Richard Potter (businessman)
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Richard Potter (23 July 1817 – 11 January 1892) was a
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
English
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
and businessman investor, later chairman of the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
.


Background

Potter was the son of Richard Potter, the radical non-conformist
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
MP for Wigan, and founding member of the ''
Little Circle The Little Circle was a Manchester-based group of Non-conformist Liberals, mostly members of the Portico Library, who held a common agenda with regards to political and social reform. The first group met from 1815 onwards to campaign for expand ...
''. His uncle was Thomas Potter, the first
Lord Mayor of Manchester This is a list of the lord mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester mayor. The current and 126th lord mayor is Paul Andrews, Labour, who has served Since ...
. His father and uncle were successful businessmen, and investors in John Edward Taylor's new ''
Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' newspaper. Their second formation of the ''Little Circle'' resulted in pressure being brought to eventually pass the
Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...
.


Early life

Richard Potter was born on 23 July 1817 in
Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...
, Lancashire, the son of Richard Potter and Mary Seddon. Brought up a Unitarian, his father held the seat of
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
until 1839, replaced by the Radical party's William Ewart. He then moved the family to
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
, where he unsuccessfully lost the contest to represent the
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
to Maurice Berkeley, 1st Baron FitzHardinge. Richard Potter Snr died in July 1842.


Business career

Called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1840, Potter invested in timber import business Price & Co. in Gloucester, which was a major import dock in the southwest of England.


Price & Co.

From 1849 Price & Co. became involved in supplying timber to William Eassie, who was supplying
railway sleeper A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties trans ...
s to the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway. Eassie's company diversified after the railway boom period, supplying windows and doors, as well as
prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. Some research ...
wooden huts to the gold prospectors in Australia. With the outbreak of the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
in 1854, the Government wanted to provide shelter as winter advanced. Potter suggested sending out similar prefabricated wooden huts to Eassie, to which Price & Co. secured an order for 500 huts from the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, a similar number to those supplied by a contractor in
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
. Eassie's team designed huts to accommodate 20 to 30 men lying feet to feet, with a passage down the centre. The finally produced huts were long by wide, with a single door and window at one end and two sliding windows at the other end. Potter then travelled to France and obtained an order from Emperor
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
for a further 1,850 huts to a slightly modified design. French Army soldiers arrived in Gloucester Docks in December 1854 to learn how to erect the huts. Supply was delayed by the need to transfer the resultant packs from broad gauge to standard gauge tracks, with the last packs shipped from
Southampton Docks The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. After the Port of Felixstowe, ...
in January 1855. After finishing the French project,
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
approached Price & Co. about producing a hospital, as had been agreed between the Government and
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...
. Brunel designed a unit ward to house 50 patients, long by wide, divided into two wards, with toilets and stores. Brunel then designed the 1,000 patient Renkioi Hospital, using 60 of the Price & Co. units. After Eassie Snr had seen the awful state of construction of the British Army huts at
Balaklava Balaklava ( Ukrainian and , , ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklavsky District that used to be part of the Crimean Oblast before it was transferred to Sevast ...
, he sent his son to supervise the construction of the hospital. Construction was being finalised when hostilities ceased in April 1856. In August 1855, the Price & Co./Eassie partnership received a further order from the Government for an improved design of barrack hut. Between September and October 1855, over 6,800 tons of hut kits were shipped direct from Gloucester Docks to Balaklava, to avoid the delay in rail travel to Southampton.


Railways

In 1849, Potter joined the board of the Great Western Railway. An unpopular character, Potter resigned from the GWR board for the first time in 1856. In 1860 he became the first chairman of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, and an investor and director of the West Midland Railway (WMR). When the WMR amalgamated with the GWR in 1863, Potter returned to the GWR Board, quickly elected as chairman. During his period in office he consolidated the GWR stocks, and introduced a superannuation fund for the entire workforce. Potter resigned for a second time in 1865 because the work was preventing attention to his private affairs. The passing of the
British North America Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 3) (),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 1867'' (BNA Act), ...
included the provision for an
Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canada, Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also compl ...
to link with the
Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...
at
Rivière-du-Loup Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city (Quebec), city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the Judicial districts of Quebec ...
. In 1869, as part of his investment in the
Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...
and its proposed recovery after the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he lived in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. He also lived in New York for a period in 1874.


Politics

In 1864, Potter was canvassed as a potential parliamentary candidate for Pembroke Boroughs.


Family

Potter married Laurencina Heyworth, daughter of Liverpool merchant Lawrence Heyworth and his wife Elizabeth (née Aked), on 13 August 1844 at St. Mary the Virgin church in
West Derby West Derby ( ) is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, in the east of the city. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West Derby achieved significance far earlier tha ...
, Lancashire. The couple had ten children: *Lawrencina (1845–1906), who married
Robert Durning Holt Robert Durning Holt (11 October 1832 in Liverpool – 10 December 1908) was an English cotton-broker and local politician. He was Mayor of Liverpool and the first Lord Mayor of Liverpool (1892–1893). Holt was the youngest of five sons o ...
* Catherine Courtney, Baroness Courtney of Penwith (1847–1929), social worker and internationalist *Mary Elizabeth (1849–1923) *Georgina (1850–1914), on 11 September 1873 she married Daniel Meinertzhagen, of Brookwood Park, Alresford, Hampshire, and 12 Tokenhouse Yard, London, he died 5 June 1910 at Brookwood Park. *Blanche (1851–1905) *Theresa (1852–1893), first wife of
Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor Charles Alfred Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor, (3 October 1852 – 30 June 1941) was a British politician who crossed the floor from the Conservative to the Labour Party and was a strong supporter of the League of Nations and of Church of Englan ...
*Margaret Heyworth (1854–1921), who married Henry Hobhouse * Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield (1858–1943), social reformer *Richard (1862–1864) *Rosalind (1865–1949), mother of Kitty Muggeridge. Almost all of Potter's children, in-laws, and grandchildren became well known.


Standish House and The Argoed, Penalt

The family initially lived at Hempsted, Gloucestershire. From 1853, Potter leased
Standish House Standish may refer to: Places England * Standish, Greater Manchester, a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan ** Standish Hall, a demolished estate and country house * Standish-with-Langtree, a former urban district of Lancashire * Standish ...
and the surrounding of grounds, located in
Standish, Gloucestershire Standish is a small village and civil parish in the Stroud (district), Stroud non-metropolitan district, local government district in Gloucestershire, England. The village is north-west of Stroud, on the B roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain ...
, from James Dutton, 3rd Baron Sherborne. The Potter family moved into the house, and the couple's later three daughters and their son were born there. Potter developed the gardens along managed
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
principles, building extensive heated
greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...
s to allow the family to eat well. It eventually provided a ready supply of grapes, plus a dedicated
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...
house and
watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Eurasia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetabl ...
beds. A drilled spring provided a steady year round stream, which was landscaped to provide a pond by construction of a brickwall dam. Beneath the dam there was an ice store, allowing year roud supplies of ice. In 1865, Potter bought, The Argoed, a 17th-century house at
Penallt Penallt (also spelled Penalt) is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated high on a hill south of Monmouth. In the centre of the village, by the village green, stands the 17th-century village pub, the Bush Inn. Description Nearby, ''Penallt ...
, Monmouthshire.


Death

In 1882, Lawrencina died and the remaining family members moved out of Standish House. Richard moving to Box House in
Minchinhampton Minchinhampton is a Cotswold Hills, Cotswolds market town and a civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Est ...
, where he died on 1 January 1892.


References


External links


Brief notes @ stanford.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Richard People from Ashton-under-Lyne British railway pioneers English expatriates in the United States 1817 births 1892 deaths
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
19th-century English lawyers 19th-century English businesspeople