the _old_ Birmingham Banking Company. In this capacity he was no
doubt the means of introducing a large amount of profitable business.
Unfortunately for the company, the manager of the branch establishment
at Dudley made enormous advances to an ironmaster in that locality.
The amount at length became so large that the directorate became
alarmed, and deputed their chairman, Mr. Shaw, to see what could best
be done for the interests of the bank. Mr. Shaw took the matter in
hand. There was a good deal of secrecy about his manner of treating
the matter, and eventually some of his colleagues on the direction
were suspicious that he was making use of his position in the bank for
his own advantage. He was called upon to show his private account with
the concern in question, to which he gave an unqualified refusal. His
colleagues intimated to him that he must either do so or resign. The
next post brought his resignation. Offering no opinion either way,
but looking at the transaction as an outsider, I think it was an
unfortunate business "all round." The bank lost money, and eventually
collapsed, but I fully believed then, and I always shall believe, that
if Charles Shaw had been at the helm, the bank never would have closed
its doors. I believe he had energy enough, and influence sufficient,
to have averted that great calamity; and I am firmly of opinion that
the company had sufficient vitality to have overcome the drain upon
its resources, and that it might at this moment have been in vigorous
existence.
Many amusing stories are current as to Mr. Shaw's shrewd and keen
transactions, and of cases where he himself was overreached. One of
the best of these he used to tell with much humour.
When the Great Western Company cut through Birmingham, for their line
to the North, a cemetery, pretty well filled, was on the route they
selected. It was the Quakers' burial place, adjoining Monmouth Street,
exactly where the Arcade commences. Mr. Shaw, being a director,
negotiated the purchase of many Birmingham properties. This burial
ground was one, and the Quaker community had for their agent a very
shrewd spokesman. Shaw and he had a very tough fight, for the Quaker
drove a hard bargain. At length terms were settled, and a memorandum
signed. The negotiations had then lasted so long, that the contractors
were waiting for this plot of land to go on with the work. Mr. Shaw
therefore asked for immediate possession. "Oh, no, friend Shaw," said
the Quaker, "not until the money's paid." This caused further delay,
and annoyed Shaw. Preliminary matters being settled, the money was
eventually handed over, and Shaw obtained the keys. The next day the
Quaker appeared and said, "Now, friend Shaw, as everything is settled,
I am come to arrange for the removal of the remains of our friends who
are buried there." "Don't you wish you may get it?" said Shaw; "we've
bought the freehold; all it contains is our property, and we shall
give up nothing." This was a surprise, indeed, for the Quaker. He had
nothing to say as to the position Shaw had taken up, and he had to
submit to the modification of many stringent conditions in the deed of
sale, before Shaw would give way.
Such, sketched in a hasty manner, is an attempt to portray the
apparently contradictory character of Charles Shaw. It may be a
failure; but it, at least, is an honest endeavour. Such men are rare,
and the ability to translate into words their peculiar mental
workings is rarer still. I, however, shall be bold to say that if few
Birmingham men have had so many failings, none probably have possessed
so much commercial courage and ability.
Soon after his retirement from the Board of the Birmingham Bank,
he had a slight attack of paralysis, from which he never properly
recovered. Others followed at intervals, with the result that his
fine physique was completely broken up. In the first week of December,
1864, I spoke to him on the platform of the Great Western Railway at
Snow Hill. He was being half carried to the train, on his way to
the sea-side. He never returned to Birmingham, but died at Brighton,
January 4th, 1865, being 73 years of age. He was buried in the
Churchyard of St. George's, Great Hampton Row.
ROBERT WALTER WINFIELD, J.P.
Mr. Joshua Scholefield, who had represented Birmingham from its
incorporation in 1832, having been elected five times, died somewhat
unexpectedly in July, 1844. The Liberal party in the town was then
in a somewhat disorganised condition, and there was considerable
difference of opinion as to the choice of his successor. A large
majority was disposed favourably towards his son, Mr. William
Scholefield. The more advanced section of the party was of opinion
that the many services of Mr. Joseph Sturge to the Liberal cause were
such as to entitle him to a place in Parliament. Neither section
of the party would give way. The Conservatives, who had previously
contested four elections unsuccessfully, in two of which Mr. Richard
Spooner had been the candidate, saw that the divided ranks of
their opponents gave them a better chance of success than they had
previously had, and they brought forward Mr. Spooner again. This
time he was successful, the result of the poll being that Mr. Spooner
received 2,095 votes; Mr. W. Scholefield, 1,735; and Mr. Sturge, 346.
I was living in London at the time, but had arranged to spend a few
days in August with a friend at Edgbaston. He was a Conservative, and
I a Liberal; but before I came down he had taken a ticket in my name,
which entitled me to be present at the only purely Conservative dinner
at which I was ever present. It was given at the Racket Court Inn, in
Sheepcote Street, by the Conservative electors of Ladywood Ward, to
celebrate Mr. Spooner's return.
[Illustration]
By virtue of my introduction, and in deference to me as a stranger,
I was placed near the chairman at table. He was a man of singularly
bland and kindly manners, and there was a frank and manly modesty in
his style that attracted my notice at once. In simple but appropriate,
in unaffected yet dignified, phraseology, he went through the usual
"loyal and patriotic" toasts. When it came to the toast of the day,
he rose and congratulated the company upon the triumph of those
principles which they all conscientiously believed to be right and
true. There was no exultation over a discomfited foe. There ran all
through the speech a benevolent and friendly feeling for both of the
defeated candidates. Still, there was the outspoken feeling of intense
gratification that the cause which he supported had been victorious. I
have seldom listened to a speech where joy for a victory was so
little mixed with exultation over the vanquished. In fact, although
I differed altogether from the speaker in politics, I felt that the
speech was that of a man devoid of all bitterness, whose kindness of
spirit led him to rejoice, not over the defeat of his opponents, but
at the success of his own cause. Tie speech was in excellent taste
from beginning to end.
The chairman was Robert Walter Winfield, and this was the first time
I had met him. His singular courtesy to myself, as a stranger, I shall
never forget. His perfect self-possession, when some of the company
became a little too demonstrative, kept the table in perfect order.
When he retired, my friend took his seat, and slily poured me a glass
from Mr. Winfield's decanter. I found then, that during that long
afternoon he had taken nothing but toast and water, which had been
prepared to resemble sherry, and which he had taken from a wine-glass
as if it were wine.
I cannot say that I ever became very intimate with Mr. Winfield,
although we knew each other pretty well; but limited as my means of
acquaintanceship were, I watched his life with interest, because he
struck me always as being one of the very few men I have known, who
have been able to bear great success without becoming giddy with the
elevation; who have gone through life modestly and without assumption;
and who have won thereby the esteem of all those whose esteem has been
worth caring for.
Robert Walter Winfield was descended from an ancient family, which
had been settled in Leicestershire for several generations. His
grandfather, Edward Winfield, came to Birmingham about the middle of
the last century, and resided in a large house, on the site of the
Great Western Railway Station in Snow Hill. Here Mr. Winfield's father
was born. He was a man of independent means, but appears for some
short time to have been engaged as a merchant. He married a lady from
Loughborough, named Randon, and built for his own occupation the house
in the Hagley Road, Edgbaston, now occupied by Mr. Alfred Hill, the
son of the late eminent Recorder of Birmingham, Matthew Davenport
Hill. The house is now called "Davenport House." It was, I believe,
the first house erected on the Calthorpe estate. In this house, in
April, 1799, Robert Walter Winfield, the third son, was born. His
father died in his childhood. After his education was complete,
his mother placed him with Mr. Benjamin Cooke, whose name as a
manufacturer is still remembered in Birmingham. Mr. Winfield's mind,
being a peculiarly receptive one, readily grasped all the details of
the business, and he soon wished to enter life on his own account. His
trustees having great faith in his prudence and industry, advanced
him the necessary capital, and he commenced business before he was
twenty-one years of age. Just at the bend which Cambridge Street takes
to arrive at the Crescent, there is a stuccoed building, almost hidden
by the lofty piles around it. In this building he started on his
commercial career, and in these works he continued to carry on his
business until his death, some fifty years afterwards.
Beginning in a comparatively small way, he started with a strict
determination to conduct his business upon thoroughly honest and
truthful principles. He had the sagacity to see that the surest way
to success was to gain the confidence of his customers, and he firmly
held through life to the system of rigid adherence to truth; to the
plan of always making _honest_ goods; and to the avoidance of every
kind of misrepresentation as to the quality of his wares. He used to
say that all through his long and successful business career he never
lost a customer through misrepresentation on his part, and that
he generally found that one transaction with a fresh man secured a
permanent customer.
Another leading principle in his business programme was to employ
the best workmen he could find, and the highest talent for superior
offices he could secure. He probably paid higher wages and salaries
than any manufacturer in the district. This proved to be wise economy
in the long-run, for his goods became famous for excellence in design
and workmanship, and were sought and prized in every market of the
world.
As his business fame increased, the development of his trade became
enormous. Pile after pile of extensive blocks of buildings rose, one
after another, on ground adjoining the original manufactory, until at
length the entire establishment covered many acres of ground. Many of
these buildings were five or six storeys high. The machinery and tools
were all of the very best quality that could be obtained, and use
was invariably made of every suitable scientific appliance as soon as
discovered. For many years Mr. Aitken, whose name in Birmingham will
always be remembered in connection with Art, was at the head of the
designing department of the works. His correct knowledge and wonderful
skill in the application of correct principles of form and colour
to articles of manufacture for daily use, raised the fame of Mr.
Winfield's house as high, artistically, as it was for excellence of
material and workmanship.
Mr. Winfield was one of the first, if not the very earliest, to apply
the stamping process to the production of cornices, cornice-pole ends,
curtain bands, and other similar goods. The singular purity of colour
which, by skilful "dipping" and lacquering, he was able to produce,
at a period when such matters were little attended to, secured for his
goods a good deal of admiration and a ready sale. At the time of the
great Exhibition of 1851, the goods he exhibited obtained for him the
highest mark of approval--the Council Gold Medal. The Jury of Experts
reported, in reference to his brasswork, that, "for brilliancy of
polish, and flatness and equality of the 'dead' or 'frosted' portions,
he stood very high; and that in addition to very perfect workmanship,
there frequently appeared considerable evidence of a feeling for
harmony and for a just proportion and arrangement of parts." It is
also mentioned that "in the manufacture of metallic bedsteads he has
earned a deservedly high reputation."
In addition to his brassfoundry trade, he gradually added the
manufacture of brass, copper, and tin tubing, gas-fittings and
chandeliers, iron and brass bedsteads, ship's fittings, brass fittings
for shop fronts, and general architectural ornamental metal work of
all kinds. He afterwards purchased the large establishment near his
own works, called the Union Rolling Mill, where he carried on a very
extensive wholesale trade in rolled metals of every kind, and brass
and copper wire of all descriptions; and he was, for forty years,
largely engaged in the coal business.
For a very long period Mr. Winfield was the sole proprietor of the
extensive business he had created. He was assisted by his only son,
Mr. John Fawkener Winfield, whose promising career was cut short by
untimely death. This was a blow from which Mr. Winfield never entirely
recovered. He soon afterwards took into partnership his relative, Mr.
C. Weston, and his old confidential clerk, Mr. J. Atkins. His health
began to fail about this time, and he retired from the active control
of the concern, retaining, however, his position as head of the firm
until his death.
His marvellous success did not arise altogether from brilliant mental
qualities. I am disposed to attribute it to higher reasons. It seems
to me that his high moral sense of integrity and right, and the
benevolence of his character, had more to do with it. These led him
constantly through life to give his customers excellence of quality in
the goods he made, combined with moderation in price. In the execution
of a contract he always gave better rather than inferior goods than
he had agreed to supply. He would never permit any deterioration
of quality either in material or workmanship. Where his competitors
sought to reduce the cost of production, so as to enable them to
sell their goods cheaper, his ambition led him to raise and improve
quality. The fact of his goods being always honestly made, of good
materials well put together, gave him the preference whenever articles
of sterling excellence were required. He was one to whom the stigma
implied in the term "Brummagem" would not apply, for he consistently
carried out principles of integrity in business, and so earned for
himself the right to be held up as a type of a high-minded, upright,
conscientious English merchant.
But he had a higher and a nobler mission than that of mere
money-getting. He was a practical philanthropist. Quietly, modestly,
unostentatiously, "he went about doing good." Placed in a position of
command over many young people, he, early in life, recognised the fact
that his duty to them was not fully done when he had paid them
their wages. He resolved to do his best to raise them, mentally and
socially. In this he was so successful, that at this moment there are
many men occupying positions in life unattainable by them but for his
assistance. There are clergymen, merchants, musical professors, and
others, who began life as boys at Winfield's; and there are probably
some scores of large manufactories now in active operation in the
town, the principals of which, but for Mr. Winfield's large-hearted
and practical provision, would have remained in the ignorance in which
he found them.
Some thirty or forty years ago there was, nearly opposite the
manufactory in Cambridge Street, a long, low, upper room, which was
used as a place of worship by a small body of Dissenters, and was
called Zoar Chapel. Mr. Winfield became the tenant of this place for
week-day evenings, and opened it as a night-school for the boys in his
employ. In order to secure punctuality of attendance, he made the rule
compulsory that every boy in the factory under eighteen years of age
should attend this school at least three times a week. There was ample
provision made for teaching, and no charge was made. The proceedings
each night opened with singing, and closed with a short prayer. Once a
week regularly, Mr. Winfield, Jun., held a Bible Class. Occasionally,
too, the father would do so, and he frequently attended and delivered
a short and simple address. Many parents eagerly sought employment for
their children at the works, that their sons might secure the benefit
of the school, and Mr. Winfield soon had the "pick" of the youths of
the town. The school attendance grew rapidly, and the little chapel
was soon found too narrow. Larger premises were taken, and a class for
young men was established. This class Mr. J.F. Winfield--then rapidly
rising to manhood--took under his own charge, while the juniors were
under the care of voluntary teachers.
So beneficial in every way was the little institution found to
be, that it was resolved to develop it further. Mr. John
Winfield--inheriting his father's practically benevolent
spirit--matured a plan, and requested his father to celebrate his
coming majority by carrying it into effect. This was done, and the
handsome school-room which now occupies a central position in the
works was erected. Upon this building, including the cost of an organ
and of the necessary fittings, Mr. Winfield spent no less than L2,000.
The instruction was no longer left to voluntary effort. A properly
qualified schoolmaster was engaged, and the Government Inspector was
requested to pay periodical visits. Drawing was made a special feature
of the instruction, and the successful pupils in this class received
Government rewards. Music also was taught. In fact, the school became
a model of what an educational establishment should be. Once every
year--on Whit Thursday--there was a _fete_ at The Hawthorns, to which
the scholars were invited. These gatherings were looked forward to
with much pleasure, and few were absent. Music was provided, and
appropriate addresses were delivered. Sumptuous hospitality was shown,
and every effort was made to make these occasions socially enjoyable
and morally beneficial. The prizes and certificates of proficiency
were distributed in the school-room, at Christmas, in the presence of
the whole of the _employes_ of the establishment.
The school soon obtained more than local fame, and was visited
from time to time by distinguished persons. At the time of the
establishment of the Institution of Social Science, when the great
Lord Brougham delivered his magnificent inaugural oration in the Town
Hall, he was the guest of Mr. J.F. Winfield, and visited the works.
The pupils and workpeople were collected in the school, and there had
the gratification of listening to some of the wise words of that "old
man eloquent." At this time the average nightly attendance at the
school was something like 250 pupils. No one can calculate the good
that has resulted from the establishment of this institution. No one
can tell the feeling of gratitude that still rises in the minds of
hundreds of well-to-do people for the benefits they there received.
It has been very gratifying to me on many occasions to see in pleasant
villas and cozy cottages the engraved portrait of Mr. Winfield,
occupying a place of honour on the wall, and to hear gray-headed men
say of him that he was the best friend they ever had, and that but for
him they might have remained in the degradation from which he assisted
them to rise.
Mr. Winfield could scarcely be called a public man. Early in life he
served the office of High Bailiff, and was placed upon the Commission
of the Peace. He did not, upon the incorporation of the town, seek
municipal honours, and he rarely took part in political action. He was
a very warmly-attached member of the Church of England, and in this
connection was ardently Conservative; but, although nominally a
Conservative, he was truly Liberal in all secular affairs. He was an
earnest helper in the movement for the better education of the people,
and their elevation in other respects. He certainly always took the
Conservative side at election times, but he never attempted unduly to
influence his _employes_. Indeed, on polling days it was his habit to
throw open the gates of his manufactory, so that his men might have
full liberty to go and record their votes as they pleased. Whenever he
did appear on a public platform, it was to aid by his presence or his
advocacy the cause of the Church to which he was so much devoted, or
to assist in some charitable or scholastic effort.
As a magistrate, he was one of the most regular attendants at the
Public Office. I have seen him there many times, and have frequently
been struck with the thought that when he passed sentence, it never
sounded like an expression of the revenge of society for a wrong that
had been done, but seemed rather to resemble the sorrowing reproof of
a father, hoping by stern discipline to restrain erring conduct in a
disobedient child.
Very early in life he married Lucy, the only surviving child of Mr.
John Fawkener, of Shrewsbury, and took up his residence in a large red
brick house in New Street, which has only lately been pulled down. It
stood nearly opposite the rooms of the Society of Artists. Its last
occupant was Mr. Sharman, professor of music. About the year 1828,
Mr. Winfield built a house in the Ladywood Road, which he named "The
Hawthorns," and here he resided all his life. The neighbourhood
was then entirely open, and from his house to his manufactory was a
pleasant walk amid fields, through the noble avenue of elms that led
to Ladywood House and Vincent Street bridge, and from thence by the
bank of the canal to the Crescent. I often walked to town in his
company, and admired with him the gorgeous apple blossoms of the trees
in the valley now filled up by the railway. We stood together one day
in 1846 or 1847, and saw the first barrowful of soil removed from the
canal bank, near the Crescent bridge, to form the opening which is now
the railway tunnel.
In private life few men have been more generally beloved. He was the
embodiment of kindliness and consideration for everybody. His domestic
servants and workpeople were warmly devoted to him, and many of them
remained nearly all their lives in his service. Only very recently
one of his domestic servants, who had continued after his death in the
service of a member of his family, died at an advanced age,
fifty-five years after entering his household. He was essentially a
"domesticated" man, and his conduct as a husband and father was marked
by unvarying benevolent regard and affectionate consideration. The
death, in 1861, of his only son was the great trial of his life. His
hopes and his ambitions had culminated in this son; and when he was
removed, the father staggered under the blow, and never properly
overcame the shock it gave him. From that time he gradually failed in
health, and retired from active life. Change of scene and release from
labour were of no avail. He eventually became a confirmed invalid, and
on the 16th of December, 1869, he passed away, to the great grief
of his family. His loss was greatly deplored by his domestics
and workpeople, and the whole population of Birmingham joined in
expressions of regret at the loss of one who was so universally
beloved and respected.
He was followed to his grave in the beautiful churchyard at Perry Barr
by the few surviving members of his family, by many friends, and by
the whole of the people employed at the works. The day was a bitter
wintry one, and the rain came down heavily. It was a touching sight;
thousands stood bare-headed beneath the inclement sky, as the body of
their friend was laid to its rest, and, amid sobs and tears, joined
with tremulous voices in singing--
"Earthly cavern, to thy keeping
We commit our brother's dust;
Keep it safely, softly sleeping,
Till our Lord demand thy trust."
CHARLES GEACH, M.P.