ireland. For years the "Great Britain" was regarded as one
of the wonders of the world. She was considered to be such a leviathan
that people said she would never pay, and I believe she never did; her
tonnage was under 4,000 tons. She remained the largest ship afloat for
many years. The "Great Britain" went ashore in Dundrum Bay on the 22nd
September, 1846, and was refloated and towed to Liverpool, August 25th,
1847. She remained for some time in the North Atlantic trade, was
afterwards engaged in the Australian trade, and subsequently was
converted into a four-masted sailing ship. Her final use was as a coal
hulk at the Falkland Islands.
I also saw the Glasgow steamer "Orion" sail on her fatal voyage. She was
stranded on the Mull of Galloway, and many lives were lost; this was in
1850.
Very frequently after the prevalence of easterly winds, the entire
channel between the Rock Light and the Crosby Lightship was crowded with
ships, large and small, working their way out to sea--a lovely sight. I
have frequently counted over 300 sail in sight at one time.
On the Bootle shore, somewhere about where the Hornby dock is situated,
there stood two high landmarks--very conspicuous objects marking the
fairway through the Rock Channel, then very much used; they linger in my
memory, associated with many pleasant donkey rides around them. Bootle
church in those days had two towers, and the old church was quite as
ugly as the one now existing. The Dock Committee built the sea wall of
the Canada dock some time before the docks were constructed. I remember
about the year 1848 seeing seven ships wrecked against this sea wall;
they had dragged their anchors and were driven ashore by a north-west
gale. Wrecks on the Bootle and Seaforth shores were quite common
occurrences. The farmers in the district fenced their fields with timber
from ships stranded on the shore, and the villagers were not above
pilfering their cargoes. The barque "Dickey Sam" with a cargo of tobacco
from Virginia was stranded on the Seaforth sands in 1848, and an
onslaught was made on her cargo by the villagers; and to protect it, my
father organised a body of young men to stand guard over it--not an easy
matter, as the hogsheads of tobacco were strewn along the beach for
several miles. His efforts were rewarded by the underwriters presenting
to him a silver salver with an appropriate inscription.
Access to Seaforth and Waterloo from Liverpool was afforded by a
four-horse 'bus, which ran in the morning and evening; express boats
also sailed along the canal in summer, starting from the bridge at
Litherland. It was a pretty walk through the fields to Litherland, and
a charming sail along the canal to the wharf in Great Howard Street.
Riding on horseback on the sea-shore was a very favourite pastime. Many
business men rode into town, keeping to the shore as far as Sandhills
Station.
On the road to Liverpool, and midway between Bootle and Liverpool,
surrounded by fields, were the ruined walls of Bank Hall, which for 500
years had been the residence of the Moores, one of the most celebrated
Liverpool families; they were large owners of property, and for that
long period were closely identified with the public life of the little
town.
The Hall had been pulled down and the materials used for the erection of
the large stone farm buildings and an important farm-house. In my
boyhood days the barns and farm-house still remained, and also the
ancient garden wall, flanked with high stone gate-posts and surmounted
by large carved stone urns, such as were common in the early Georgian
period. A deep and wide ditch ran along the front of the wall, which was
part of the old moat. The Ashcrofts were the tenants of the farm, and I
can remember making hay in a field which would be about the site of the
present Bankhall railway station. Further along again, in Great Howard
Street, stood the jail, commonly called the French prison, many French
prisoners of war having been confined there during the Peninsular war.
Near Sandhills Station there stood a large house, surrounded by trees,
the residence of John Shaw Leigh, one of the founders of the present
Liverpool. I remember being taken to see the icehouse in the grounds,
which formed a sort of cave. Walton was a very pretty village, and
remained so until a comparatively recent date; its lanes were shaded by
stately trees, amid which there nestled the charming old thatched
cottages which formed the village. The church, the mother church of
Liverpool, was a landmark for miles, and amid its rustic and rural
surroundings was picturesque and romantic. Near at hand were Skirving's
nursery gardens, quite celebrated in their time.
The southern end of the town preserved its suburban aspect for a much
longer period. Aigburth Road and its great elm trees remained untouched
by the builder of cottages until quite recent times. Prince's Road was
made in 1843, and was margined on either side by fields, which for long
years remained in a more or less ragged condition, some of the land
being occupied by squatters, living in wooden tenements such as we are
familiar with when property lies derelict, past cultivation, but not yet
ripe for the builder.
Aigburth Road and St. Michael's Hamlet retained their charming and
picturesque features until such a recent period that I need not dwell
upon them. Few towns had more attractive and beautiful suburbs; now the
tramways have encouraged the building of small property in every
direction, and suburban Liverpool is almost destroyed. The area
available for residences has always been limited to the east and south,
owing to the proximity of St. Helens, Wigan, Widnes, and Garston. It
would have been a wise policy if our City Fathers had set apart a
sanctuary for better-class houses, from which tramways were excluded,
and thus avoid driving so many large ratepayers to the Cheshire side to
find a home.
My sketch of Seaforth and its neighbourhood would not be complete unless
I say a word about several rather celebrated houses which existed in the
district. One was Seaforth Hall, long known as "Muspratt's folly." Mr.
Muspratt, who built the house, and who lived and at the age of 96 died
in it, had the prescience to see that the sandhills, which he bought for
a nominal price, would some day become a part of Liverpool, and he had
also the enterprise to erect one of the finest houses about Liverpool.
Another important house was Seafield, near Waterloo, the residence of
Dr. Hicks; it was surrounded by a large park. This has since been laid
out and built over, and is now known as Waterloo Park. The third
interesting house was Seaforth House, the residence of Sir John
Gladstone, and where his famous son spent his young days. In the
'seventies Mr. Robertson Gladstone, the brother of the Premier, had a
scheme to modernise the old family house, which his brother, Mr. W. E.
Gladstone, who owned the property, allowed him to carry out. Mr.
Robertson Gladstone was my colleague on the Watch Committee, and he
invited me to go out with him to see the alterations he was making,
which I found comprised the construction of a large circular saloon in
the centre of the house. This was a very fine apartment, but it ruined
the rest of the house, making all the other rooms small and ill-shaped.
The house never found a tenant, and some years after, when Mr. W. E.
Gladstone sold his Seaforth estate, it was pulled down.
When Mr. Robert Holt was Lord Mayor, in 1893, Mr. W. E. Gladstone
visited Liverpool to receive the Freedom of the City. He sent for me to
the Town Hall, and said he understood I was the chairman of the Overhead
Railway, and he wanted to know where we had placed our station at
Seaforth. I told him it was on the south side of the old Rimrose Brook,
and gave him some further particulars. He at once replied, "I remember
as a boy catching what we called 'snigs' in the Rimrose Brook, and from
what you tell me your station is on the north side, and as a boy I
played cricket in the adjoining field, from whence in the far, far
distance we could see the smoke of Liverpool." From enquiries I have
made I find Mr. Gladstone's memory as to the position of the brook was
more accurate than my own. It was a considerable stream and the
cobble-paved highway of Crosby Road was carried over it by a high white
stone bridge. Before leaving the Town Hall Mr. Gladstone asked me if I
knew Seaforth House. On my saying yes, he replied, "What a mess my
brother Robertson made of it!"--alluding to the incident already
mentioned.
Perhaps I may here interpose another recollection of Liverpool's great
son. When the late Lord Derby was Lord Mayor I was deputed to assist him
when my services were required. One day he sent for me and showed me a
letter he had received from Mr. Gladstone expressing his wish to address
a Liverpool Town's meeting on the Bulgarian Atrocities. Mr. Gladstone,
in a magazine article, had recently used strong language in reference to
the Sultan of Turkey, calling him an assassin. Lord Derby considered it
would not be proper for such language to be used at a Town's meeting,
but he added, "Mr. Gladstone was above everything a gentleman, and if he
received his promise that he would avoid strong language he would be
quite satisfied and would take the chair." Mr. Gladstone at once
assented. The meeting was held in Hengler's Circus. It was crowded from
floor to ceiling. Mr. Gladstone arrived with Mrs. Gladstone, and after a
few introductory remarks by the Lord Mayor, Mr. Gladstone rose to speak.
Walking with the aid of a stick to the front of the platform, placing
his stick upon the table, he clutched hold of the rails and "let himself
go," and for an hour and a quarter he poured out a perfect torrent of
eloquence which held the audience spellbound. It was a great oration,
remarkable not so much for what he said, as for the marvellous restraint
he was evidently exercising to avoid expressing himself in the forcible
language which he considered the circumstances demanded. He was much
exhausted after this great effort; Mrs. Gladstone had, however, some
egg-flip ready, which seemed to revive him. This was Mr. Gladstone's
last great speech; it was fitting it should be delivered in his native
city.
There was another house at Seaforth which I must also mention, Barkeley
House, the residence of Mr. Smith, commonly known as "Square-the-Circle
Smith," from the fact of his claiming to have solved this problem. Mr.
Smith was the father of Mr. James Barkeley Smith, who for many years did
good work in the City Council. A sketch of the Seaforth of those days
would not be complete without a reference to Rector Rothwell of Sefton,
reputed to be one of the most beautiful readers in the Church; he drove
down to the shore in his yellow gig, winter and summer, and bathed in
the sea. Another grand old man was Archdeacon Jones, who succeeded his
son as the Incumbent of Christ Church, Waterloo, and who died at the age
of 96. I look back upon his memory with reverence, for he was a charming
man; his presence was dignified, his features refined, almost
classical, and he was endowed with a soft, silvery voice, and, both as a
reader and preacher, he was greatly appreciated. I must mention a
touching little incident. About two years before he died he broke his
leg. I called with my wife to see him; before leaving he begged us to
kneel down and he gave us his blessing, expressed in simple but
beautiful language, and spoken with deep feelings of love and kindness.
I must now revert to my story. The railway from Waterloo to Southport
was opened in July, 1848; it was called the "Shrimpers' Line," and it
was thought it would never pay, as there was apparently no traffic. I
remember, as a small boy, seeing the first train start from Waterloo;
the occasion was a visit made by the directors to inspect the bridge
over the river Alt, and my father was one of the party. The train
consisted of two first-class coaches, and it was drawn by three grey
horses, driven by a man seated on the top of the first coach. Some time
after I saw the first locomotives brought from Liverpool. The Crosby
Road was good enough, but the roads leading from the main Crosby Road to
Waterloo were simply sandy lanes, and along these the heavy lorries,
which carried the locomotives, had to be hauled. It was a work of great
difficulty, as the wheels of the lorries sank up to their axles in the
deep sand.
The railway was opened from Waterloo to Southport for some years before
it was extended to Liverpool. To-day this line is probably the most
profitable part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire system.
In 1849 my father bought a house in Edge Lane, then a very charming and
attractive suburb. After passing Marmaduke Street, Edge Hill, there were
no houses in Edge Lane on the south side until Rake Lane was reached.
Here were the residences of Sir John Bent, Mr. George Holt, and others.
The north side of Edge Lane, from the Botanic Gardens up to Laurel Road,
was fringed with villas, surrounded by large gardens containing many
fine trees, and the houses in this part were large and handsome; many of
them still remain. Among those who then resided in Edge Lane were James
Ryley, William Holt, F. A. Clint, Simon Crosfield, Mr. Lowndes, and
Dashper Glynn. Mr. Heywood lived in Edge Lane Hall, then considered a
house of much importance, surrounded as it was by a pretty park.
The principal events which dwell in my memory as having taken place at
this time are the Fancy Fair held in the Prince's Park, in aid of our
local charities, a very brilliant affair; and the opening of the great
exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park. It was a matter of grave consideration
with my parents if I was of sufficient age to appreciate the exhibition,
but in the end I was allowed to go to London; and I can only say, for
the benefit of all youngsters of 10 and 11 years, that I greatly
enjoyed that magnificent display, and it produced a lasting impression
upon my mind. I recall at this day every detail. The wonderful show of
machinery impressed me most, but the weaving of cloth and the various
industrial processes were all of absorbing interest to my youthful mind,
so much so that on one day I lost my party, and had to find my way back
to our lodgings. Fortunately, half-a-crown had been placed in my pocket
for this contingency, and with the help of a friendly policeman I had no
difficulty.
The building of the church of St. John the Divine, at Fairfield, greatly
interested me, and during my holidays I was taken up to the top of the
tower to lay the first stone of the steeple. When the church was
consecrated in 1854, Bishop Graham, of Chester, lunched at the
"Hollies," my father being the chairman of the Building Committee.
After spending two years at a dame's school at Kensington, I was sent to
the upper school of the Liverpool Collegiate. I was placed in the
preparatory school, under the Rev. Mr. Hiley. From the preparatory
school I proceeded to the sixth class. My career was by no means
distinguished; four times a day I walked up and down from Edge Lane to
school. My companions were Tom and Hugh Glynn; they, like myself, made
but little headway. Dr. T. Glynn is now one of the leaders of our
medical profession, and a short time ago I asked him how it was that we
as boys were so stupid. He replied that our walk of eight miles a day
exhausted all our physical and mental energies, and we were left good
for nothing; and I might add we had in those days little or no
relaxation in the shape of games. There was a little cricket in the
summer, but this was the only game ever played, so that our school-days
were days of unrelieved mental and physical work, which entirely
overtaxed our strength. The Rev. J. S. Howson, the principal of the
Collegiate, was very much beloved by the boys. I was a very small boy,
but not too small for the principal to notice and address to him a few
kindly words; in after life, when he became Dean of Chester, he did not
forget me. His sympathy and love for boys and his power of entering into
their feelings made him a very popular head-master.
At the age of 14 I was sent to Dr. Heldenmier's school at Worksop, in
Nottinghamshire, where the Pestalozzian system of education was carried
on. It was a celebrated school; many Liverpool boys were there with me,
the Muspratts, Hornbys, Langtons, etc., and though we worked hard we had
plenty of relaxation in the workshop and the playing fields, besides
long walks in the lovely parks that surround Worksop, and which are
known as the Dukeries. During these walks we were encouraged to
botanise, collect birds' eggs, etc., and the love of nature which was in
this way inculcated has been one of the delights of my life. The noble
owners of these parks were most kind to the boys. We were frequently
invited to Clumber, the residence of the Duke of Newcastle, who was
Minister of War. The Crimean war was then being waged, and we considered
the duke a very great person; and a few words of kindly approbation he
spoke to me are among the sunny memories of my school days. The Duke of
Portland, who was suffering from some painful malady, which caused him
to hide himself from the world, was also always glad to see the boys,
and to show us the great subterranean galleries he was constructing at
Welbeck; but our greatest delights were skating on the lake at Clumber
in winter, and our excursions to Roch Abbey and to Sherwood Forest in
the summer. The delight of those days will never fade from my memory. We
used to return loaded with treasures, birds' eggs, butterflies, fossils,
and specimens of wild flowers. In the autumn Sir Thomas White always
gave us a day's outing, beating up game for him; this we also greatly
enjoyed; and how we devoured the bread and cheese and small beer which
the keepers provided us for lunch!
We were taken by the directors of the Manchester, Sheffield and
Lincolnshire Railway to the opening of the new docks at Grimsby. The
directors had a special train which stopped to pick up the boys at
Worksop. Charles Dickens was of the party. On the return journey, I was
in his carriage; he gave me a large cigar to smoke--the first, and the
last cigar I ever smoked, for the effect was disastrous.
My school days at Worksop were happy days. We spent much time in
studying the natural sciences; we became proficient in joinery and
mechanics; and there was a nice gentlemanly tone in the school. My great
friend was George Pim, of Brenanstown House, Kingstown, Ireland. We
never lost sight of each other. He entered the office of Leech, Harrison
and Forwood, and became a partner with us in Bombay, and afterwards in
New York; he died there in 1877, at the age of 34. A fine, handsome,
bright fellow; to me he was more than a brother, and his like I shall
never see again. The friend of my boyhood, of my young manhood, my
constant companion; he was a good fellow.
Richard Cobden's only son was at Worksop, a bright, handsome boy. His
father doted upon him, and often came down to visit him, when he took
some of the boys out to dine with him at the "Red Lion"; he was a very
pleasant, genial man, fond of suggesting practical jokes, which we
played off on our schoolmates on our return to school. Poor Dick Cobden
was too full of animal spirits ever to settle down to serious school
work. He had great talent, but no power of application. He died soon
after leaving Worksop.
When at Worksop I distinguished myself in mathematics, and my master was
very anxious I should proceed to Cambridge, but my father had other
views, and thought a university training would spoil me for a business
career. I have ever regretted it. Every young man who shows any
aptitude should have the opportunity of proceeding to a university, but
in those days the number of university graduates was small, and the
advantage of an advanced education was not generally recognised. Life
was more circumscribed and limited, and a level of education which
suited our forefathers, and had made them prosperous men, was considered
sufficient: more might be unsettling. The only thing to be aimed at and
secured was the power and capacity to make a living; if other
educational accomplishments followed, all well and good, but they were
considered of very secondary importance.
Our home life was quiet and uninteresting, very happy in its way because
we knew no other. Our greatest dissipations were evening parties, with a
round game of cards; dinner parties were rare, and balls events which
came only very occasionally. Sundays were sadly dull days; all
newspapers were carefully put away, and as children we had to learn the
collect and gospel. Our only dissipation was a short walk in the
afternoon. Oh! those deadly dull Sundays; how they come up before me in
all their depressing surroundings; but religion was then a gloomy
business. Our parsons taught us Sunday after Sunday that God was a God
of vengeance, wielding the most terrible punishment of everlasting fire,
and only the few could be saved from his wrath. How all this is now
happily changed! The God of my youth was endowed with all the
attributes of awe-inspiring terror, which we to-day associate with the
evil one. It is a wonder that people were as virtuous as they were:
there was nothing to hope for, and men might reasonably have concluded
to make the best of the present world, as heaven was impossible of
attainment. In my own case, partaking of the Holy Communion was fraught,
I was taught, with so much risk, that for years after I was confirmed I
dare not partake of the Sacrament. What a revolution in feeling and
sentiment! How much brighter and more reasonable views now obtain! God
is to us the God of Love. We look around us and see that all nature
proclaims His love, and the more fully we recognise that love is the
governing principle of His universe, the nearer we realise and act up to
the ideal of a Christian life. Love and sympathy have been brought back
to the world, and we see their influence wrought out in the drawing
together of the classes, in the wider and more generous distribution of
the good things of life, and in the recognition that heaven is not so
far from any of us. We see that as the tree falls so will it lie; that
in this life we are moulding the life of our future, and that our heaven
will be but the complement of our earthly life, made richer and fuller,
freed from care and sin, and overarched by the eternal presence of God,
whose love will permeate the whole eternal firmament.
Charles Kingsley was one of the apostles of this new revelation, which
brought hope back to the world, and filled all men with vigour to work
under the encouragement which the God of Love held out to us. It has
broadened and deepened the channels of human sympathy and uplifted us to
a higher level of life and duty.
During my school days I spent several of my summer holidays in Scotland
with my mother, who was a patient of Professor Simpson in Edinburgh, and
usually resided two or three months in that city. One summer holiday I
stayed with old John Woods, at Greenock. He was the father of
shipbuilding on the Clyde. He was then building a wooden steamer for my
father to trade between Lisbon and Oporto. Another summer holiday I
spent with Mr. Cox, shipbuilder, of Bideford, in Devon, who was building
the sailing ship "Bucton Castle," of 1,100 tons, for my father's firm.
The knowledge of shipbuilding I obtained during these visits has been of
incalculable value to me in after life. Another of my summer vacations
was occupied in obtaining signatures to a monster petition to the
Liverpool corporation praying them to buy the land surrounding the
Botanic Gardens, and lay it out as a public park. I stood at the Edge
Lane gate of the Botanic Gardens with my petition for several weeks, and
I obtained so many signatures that the petition was heavier than two men
could carry.
I am glad to think it was successful, and the Wavertree Park has
contributed greatly to the pleasure and enjoyment of the people of
Liverpool, and has been the means of preserving to us the Botanic
Gardens. I think it was one of the most useful things I ever
accomplished.