Brief Biographies of Severn Valley Railway Directors (1852 to 1872)
This article sets out brief biographies of directors of The First Severn Valley Railway Company (1852 to 1872)
There are 20 directors recorded in the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) papers in the National Archives as having served between the dates of 1852 to 1872, some for as little as less than a year and others up to 15 years. They are set out below from the dates of appointment. The minimum qualification was a share investment in the Company of at least 50, i.e. £1,000 – worth £160,000 in today's money. Only 4 could be considered local to the line and most of these had London offices so board and shareholder meetings were held in the capital. The Company rented offices in 31 Parliament Street, Westminster from 1853 to 1858, then at 4 Victoria Street, Westminster until 1868, then used the Great Western Railway (GWR) boardroom at Paddington station for meetings. Under the Severn Valley Railway (Leasing) Act 1860, the West Midland Railway (WMR) Company (successors to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWWR)) had powers after 10 years to purchase the SVR Company. These powers passed to the GWR after absorption of the WMR and purchase was due to take place by 31st December 1871. The GWR had the right to nominate 2 directors from their board which they did by 1867. The Severn Valley Railway Act 1853 specified 7 directors which could be reduced to 5 with a quorum of at least 3 attending.
The Directors and dates during which they served were:
Jonathan Thorp (1852-54) – Born on 9th March 1809 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, his father, Thomas, was a silk manufacturer. Jonathan was apprenticed to a silk merchant in London where he earned good money. In 1847 he was living in Bromley and had an office in Eliot Place, Blackheath. By that time, he had been appointed a director of the OWWR having invested £1,000. He was to purchase £10,000 of shares in the SVR Company becoming the first chairman of the board in 1852. He oversaw the preparation of the first Bill and its progress through Parliament. He resigned after a period of financial difficulties on 19th May 1854 but continued to participate in shareholders meetings. In the 1861 census he resided in Gravesend; he died on 13th November 1874 in Tottenham, London.
Michael Grazebrook (1852-53) – Born on 6th June 1788 in Kingswinford, Staffordshire; by 1823 he was a glass manufacturer, ironmaster and coal merchant in Audnam, Stourbridge and was a steward at Worcester races in 1840. Living at Audnam House in 1847, he became a director and prominent supporter of the OWWR. He was one of the 3 directors of the OWWR who became investors and founding directors of the SVR Company. He served until retirement in September 1853 due to ill-health. He passed away on 24th September 1854 and is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard Oldswinford.
Major Charles William Tyndale RN (1852-54) – Born 1796 in Lambeth, Surrey, the son of Colonel Tyndale of the First Life Guards. He fought for the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War against Napoleon and was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo. He was promoted from Colonel to Major in 1849. He was an experienced railway director of the South Eastern Railway Company (resigned in 1848) and the Norfolk Railway where he was Chairman in 1851 (Peto was also a director). He was elected to the board of the OWWR in January 1851 living at 38 Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park. One of the founding directors of the SVR Company, he died suddenly at the barracks in Gosport on 23rd December 1854 thus ending his directorships.
Sir Robert Pigot MP (1852-52) – Born on 3rd November 1801 at Patshull Hall in Staffordshire, the son of General Sir George Pigot. He was MP for Bridgnorth from 1832 and succeeded to the title. He became a founding board member of the SVR Company but, although re-elected as MP in 1852, his election was declared void after he was accused of bribery. He resigned his directorship later in 1852 and seems to have moved about the country, selling Patshull Hall. The census in 1862 saw him living in Cowlinge, Suffolk; that in 1871 in Folkestone, Kent and in 1881 in Stanmore, Middlesex (with brother-in-law). He passed away in Bracknell, Berkshire on 11th June 1891.
Francis Parker (1852-54) – Born on 19th July 1800 in Manchester, he became a successful merchant before moving to Sydenham Hill, Lewisham, Kent. He was appointed a director of the Great Northern Railway in 1850 before becoming a founding director and shareholder in the SVR Company in 1852 and other railway companies. He resigned his directorship alongside Jonathan Thorp in May 1854 when Morton Peto became a director. He died on 27th August 1862 and is buried in West Norwood Cemetery in London.
William Reed (1852-63) - Born in 1802 in Middlesex, he was a farmer in Lincolnshire (as recited to an SVR Company meeting on 8th October 1852 at Bewdley) before becoming a land owner in south-west London. He became an active director of the London and South-Western Railway (LSWR). It was, perhaps, while he was on a joint working party of LSWR and OWWR directors looking at an extension of the OWWR to London, that he became acquainted with Jonathan Thorp. One of the founding directors, he was also one of the longest serving and hard-working, tendering his resignation at the board meeting on 1st July 1863 due to ill-health. He resided in Hampton Road, Twickenham for his last 25 years.
Colonel George Cecil Weld Forester MP (1852-66) – Born on 10th May 1807 at Willey Park in Shropshire, he was educated at Westminster School. He joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1824 becoming Lieutenant Colonel commanding in 1853, Lieutenant General in 1871 and retired General in 1877. He represented Wenlock in the House of Commons from 1828 until he succeeded to the peerage on the death of his brother in October 1874. The seventh and final founding director, he was a long serving Chairman from 1858 until his resignation was accepted on 30th August 1866. He died on 14th February 1886 with the funeral at Willey Church where he is buried.
Norman Hilton Macdonald (1853-57) – Born in St Pancras, London on 2nd September 1806, he had a distinguished career, gaining a Bachelor in Civil Law, and becoming a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He held a number of Government offices, being appointed Governor General of Sierra Leone in 1846, then Comptroller to the Lord Chancellor’s Department and, on 6th April 1855 appointed to her staff by Queen Victoria. By then he had been taken on as a provisional director of the SVR Company on 1st January 1853 to replace Robert Pigot. He died, suddenly, on 3rd December 1857.
Richard Tull (1853-58) – Born on 15th September 1801 at Crookham House, Thatcham Berkshire where his father had acquired the 1764 property. He became a magistrate for 30 years and a prominent member of the local dignitaries also investing in local railway proposals. He attended his first board meeting as a provisional director (for 6 months) of the SVR Company on 27th October 1853, being fully appointed on 19th May 1854 (when Thorp and Parker resigned). He himself resigned on 20th February 1858 with construction imminent. He passed away at Crookham House on 28th July 1868. Of interest is that the house was acquired by the GWR in 1939.
Sir Samuel Morton Peto (1854-57) – Born on 4th August 1809 in Woking, Surrey, Morton Peto was apprenticed as a bricklayer to his uncle Henry Peto. On Henry's death he partnered Thomas Grissell in building many well-known structures in London, including Nelson's Column and the Houses of Parliament. In early 1834 as a fledgling railway contractor, he built the station at Curzon Street, Birmingham followed by a section of the Great Western Railway for Brunel. In 1844 he purchased Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk as his home. He partnered with Thomas Brassey and Edward Betts on many railway contracts at home and abroad often investing in the Companies and joining the boards. After agreeing to provide security for the parliamentary deposit, he was elected a director of the SVR Company on 3rd May 1854 and Chairman on 19th May 1854. He resigned on 28th July 1857 after overseeing cost cutting measures, prior to submitting a tender for construction with Brassey and Betts. He was made a baronet for his work in the Crimean War. Unfortunately, his business ran into trouble during the financial crash of the 1860s and he died in Tonbridge, Kent in 1889.
William Jackson MP (1854-57) – Born on 28th April 1805 in Warrington, Lancashire, he was the son of a surgeon. After starting work in an ironmonger’s shop in Birkenhead, he became a prominent businessman in the town helping develop the docks and trade with Africa and the colonies. He helped Thomas Brassey in the contract to build the Grand Trunk Railway in Canada. By then he was elected an MP for Newcastle under Lyme in Staffordshire in 1847 and was Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire. In 1865 he became MP for North Derbyshire. He was appointed a director of the SVR Company alongside Peto on 19th May 1854 and lasted until 1857 after Peto resigned. He was appointed to the baronetcy in 1869 and died on 31st January 1876 in Birkenhead.
John Parson (1855-1872) – Born on 18th February 1816 in Launceston, Cornwall, he was the son of Captain Parson RN. He was articled to John Chappell Tozer in Plymouth before joining Messrs Burchell and Kilgood in Parliament Street, London as a solicitor. He mainly worked with railway companies including the OWWR as their named solicitor. He was an investor and appointed a director of the OWWR in 1850 becoming Deputy Chairman. As a friend of Peto he was elected a director of the SVR Company on 15th May 1855. Another long-standing servant, he became Chairman after Forester retired. He was instrumental in negotiations over leasing with the WMR and GWR. His railway interests got him into trouble in 1863 when he was charged with ‘insider’ dealing on shares in the Hammersmith and City Railway (where he was Chairman). It came before the Queen’s Bench on 13th February 1864 where he was let off but his reputation was tarnished. He returned to the south-west purchasing a beautiful house in Teignmouth on 6th December 1874.
John Slaney Pakington JP (1858-67) – Born on 13th July 1826 in the family home at Powick, Worcestershire, his father was John Somerset Pakington and mother Mary Slaney of Shifnal. He was educated at Eton and Oxford, becoming a Justice of the Peace in Worcestershire. He was a shareholder and became a director of the OWWR. He was elected an SVR Company director on 20th February 1858 to replace Norman Macdonald. He was quite active during construction and early operations but resigned at the board meeting on 18th December 1867, having wanted to do so in 1866. Following the death of his wife Diana in 1877 he was ‘unbalanced’, but became the 2nd Lord Hampton residing at King’s End, Worcester. He died in Wimbledon on 26th April 1893.
John Alfred Chowne (1858-71) – Born in Exeter on 22nd March 1796, he followed a career in banking. He was elected a director of the Commercial Bank in London in 1849 (who became one of the four banks to the SVR Company) and also a director of the North British Railway in that year. He was to serve as a director for overseas banks in Australia, Canada and South Africa. In the census in 1851 he was a landed proprietor living at 153 Westbourne Terrace in London close to Wagstaff. He was appointed a director of the SVR Company on 20th February 1858 to replace Richard Tull. He stayed until his death in February 1871 – his banking experience proving very useful.
William Wagstaff (1858-73) – Born in early September 1815 in Warrington, Lancashire to Joseph Wagstaff an attorney. He helped found solicitors Wagstaff, Son and Marsh in Warrington but moved to Liverpool after marriage in 1846. He advised on a number of railway projects as solicitor. Moving to London in the 1850s, he became an attorney at law living at 91 Westbourne Terrace. He was nominated by Thomas Brassey (the largest shareholder) as a director of the SVR Company at the time of tendering and in effect replaced William Jackson. He was involved in the discussions with the GWR directors in 1864 and played an increasing role as matters wound down, lastly as acting Chairman with Parson having moved to Devon. From 1871 he was living at Rhug, near Corwen in North Wales. He died on 11th October 1874 at Plas y Vorod near Llangollen and is buried in Llantysilo churchyard.
John Meeson Parsons (1867-70) – Born on 27th October 1798 at Newport in Shropshire, he was educated by the clergy. He settled in the City of London becoming a member of the Stock Exchange. He took an interest in civil engineering and railways. In 1843 he became a director of the London and Brighton Railway Company becoming an early Chairman. He was also a director of the Shropshire Union Railway from 1845 to 1849. He is more famous for his collection of paintings and other works of art while residing at 6 Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn. Most of his art was bequeathed to South Kensington Museum and the National Gallery. He sought more railway directorships and was appointed to the SVR Company to replace John S Pakington on 18th December 1867. He only lasted for a little over 2 years passing away on 26th March 1870 at 45 Russell Square, Bloomsbury.
William Charles King (1868-71) – Born 2nd September 1807 in London. He was a magistrate and landowner, acquiring Warfield Hall in Bracknell in the late 1930s where he was to live for the rest of his life – substantially improving the property. He was a prolific railway investor, a director of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (subsequently the West Midland Railway) in the late 1850s, and the GWR. He joined the SVR board in 1868 having been nominated as one of the two GWR directors and stayed until the full acquisition by the GWR in 1872, whom he continued to serve. He died on 16th June 1889 at Warfield.
Charles Alexander Wood (1869-72) – Born on 11th November 1810 in Littleton, Spelthorne, Surrey to father Colonel Thomas Wood. He attended Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, becoming both a barrister and a Commissioner for Colonial Lands and Emigration from 1859 to 1874 after War Office service. He was elected a director of the GWR in 1863 and in two years was Deputy Chairman. He was knighted in 1874 for social matters (in particular for the welfare of Brecon inhabitants). He joined the SVR board in 1869 as a nominated GWR director again serving until absorption by the GWR in 1872. He was still Deputy Chairman of the GWR when he died at the Company’s hotel at Milford Haven, South Wales on 7th April 1890.
Francis Lewis Bodenham (1869-70) – Born in 1795 in Disroyd, Radnorshire, he trained as a lawyer becoming an attorney and Alderman serving the City of Hereford. He was Treasurer for the city in the 1850s becoming Mayor twice in 1845 and in 1858. He was a director of the West Midland Railway until 1863 and was asked to become a director of the SVR Company in June 1869 after he had retired but only served until January 1870 – it was, perhaps, a long way for him to travel to meetings in London at his age. He died in Hereford on 11th November 1876.
Thomas Brassey (1871-72) – Born on 11th February 1836 at Stafford, he was the eldest son of Thomas Brassey who was overall responsible for the construction of the Severn Valley Railway (it is clear that he took the key decisions). He was educated at Rugby School and Oxford University and admitted to ‘the bar’ in 1866. He had homes in Park Lane, London and Normanhurst Court in Catsfield, Sussex bought with a large inheritance from his father. He was elected MP for Birkenhead and then Hastings in 1868 followed by Bexhill. He agreed to join the SVR board in February 1871 (his father died of cancer on 8th December 1870 so the son inherited his shareholding). He attended a couple of meetings later that year including issuing a warranty with Wagstaff to allow the sale to the GWR to go ahead. He is more famous for becoming Lord of the Admiralty from 1880 to 1884 (receiving a Knighthood in 1881, becoming a Baron in 1886 and Earl in 1910). He was Lord in Waiting to Queen Victoria from 1893-95. He and his wife Anne circumnavigated the world in his steam yacht ‘Sunbeam’ in 1876/77 collecting artefacts before becoming Governor of Victoria, Australia between 1895 and 1900. He died at Normanhurst Court on 23rd February 1918.
See also[edit | edit source]
- The Severn Valley Railway Company (19th Century) (overview)
- The First Severn Valley Railway Company (detailed history)
- The Severn Valley Railway under GWR/BR ownership
References[edit | edit source]
Article prepared by Chris Haynes, mainly using sources:
- Newsapers mentioned above
- Ancestry UK for census information
- The British Newspaper Archive for newspaper articles.