Mary Clubwala Jadhav

This week, we take a look at philanthropist Mary Clubwala Jadhav, who we hold material on in the Mountbatten Papers.

Edwina Mountbatten shaking hands with Mary Clubwala Jadhav, 1953 [MS62/MB3/23/4/220]

Biography

Born on 10 June 1909 in in Ootacamund in the then Madras Presidency to Rustom Patel and Allamai, Mary Clubwala Jadhav was schooled in Madras and married Nogi Clubwala at the age of 18. They had a son, Khusro, in 1930. Nogi Clubwala died due to an illness in 1935. He died during a trip overseas, leaving Jadhav in a city she did not know. After Clubwala’s death Jadhav devoted herself to social work and remarried Major Chandrakanth. K Jadav, 20 years after her first husband’s death. He was an Indian army officer who was also working in the same areas of social work. The earlier part of her social work was devoted to orphanages, discharged prisoners’ aid society, children’s aid society, juvenile court, and relief against severe infectious diseases, as well as service to the deaf, blind and mentally impaired. Mrs. Waller started the Guild of Service with the objective of providing welfare to those in need. Jadhav joined them, becoming the Honorary Secretary of the Guild Service (Central ) in 1956. The Guild of Service had branches in many states such as Mumbai, Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Guild of Service operated more than several units related to orphanage, female literacy, care and rehabilitation of the disabled.

Clubwala Jadhav was connected with around 150 organisations throughout India outside India. Her biggest contribution was at outbreak of World War Two. Clubwala Jadhav founded the Indian Hospitality Committee with helpers drawn mostly from the Guild of Service, to provide resources to Indian soldiers, airmen, and sailors. Clubwala Jadhav persuaded women from all communities and walks of life to participate in the objective to organise mobile canteens, hospital visits, alternative therapy and entertainment programmes. The public donated generously to the War Fund initiated by the Hospitality Committee which continued its efforts after the War by facilitating the rehabilitation of ex-servicemen and their families. Clubwala Jadhav took care of the wounded soldiers and assembled a hospitality committee to look after them. After the war was over, the Indian Hospitality Committee was transformed into the Prisoners Welfare and Ex-servicemen’s Welfare Committee. General Cariappa named her “The Darling of the Army”. The  14^th Army staffs were thankful to her and presented her with a Japanese sword in recognition of her valuable services.

She founded Madras School of Social work in 1952, the first school of social work in South India and second in India (after Tata Institute of Social Sciences- Mumbai) with little to no resources. Jadhav founded the Madras State Branch of the Indian Conference of Social Work and later, hosted many all-India conferences in Chennai. She actively worked with the Tuberculosis and City Leprosy Relief Committees and made generous contributions to these organizations. She donated 6 beds to Kasturba Gandhi Leprosy Home in memory of her late husband Mr. N. P. Clubwala. She also worked for Harijan Welfare and established nursery schools for Harijan children.

Mrs Jadhav also sat without break in the Juvenile Court from 1935-1956, being reappointed 15 times. She was also appointed as the Honorary Presidency Magistrate for Chennai and continued till the end of her life. In 1946, she became a Nominated member of the Madras Legislative Council, and two years later, became the first woman under-sheriff of Madras.

She travelled widely in India, Europe and America. She was invited by the American Government to tour the United States as the first voluntary worker from India as a State Guest, in 1951. She led an Indian delegation to the World Assembly of Youth, both in England and America. In 1956, she was the only lady member of the U.N. Correspondents on the treatment of offenders.

She is also the founder of the Seva Sarajam Boys and Girls home, of which Lady Mountbatten sponsored two boys.

 Mary Clubwala Jadhav and Edwina Mountbatten during a visit to Seva Samajam Home for Boys, Madras [MS62/MB3/25/133]

The connection between Lady Edwina Mountbatten and Mary Clubwala Jadhav

Edwina Mountbatten’s interest in social welfare was first sparked during the brink of World War Two in 1939, when she decided to obtain training in first aid and the care of the sick. In the same year she joined the Women’s Voluntary Services and began a six month’s training course at Westminster Hospital. After seeing bomb-stricken China on a brief break from her training, this sign of what may come to Britain encouraged Edwina to join the St John Ambulance Brigade, later becoming its County President for London of the St John Ambulance in November 1939, and in March 1940, for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as well. Edwina’s positions as deputy Superintendent-in-Chief of the entire Brigade from June 1940, and coordinator and commander of all St John Personnel working with the London Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Services marked the start of her lifelong dedication to the help and relief of the suffering of others. During the Blitz Edwina completed tours of inspection of shelters, first aid and medical posts, covering as many as 10 in one night. Edwina made it her mission to improve the sanitary conditions of the make-shift shelters, building up a strong relationship with Minister of Health, Malcolm McDonald. In the 1942 New Year’s Honours she was made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire).

Lady Edwina Mountbatten stood by St John Ambulances and staff, WW2 [MS62/MB5/3/24]

Edwina’s efforts in coordinating voluntary organisations were needed again after the partition of Indian and Pakistan. In the later 1940s she worked for the United Council of Relief and Welfare, coordinating all the major voluntary organisations, who struggled to help the peoples of the Indian subcontinent suffering indescribably following the partition. Along with meeting the leaders of the YWCA, the WVS and Delhi Welfare, she also met Mrs Clubwala Jadhav.

Edwina Mountbatten talking to a man in Willingdon Hospital, New Delhi, India, April 1947 [MS62/MB3/23/4/51]

The folder on Mary Clubwala Jadhav kept by Edwina Mountbatten contains correspondence, programmes, invitations and newspaper cuttings dating 1953-59 documenting their arrangements for meeting up and updating each other on their successes and improvements at the Seva Samajam Home for Boys in Madras. A typical programme set up with input by Clubwala Jadhav would include a reception by Social Welfare Agencies under the Guild of Service and visits to homes, orphanages and schools. Correspondence also covers the provision of funding for families in need in India, with letters from the individuals themselves. In 1954, Clubwala Jadhav invites Lady Mountbatten to the Madras School of Social Work’s first convocation in April 1954, saying the following:

“The Madras School of Social Work hardly needs introduction to you because as one who has interested herself deeply in Social Work and as one who honoured the School by a kind visit in Feb. 1953, I am sure you will remember the circumstances under which it started…I am very happy to say that the School has now successfully completed its first two years of existence and that our first batch of 23 students will be receiving  their Diploma at the first Convocation of the Madras School of Social Work to be held at 5-20pm on Thursday 15^th April, 1954 at the Rajaji Hall.” [Letter from Mary Clubwala Jadhav to Edwina Mountbatten, 1954, MS62/MB1/R53]

The folder also contains letters from the two boys that the Mountbattens sponsored at the Seva Samajam Home for Boys in Madras, named Stanley Surbamanyam and C.S. Kuppuswami. The following quote is from a letter dating 1954 from Surbamanyam:

“Here all my brothers are doing well and they also conveyed their best wishes to your Lordship and Ladyship. Now we are sowing flower seeds in our garden. I have sown balsom and zimia in our groups garden. I like gardening and poultry very much, now that we have hatched R.I.R. [Rhode Island Red] chicks, they are very pretty to see when they play with their mother hen.”

Letter from Stanley Surbamanyam to Edwina Mountbatten, c.1954 [MS62/MB1/R53]

Edwina hears from Kuppuswami in 1957 and writes back to him, expressing her delight that he is doing so well in his studies and that she hopes she has an opportunity to visit to see the fruit he is growing.

In May 1957, Clubwala Jadhav, reports on the establishment of the new Shaligram Village Home, and how it has taken on 30 children, with 20 more coming in. She also reports how the number of Government officials from the various states in India have come to see the activities of the Home and have found the responsibility they give to the children in the running of the Home most interesting- especially their young cabinet!

Letter from Mary Clubwala Jadhav to Lady Mountbatten, 8 May 1957 [MS62/MB1/R53]

The last letter by date in the folder is from Edwina to Mary from 1959, expressing her gladness that the Planning Commission has established a Working Group on Social Welfare for raising the standard of living for all people, which Mary is a member of.

Both ladies continued their hard efforts in improving the lives of people right up until their deaths.

Join us for our next blog that is part of our Celebrating Women series, where we will focus on Holocaust survivor, Marianne Ellenbogen.

Use perspectives: cultural heritage sector placement on Honor Frost

Between February and April of this year Archives and Special Collections we were joined by Ma Xiu, a student studying for a MA in the Archaeology Department, as part of her professional placement in the cultural heritage sector. Ma learned about curation of archival material through her work transcribing the field logbooks of Honor Frost. This material included excavation notes, photographs and correspondence with Frost’s colleagues, in particular her work at Alexandria in Egypt.

I have been working for the Archives and Special Collections department of the Hartley Library at the University of Southampton. I’m focused on materials from one of the archival collections, the Honor Frost Archive (MS439). My main role includes transcribing Frost’s fieldwork reports and other documents, aiming to clarify the context of archival material and enhance its accessibility.

Honor Frost was a pioneering figure in underwater archaeology, noted for her groundbreaking work in the Mediterranean. Born in 1917, she transitioned from a career in art to archaeology, where she applied rigorous scientific methods to the study of submerged historical sites, notably around Alexandria, Egypt. Her contributions set new standards in the field, and her legacy continues through her writings and the Honor Frost Foundation, establishing her as a foundational figure in maritime archaeological research.

Honor Frost

Honor Frost’s contributions to maritime archaeology are particularly evident in her studies of the submerged sites at Alexandria. The reports filed under MS439/A4278/HFA/1/3/3 are a testament to her dedication and keen analytical skills. During her dives in 1968, Frost investigated the underwater ruins at sites like Silsila and Kait Bey, revealing the remnants of ancient structures that might very well be linked to the legendary Pharos of Alexandria or other significant historical edifices. These typewritten reports, painstakingly detailed, provide insights into the methodologies employed by Frost and her team, including stone sampling and careful observation of the underwater ruins’ layout and materials. The documents not only outline the findings from these dives but also include Frost’s recommendations for future archaeological undertakings.

Silsila Site:

Description and Findings: This location contains a complex of ruined buildings, evidenced by the presence of limestone masonry, columns, and other architectural fragments scattered across the seabed. The initial dive revealed the foundation of buildings, with granite and potentially marble components, indicating substantial structures once stood here.

Challenges and Recommendations: The site’s examination was hampered by sea conditions and the lack of adequate diving equipment. Honor Frost recommended the procurement of basic diving equipment for more thorough investigation and stressed the archaeological significance of the site, suggesting that further, more detailed exploration could yield significant historical data.

Kait Bey Site:

Description and Findings: The area shows colossal masonry and orderly ruins, suggesting a single significant building, likely collapsed due to an earthquake. Elements like statues, inscriptions, and architectural orders indicate this could be part of the ancient Pharos or a related temple structure.

Challenges and Recommendations: Similar to Silsila, the exploration was limited by visibility and equipment. The report suggests international interest and potential for excavation could make deeper investigation feasible. However, there are health risks due to pollution, and Frost suggests working conditions need to be improved for any substantial archaeological work.

General Recommendations:

1. Honor Frost recommends international collaboration for the excavation and study due to the potential historical significance.

2. She highlights the health risks from polluted waters and suggests solutions like adjusting work schedules or extending sewer pipes.

3. The necessity of proper equipment and professional salvage firms for lifting heavy masonry and ensuring efficient, safe excavation processes is emphasized.

4. The potential archaeological value justifies the cost and effort of excavation, with suggestions for UNESCO sponsorship and international funding.

Frost and others at the World Congress of Ancient Shipbuilding [MS439/A4278/HFA/1/3/1]

Currently, my work involves the transcription of six field logbooks that document Honor Frost’s fieldwork on the Pharos of Alexandria, recorded under MS439/A4278/HFA/1/3/1. These logbooks include letters, sketches, drawings, and photographs, which make the transcription process more vivid and narrative-driven. At the same time, challenges to my transcription work include the presence of French-language terms, cursive handwriting, and abbreviations.

Front cover of Honor Frost’s Alexandria logbook, 2005 [MS439/A4278/HFA/1/3/1]

The first transcript I produced corresponds to Honor Frost’s field log from her 2005 expeditions and interactions, primarily focused on archaeological investigations in the region encompassing Alexandria, Beirut, and other locations.

 Field Log Structure:

Correspondence: Two Letters between Frost and Dr. Jean-Yves Empereur discuss plans for archaeological site visits and studies, particularly in Alexandria. One letter is from a correspondent named Anne Marie.

Log Entries: Daily entries from 15 to 20 September 2005, describe her activities, visits to archaeological sites, interactions with colleagues, and the logistical challenges encountered, such as obtaining permits for site photography.

Useful information: Information about Alexandria, such as maps, attractions, rental fees and numbers and addresses for academics and institutions in Alexandria.

Colour photograph of a historical map of Port Alexandria [MS439/A4278/HFA/8/3/13/496]

Overall, Karen and Russell’s kindness and enthusiasm made my work in the Archives and Special Collections Department smoother than expected. Reflecting on my experience, I realize the significance of Frost’s legacy that goes beyond maritime archaeology. Her pioneering spirit, blending art and science, continues to inspire and shape the field. This placement has been more than just an academic exercise; it has been a journey through Honor Frost’s life and legacy. It has challenged me to consider the multifaceted dimensions of the past and reminded me of the enduring impact dedicated individuals have in the ever-evolving narrative of maritime archaeology.

Thank you to Ma for all her work and her careful transcription of Honor Frost’s logbooks; this was an important addition to our archival finding aids for this popular and very special collection.

E.M. Almedingen

Martha Edith von Almedingen, known to her friends as Chris, was a British novelist, biographer and children’s author. She was able to read eight different languages: French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, Old Bulgarian, Old Norse and English.

Photograph of E.M. Almedingen, signed “With much love, Chris”[MS15/A4396/9/2]

She was born Marta Aleksandrovna Almedigen in St. Petersburg in 1898, the youngest daughter to a British-Russian woman Olga Sergeevna and her husband Alexander Almedingen. Alexander was a Professor of Chemistry. He abandoned his family in 1900 and they lived in increasingly impoverished circumstances.

Almedingen attended the Kseniinsky (Xenia) Institute for Noble Maidens from the age of 15, an exclusive boarding school in St. Petersburg. She earned the highest honours in Literature and History in 1913. From 1916-20 she read Medieval History at Petrograd University; this was where she earned her first doctorate. She taught English, medieval history and literature, 1921-22, and was made a Member of the Faculty. She left Russia in 1922 and spent some time in Rome.

Advertisement for Almedingen’s childrens’ books, published by Oxford University [MS15/A4012/1/3]

In 1923, E.M. Almedingen emigrated to the UK; she nationalised as a British subject less than ten years later. Initially she worked as a journalist and author. During the war she worked at her local Citizens’ Advice Bureau and also as a tutor. From the 1950s, she was a lecturer in Russian history and literature at Oxford University.

Miss Almedigen lived in London for some years before moving to the country in the early thirties. She later moved to a seventeenth-century cottage in a Somerset valley.

Almedingen’s rural cottage [MS15/A4396/9/1]

Despite her wide range of work from biography to poetry, she became well-known for her children’s novels in particular. 

She died on 5 March 1971 and is buried in Ashwick churchyard in Oakhill, Somerset.

Our collection (MS15) includes notebooks with manuscripts drafts of her work as well as typescript drafts and some correspondence. There are also parts by and about her friends Frances M. Pilkington and Kathleen E. Dickins.

Grace Ford

In the speech for the honorary doctorate that Grace Ford (1896-1981) was granted alongside her husband Professor Percy (Peter) Ford by the University of Southampton in 1974 the University orator spoke of how “like the pharaohs of old, Professor Emeritus Percy alias Peter Ford and Grace, his partner in all things, have decreed their own immortality – their pyramid the Ford Collection of Parliamentary Papers, their obelisk a Guide and dictionaries to unlock it.” [MS1/3/451/659/81]

Professor L. C. B. Gower, Vice Chancellor, conferring an honorary degree on Grace Ford, 27 Apr 1974 [MS1/Phot/39/pr3319]

Percy Ford was the son of a radical dissenter from Hove, Grace Ford the daughter of a draper’s assistant, John Thomas Lister who later became a manager of Nottingham Co-operative stores. Grace Lister left home in her teens to move to the East End of London after being invited to work in Sylvia Pankhurst’s experimental nursery schools. The East End of London was the base for a number of activities and organisations associated with Sylvia Pankhurst including the London branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), the East London Federation of Suffragettes and the Toy Factory and attached nursery where the women employed in the Factory could leave their children there for 3d a day.

Grace Ford, 1922 [MS58/A657/121]

As well as her other work in the East End, Grace Ford’s energy spilled over into working alongside Mary Macarthur and Margaret Bondfield in the National Federation of Women Workers (NFWW). The Scottish suffragist and trade unionist Mary Macarthur (1880-1921) was involved in the formation of the National Federation of Women Workers in 1906. This was “open to all women in unorganised trades or who were not admitted to their appropriate trade union”. Margaret Grace Bondfield (1873-1953), a trade unionist and politician who became the first British female cabinet minister and a privy councillor, met Mary Macarthur in 1902. The two women were comrades-in-arms for a range of women’s causes over the next two decades. Through her work with the NFWW, Grace Ford was instrumental in bringing out the the Cambridge bedmakers on strike in 1916.

Grace Ford seated on porch of house in Massachusetts, 1922 [MS58/A657/121]

Grace Lister went on to study at Ruskin College, Oxford, and it was here that she met her future husband Percy Ford who had been employed as a lecturer. They married in 1921 and the following year moved to Amherst College, Massachusetts, where Percy Ford had been invited to participate in experimental teaching in social sciences and in American worker’s education classes run by the College. Grace was involved in helping with women workers’ classes and with some lecturing. Or, as it noted in the citation for their honorary degrees, “from a Massachusetts base in 1922-3, they spread the know-how of workers’ education – `the most surprising son and daughter (it was written) from John Bull’s domain that have greeted Chicago audiences since the departure of Mrs. Havelock Ellis’.” [MS1/3/451/659/81]

Percy and Grace Fords’ visit to the Irish University Press in Dublin and Shannon, 1968 [MS58/A657/37]

Back in the UK Percy Ford joined University College Southampton in 1926 and began building up the Parliamentary Papers collection that would ultimately bear his and Grace’s name. For while Percy Ford held the academic post at the University, first as head of and then Professor of Economics, it was the Fords together who worked to set standards for scholarship in the classification and analysis of government publications through their series of Select lists and Breviates. In his speech at the official opening of the Ford Collection, the Rt Hon Lord Maybray-King, former Speaker of House of Commons, paid tribute to the “two great servants of Parliament – Peter and Grace Ford”, noting that “theirs has been a joint labour of love. In the field which they chose for themselves, their single-minded devotion, industry and scholarship, remind me very much of another pair who worked in another field – Sidney and Beatrice Webb.” [MS58/A657/90 f.2]

Grace and Percy Ford seated to the left of the Vice Chancellor with other honorary graduands and University officials, 27 Apr 1974 [MS1/Phot/39/p3321a]

Annie Yorke (née de Rothschild, aka Mrs Eliot Yorke)

Annie Yorke (1844-1926) is the subject of the first of our blog posts marking Women’s History Month. Better known as “The Hon. Mrs Eliot Yorke”, she has the distinction of featuring in several of our collections. As a Rothschild she is mentioned in the Jewish collections, as a part-time resident of Netley she appears in the local studies collection and as a member of the Councils of Hartley University College and University College Southampton, she is also found in our University Collections.

Annie Yorke from: Lucy Cohen Lady de Rothschild and her Daughters 1821-1931 (1935) Cope 95 MON

The younger daughter of Sir Anthony and Lady Louise de Rothschild, Annie and her elder sister Constance (later Lady Battersea) spent much of their childhood at Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire where their mother ensured that from an early age, they were aware of their philanthropic obligations. Both girls taught from time to time at the village schools built by their father and later took some classes at the Jews’ Free School in London. Being dissatisfied with a textbook in use, they published their own, History and Literature of the Israelites (1870).

The History and Literature of the Israelites, vol.2 by Annie Yorke (1870) Parkes BZ 1651.F66

Although Constance and Annie were given a sound Jewish education, their social circle was largely Christian and unusually for members of the Rothschild family, they both married out. In 1873, with the reluctant approval of her father, Annie married Eliot Yorke, the fourth son of the Earl of Hardwicke. She retained her Jewish faith but despite this, the depth of feeling at the time is evident in her obituary in the Jewish Chronicle some fifty years later:

“This incident caused great pain to the Jewish community, and Sir Anthony de Rothschild indicated his own sense about the marriage by offering to resign from some communal offices which he held, particularly that of President of the United Synagogue. It is significant that the Jewish Chronicle of the time made no mention of, and entirely ignored, the alliance.”

Jewish Chronicle 26 November 1925

It was her marriage that brought Annie Yorke to Hampshire where Netley provided a base for her husband’s yachting activities. The couple divided their time between their London home in Curzon Street, Netley Castle and their yacht. After only five years, Annie was left a widow when Eliot Yorke died from pneumonia and thereafter she devoted much of her time to good works. She moved to Hamble Cliff, a house adjacent to the Royal Victoria Hospital, and this became her Hampshire base for the rest of her life.

Hamble Cliff from: P. Campion A Recent History of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset (1922) Cope quarto 95

Annie Yorke’s primary interest was in the temperance movement and she was active both locally and on the national stage. At Netley, she set up the White Rose Coffee Room as a base for temperance meetings and other entertainments designed to provide an alternative attraction to Netley’s many public houses. In Southampton she worked closely with Rev. Basil Wilberforce, Rector of St Mary’s 1871-1894, and president of the St Mary’s Church Temperance Society. Local newspapers record the meetings held in the town and events at the White Rose Coffee Room and Hamble Cliff, the latter venues often visited by the distinctively named “Blue Cross Abstainers Cycling Brigade” of which Annie Yorke was the patron. Nationally, she was a member of the British Women’s Temperance Association and then of the breakaway Women’s Total Abstinence Union, serving as its president for terms of three, five and seven years. She was also president of the United Kingdom Band of Hope Union.

From: Hampshire Advertiser 10 June 1893 (Cope Collection microfilm)

Education at all levels remained a lifelong interest. An active member of Hound School Board which was responsible for Butlocks Heath, Sholing Boys and Netley Infants Schools, Annie Yorke was also a member of Hampshire County Council’s Education Committee. Through this she was appointed to the Council of the Hartley University College, later, University College, Southampton, and for many years was the only female member. She is credited with introducing her cousin, Claude Montefiore, to the institution, which proved crucial to its survival and success, Montefiore going on to serve as Acting President and then President from 1913 to 1934. Like many other members of the Council, Annie Yorke was also a benefactor of the College and in 1917 her contribution towards the establishment of a hostel for female students led to it being named Yorke House in her honour.

Extract from University College, Southampton Council Minutes 11 June 1971 MS1/MBK1/5

Locally, Annie Yorke was involved in many good works or as her obituary in the Hampshire Advertiser put it “As president, vice-president, or patroness, Mrs Eliot York was probably associated with more organisations in Southampton than any other woman.” Newspaper reports bear this out. She is recorded laying the foundation stone of the Gordon Boys Brigade Headquarters in 1889 and a memorial stone at the Emigrants Home in 1893, she supported the work of the YMCA, the YWCA, the Travellers Aid Society, the Royal South Hants Hospital, the Eye Hospital and the Soup Kitchen amongst many others. A well-practised opener of horticultural shows and fetes, she was remembered at Netley and Hamble for her support of the local community which included financing a district nurse.

From: Hampshire Advertiser 27 November 1926 (Cope Collection microfilm)

According to the Hampshire Advertiser, “Every religious community, no matter how small, found in her a firm friend” and this included the small Jewish community in the local area. The statement in the Jewish Chronicle, that after her marriage “Although remaining a Jewess, she took no part in communal affairs”, was corrected by her cousin, Arthur R. Moro, in a letter published in the next issue. In this he referred to her support of the Jewish Board of Guardians and the Jewish Association for the Protection of Women and Girls, which had been founded as the Jewish Ladies’ Society for Preventive and Rescue Work, at a meeting at her house in 1885. Her sister, Constance was for many years its honorary secretary, whilst Annie was an active member of the committee of the Sara Pyke Lodging House.

Minutes of the first meeting of the Jewish Ladies’ Society for Preventive and Rescue Work MS173/2/1/1

Away from her charitable works Annie Yorke moved in high society, hosting royal visitors and visiting W.E. Gladstone whilst on a temperance speaking tour.  She took extended cruises each year on her yacht, the Garland, developed the gardens at Hamble Cliff and was an accomplished artist. Whilst the University’s Yorke House hostel is long gone, Annie Yorke’s contribution to local life is commemorated locally by Yorke Way in Hamble.

Palmerston: N is for Newfoundland

As we reach the final letter in our P-A-L-M-E-R-S-T-O-N blog series, what better destination to choose than the beautiful island of Newfoundland?

Map of Newfoundland, Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Vol.1 (1844) [Rare books ff G1019]

Newfoundland is a large island positioned in the north-eastern region of North America and is separated from the continent of America by the straits of Belle Isle. According to the Cyclopaedia; or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Science and Literature Vol. XXIV by Abraham Rees, the island is rather more hilly than mountainous, and as a result of its many large and good harbours, the fishery on its banks is its chief source of wealth. The chief fisheries for green cod are near the coast of Newfoundland.

The primary sources contained within the Palmerston Papers that focus on Newfoundland consist of Foreign Office memoranda on the French claim to exclusive fishing rights from 1842 to 1843, which is what we will be discussing in this blog.

Primary sources on fishing rights in Newfoundland: the problem

Lord Palmerston’s Foreign Office memoranda on Newfoundland begins with a letter from Viscount Canning (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs), dated 16 December 1842. He transmits a despatch from the Governor of Newfoundland, regarding the claim of the French to an exclusive right to every description of Fishery throughout Newfoundland. He explains that the French are making a claim on which a concurrent right of fishing and curing cod has been conceded to French subject of treaty. He wishes Palmerston to lay the despatch before Lord Aberdeen (Foreign Secretary).  Sir John Harvey (Civil Governor of Newfoundland) reports that while the French version of the 1783 Declaration of the Treaty of Versailles states the word concurrence, the English version states the word competition. On 1 April 1843, Addington (Colonial Office), under the direction of Lord Stanley (Secretary of State for War and Colonies), writes that competition must involve interruption and that the party that possesses the right of fishing must possess that right to the exclusion of all other parties. He further writes that Sir John Harvey should be made acquainted with the opinion entertained by Lord Aberdeen as to the exclusive right of the French to fish for salmon and for “every description of fish” on the coasts of Newfoundland to which they have access by Treaty. Even the Queen’s advocate, Dodson, confirms that he cannot see any limitations in the Treaties or declaration that prevent France from having an exclusive right to take salmon and other fish besides cod fish on the coast in Newfoundland.

Primary sources on fishing rights in Newfoundland: proposed solutions

In a memorandum dated 5 September 1843 to the Earl of Aberdeen, Sir Anthony Perrier (British Consul of Brest, France) suggests the present Governor of Newfoundland cede to the French the right of fishing on the Island of Belle Isle, situated between the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland in exchange for this abandonment of all rights in the bay of St George. He further writes that his next step will be to confirm what grounds the French will be likely to treat for a better arrangement of the Fishery limits. He states that he will confer with Captain Fabre, Commander of the French Naval Station at Newfoundland.

Memorandum to the Earl of Aberdeen from Sir Anthony Perrier, 5 September 1843 [MS62/PP/MM/NE/1/38]

Primary sources on fishing rights in Newfoundland: Palmerston’s thoughts

In his notes, dating September 1843, Palmerston explains that Newfoundland and the adjacent islands (apart from St. Pierre and Miquelon) belong to Great Britain, and so consequently, every part thereof and the territorial seas adjacent there to are subject to the Sovereignty of the British Crown. The right of fishing on nearly one half of the Coast of the Island during the fishing season has been conceded to France, by treaties and declaration. The yellow line on the map below denotes that part of the Coast where the French have the right to fish.

The Treaty of 1713, article XIII therefore admitted French subjects to fish and to fly fish on that part of the Coast of Newfoundland which stretches from Cape Bonavista to the northern part of the said Island and from thence running down by the Western Side, reaching as far as Point Riche; but the French are not to fortify any place, nor to erect any Buildings besides stages made of boards and huts necessary and usual for fishing and drying of fish.

The Treaty of 1763 cedes the Islands of the Pierre and Miquelon to France, but no fortifications are to be erected on these Islands. The Treaty of 1783 alters the limits between which the French are allowed to fish, which limits are fixed by this Treaty to the Cape St John and Cape Raye. The declaration signed at Versailles on the 3^rd September 1783 states that His Britannic Majesty will take the most positive measures for preventing his Subjects from interrupting in any manner by their competition, the fishery of the French upon the Coasts of the Island of Newfoundland; and he will therefore cause the fixed settlements to be removed. His Britannic Majesty will give orders that the French fishermen be not incommoded in cutting the wood necessary for the repair of their Scaffolds, Huts and Fishing Vessels. The Treaty of 30^th May 1814 article XIII confirms the abovementioned stipulations by placing the French fishery at Newfoundland upon the same footing as it stood in 1792.

The Law Officers’ opinion in 1835 was that the subjects of France have the exclusive right of fishery on that part of the coast of Newfoundland specified in the 5^th article of the definitive Treaty of Versailles of 3^rd September 1783. The opinion was modified in 1837 to Great Britain having bound herself to permit the subjects of France to fish during the season in the allotted District free from an interruption on the part of British subjects. If there were really good room within the limits of the District in question, for the fishermen of both nations to fish without interfering with each other, then this country would not be bound to prevent the subject from fishing there. According to the report of Admiral Sir P. Halket, this was not practicable. British subjects were precluded from fishing if they cause interruption to the French fishing. There were no limitations according to the legislation the description of fish which the French are entitled to take on certain parts of the Coast of Newfoundland.

The present Governor of Newfoundland suggested as a measure to induce France to abandon the Bay of St George, to admit the French to a participation in the Fishery at Belle Isle, which is a barren rocky island seldom frequented by British fishermen according to Captain Wyvill of Her Majesty’s Navy. Palmerston wrote that the French abandoning the Bay of St George would only remove part of the existing difficulties.

Map of Newfoundland enclosed in letter from Sir Anthony Perrier of 9 September 1843 [MS62/PP/MM/NE/1/39]

Primary sources on fishing rights in Newfoundland: the final proposed solution

Sir Anthony Perrier spoke with Captain Fabre, who believed that a new arrangement needed to be made by means of mutual concessions. By this, he meant in the way of France no longer having rights along the shores from Cape St John Bay to Bonne Bay but in return, having the right to fish along a part of the coast of Labrador, and all that part of the coast of Newfoundland remaining under the stipulations of the Treaty of 1814. This would mean that the salmon fisheries, timber cutting and other branches of industry which have so long been matters of dispute, would become exclusively British.

We hope you have enjoyed our whistle-stop tour of the Palmerston Papers by exploring the papers held on places beginning with the letters contained in the name. Join us in a fortnight, where we will start our International Women’s Month themed blogs, beginning with Mrs Eliot Yorke!

60 years in the city: the University and the City of Southampton

To mark the sixtieth anniversary of Southampton gaining city status, in this Special Collections blog we will look at the development of the University since 1964 and its links with its home city.

The formation of the Hartley Institution, the foundation organisation of the University, was closely linked with Southampton and this was reflected in the illustrations used on the menu for the dinner arranged by the University for the councillors of the newly created city in May 1964.

Menu and toasts for a dinner by the University of Southampton in honour of the council of the City of Southampton, 12 May 1964 [Univ. Coll. LF 788.8]

The 1960s were a time of expansion at the University of Southampton as it embraced the opportunity afforded the Robbins Report of 1963 on higher education expansion. The grand plan for expansion was created by the architect Sir Basil Spence, who designed the buildings on Highfield campus constructed throughout the 1960s. Amongst these new buildings was the Nuffield Theatre, opened by Dame Sybil Thorndyke on 2 March 1964 as part of an arts festival, adding a new cultural venue to the city.

Programme for Arts Festival, 2-20 March 1964, marking the opening of the Nuffield Theatre [MS451/A4337/4/2/1]

Programme for the first autumn season of the Nuffield Theatre, 1964 [MS451/A4337/4/1]

The 1970s saw two further significant developments to the life of the city with the introduction of a medical school at the University and the construction of the Turner Sims Concert Hall.

Following the Royal Commission on Medical Education’s advice to the Government in 1967 that there should be a new medical school established in Southampton, the Board of the Faculty of Medicine came into being in 1970. The Medical School’s first students arrived in October 1971, graduating in the summer of 1976.

Aerial view of the Medical and Biological Sciences Building under construction, c.1970 [MS1/Phot/11/24/1]

The Turner Sims Concert Hall was completed in the 1973-4 session and the opening concert took place on 19 November 1974. The Hall hosted 77 events during the 1974-5 session, of which 50 were lunchtime recitals. Named after Edward Turner Sims, as it was partially funded by a £30,000 bequest from Sims’ daughter Margaret Grassam Sims, the remaining monies for the project were provided by a loan from Southampton City to the University.

Construction of the Turner Sims Concert Hall, 1973-4 [MS373/A3048/4c]

Despite the difficult financial situation, the early 1980s saw a number of positive developments and initiatives. In terms of the Arts, the John Hansard Gallery was opened in September 1980, bringing together the Photographic Gallery and the University Art Gallery with the aim of providing a catalyst for ideas and generating a network of activities. In 1983 the Nuffield Theatre Trust was formed by the University, Southampton City Council, Hampshire County Council and Southern Arts, putting the theatre on a more sound financial footing. The decade also saw the Chilworth Centre for Advanced Technology given the go ahead, marking the first step on the journey for what is now the Southampton Science Park, described as the South of England’s innovation hub.

`Out of this world’ exhibition, John Hansard Gallery, c. 1990 [MS1/Phot/31/165]

The 1990s saw the expansion of the University into new sites across the city with the opening of the National Oceanographic Centre at Southampton Docks, the move of the Arts Faculty, with the exception of Music, to Avenue Campus (formerly Taunton’s College) and the addition of La Sainte Union College. LSU was transformed into New College and became the home for the Department of Adult Continuing Education, enabling the University to provide opportunity for lifelong learning, engage more effectively with the local community and widen participation.

The Duke of Edinburgh looking at the figurehead from H.M.S. Challenger at the official opening of the National Oceanographic Centre, May 1996 [MS1/Phot/5/20/4]

It was also at the end of this decade that the Unilink bus service was launched to transport Southampton University staff and students between teaching sites and halls of residence. This service has subsequently become part of the city wide Blue Star service providing a bus service that is open for everyone to use. 

Uni-link buses, 1990s [MS1/Phot/9/1/1]

The move into the 21st century has seen the University continue its civic engagement role as well as developing and expanding its footprint in the city, including leasing upper floors of One Guildhall Square and taking over the James Matthews building also in Guildhall. 2018 also saw the move of the John Hansard Gallery to a new location in the centre of Southampton, opposite Guildhall Square, adding to the development of an arts quarter in the city.

The University is currently undertaking a multi-million pounds development of its estate, including the development of the Jubilee Sports Centre, a facility used widely by the local community as well as by University students and staff. Amongst the facilities in the newly extended Centre will be a modernised gym with 200 exercise stations, five new sports studios including dedicated martial arts and indoor cycling spaces, and a bouldering/climbing wall.

Jubilee Sports Hall

And 2023 saw a joint initiative between the University and councillors in the region, including from Southampton City, the latest example of the interconnection between the University and the City. The initiative has seen the establishment of a Civic University Agreement which intends to improve the quality of life for people in the city and surrounding areas by connecting communities through culture, education and enterprise. This Civic University Agreement suggests a certain symmetry with the aims of the nineteenth-century Hartley Institution which worked alongside the Southampton council in founding an establishment to provide education and culture to the local community.

Menu for dinner in honour of the council of the City of Southampton, 12 May 1964 [Univ. Coll. LF 788.8]

Palmerston: O is for Ottoman Empire

We continue our P-A-L-M-E-R-S-T-O-N series with ‘O’ for Ottoman, as we take a look through Palmerston’s military and diplomatic papers with a focus on the 1840 ‘Oriental Crisis’.

Illustration from Constantinople in 1828 by Charles Macfarlane, 1829 [Rare Books DR721]

Our first document is a memorandum written by Palmerston in September 1839, recommending actions to be adopted by the British government in response to events that later spiralled into a geopolitical shock that became known as the ‘Oriental Crisis of 1840’:

“19 Sept. 1839

Mehemet Ali [Muhammad Ali, Pasha of Egypt] to be informed that the Five Powers have resolved to support the Sultan [Abdulmejid I – Sultan of the Ottoman Empire] in proposing to him the following arrangement. Mehemet Ali and his male descendants to be appointed by the Sultan hereditary governors of Egypt in the name and under the authority of the Sultan; […] Mehemet Ali to evacuate all the districts and places and parts which he now occupies beyond the limits of Egypt; and to restore the Turkish fleet […].”

MS62/PP/MM/TU/16: Memorandum on measures to be taken against Mehemet Ali, 19 Sep 1839

This memorandum was written in the context of the Second Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–41). Muhamad Ali was nominally only the Ottoman viceroy in Egypt, but since 1805 he had been de facto ruler of Egypt and had been building his own personal power base there for decades. During the earlier Greek War of Independence (1821-9), fought by the Greeks against the Ottoman Empire, Muhammad Ali’s Egyptian forces had come to the aid of the Ottoman Turks and as a reward for this assistance, Ali was promised possessions in Ottoman Syria. When the Ottomans failed to deliver on this, Muhammad Ali’s forces took possession of Syria by force and by 1840 had expanded into other parts of the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia sided with one another to support the Ottomans against Muhammad Ali and his Egyptian forces; collectively they were referred to as the ‘Five Powers’. The European powers had a self-interest in maintaining stability in the eastern Mediterranean and Muhammad Ali’s success in Syria could destabilise the region and even threatened the continued existence of the Ottoman Empire. France and Spain, meanwhile, were sympathetic to Egypt. From 1830 France had been conquering territory in Algeria and was now hoping to increase its influence in north Africa through alliance with Muhammad Ali in Egypt.

In a memorandum written early the following year, Palmerston’s questions on the readiness of British ships in the Mediterranean are answered:

“In answer to Lord Palmerston’s questions on Lord Ponsonby’s despatches nos. 20 and 24, in which Lord Palmerston desires to be informed what instructions have been given to the British Admiral with reference to the contingency of the Egyptian fleet going up to the Dardanelles; the British Admiral has no instructions on that point. And the instructions now in force are sent herewith.

A copy of Colonel Hodges’s despatch reporting reporting Mehemet Ali’s [Muhammad Ali, Pasha of Egypt] intention to go to war near the Dardanelles was sent to the Admiralty on the 14^th February.

The combined Egyptian and Turkish fleet will consist of 19 sail of the line, some of them very heavy ships, besides frigates etc., and it appears in the papers that the British fleet in the Mediterranean, after the departure of the Rodney 92 [HMS Rodney (1833)] and Vanguard 84 [HMS Vanguard (1835)] which are stated to be ordered home, will consist of only 10 sail of the line, supposing the Asia 84 [HMS Asia (1824)] is not also ordered home and is stated.

If any instructions on Lord Ponsonby’s despatches are to be sent to the Admiral, they might be conveyed by a Queen’s Messenger who, if despatched tonight, would reach Marseilles in time for the French Packet to Malta of the 1^st of March.

February 24 [18]40”

MS62/PP/MM/TU/20: Memo relative to Turkish and Egyptian Fleets, 24 Feb 1840

It was not just the threat of instability to trade routes in the eastern Mediterranean that worried Britain and other European powers. Amongst Palmerston’s memoranda on Turkey is a copy of a letter that would be published in an edition of the Allgemeine Zeitung – the leading political daily in Germany in the first part of the nineteenth century:

“Of all the circumstances attending the complications which have for some time past existed in the east of Europe, that which has most surprised us, is the conduct produced by France, for if ever there was a question upon which all good governments in Europe might be expected to unite – cordially together in principle and in action, the Turko-Egyptian question is one.

What is that question? It is neither more nor less than this, first whether a rebellious subject shall be allowed to plunder and finally, to dethrone his lawful sovereign, and secondly, whether for the promotion of his ambitious visions he should be allowed to destroy the balance of power in Europe and perhaps involve the whole continent in a general war. […]”

MS62/PP/MM/TU/21: Letter published in the Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 March 1840

The 28 March, 1840 edition of the Allgemeine Zeitung [MS62/PP/MM/TU/21]

Palmerston’s letter in the Allgemeine Zeitung demonstrates his media savvy, as he engages with the press in order to influence public opinion. In this instance, it was through a German newspaper that Palmerston wished to depict a united front of Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia against the wayward direction France was adopting. In this letter we are given a distinctly negative portrayal of Muhammad Ali, Pasha of Egypt, as a tyrant over his own people and a traitor to his ‘lawful sovereign’ – Abdulmejid I, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Palmerston makes the allegation that Muhammad Ali intended to enslave Greeks during their War of Independence and repopulate their lands with Arabs, in order to elicit high feelings from European newspaper readers against Ali’s conduct; this is despite the fact that the Greeks fought their war against the Ottoman Empire directly.

Abdulmejid I is painted as the victim who has adopted a moderate policy of reform – this is in reference to his Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif, or the “Supreme Edict of the Rosehouse”, which initiated a period of political reform in Turkish history, including promises to guarantee rights to all Ottoman citizens regardless of religion or ethnic group, which Palmerston welcomed in the spirit of liberal constitutional reform. Fear of a wider war and geopolitical instability may have been a sincere concern, but it is interesting that one of the justifications given for resistance to Muhammad Ali’s ambitions was the example it might set in encouraging other subject peoples to rebel against their ‘lawful sovereigns’. Germans or Britons of this period would definitely not have considered a victorious Napoleonic empire over Europe a ‘lawful sovereign’, or indeed the Ottoman Turks as lawful sovereigns over Greece, but imperialism often involves a contradiction, in terms of ‘rights for us, or our friends, but not for them’.

At the same time that Palmerston was busy influencing public opinion he was also working privately behind the scenes, writing to ministers and diplomats, gathering intelligence on the naval prowess of both Muhammad Ali of Egypt as well as the French. In a letter dated 17 April 1840, Palmerston is advised by Lord Minto, First Lord of the Admiralty, on the state of readiness of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, which in the spring of 1840 was not fully manned. Minto advises Palmerston that HMS Vanguard (1835) and HMS Rodney (1833) were not fully manned and that HMS Donegal (1798) is in ‘a very wary condition’.

On 15 July 1840 the Five Powers signed the Convention of London – this offered Muhammad Ali and his heirs continued rule over Egypt, Sudan and the Eyalet of Acre in return for an end to hostilities; the same basic terms as outlined in Palmerston’s memoranda of September 1839.

Muhammad Ali, apparently backed by France, refused this offer but the French subsequently declined to be drawn into open conflict with the other European powers. When Austria and Britain began successful military actions in aid of the Ottomans in September 1840, Muhammad Ali and the Egyptians withdrew from Syria, the Hijaz, the Holy Land, Adana and Crete and handed back the Ottoman naval fleet, which had defected to join the Egyptians in June 1840. Muhammad Ali and his heirs were granted the right to rule over Egypt and Sudan and Ali accepted the Convention of London on 27 November 1840.

Frontispiece from The History of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire by Sir Paul Rycaut, 1686 [Rare Books Hartley Coll. DR424]

Palmerston: T is for Tuscany

As we continue into the winter months, what better way to feel warm than to head to Tuscany for the letter T of Palmerston in this blog.

Henry John Temple, Third Viscount Palmerston, Illustrated Times, 11 Apr 1857 [MS62/MB6/P18]

We will begin by discussing the state of Tuscany in the 1830s and the early 1840s, and then take you through some of the main series of primary sources within the Palmerston Papers relating to Tuscany.

State of Tuscany in the 1830s and 1840s

From 1831 to 1848 the peace enforced on Italy favoured economic development, which came in varying degrees everywhere except in the south. In Tuscany banking and commerce flourished, especially via the port of Livorno. Throughout the country the construction of a railroad network, beginning in the 1840s, heightened commerce and gave rise to additional industries.

Palmerston remained above all concerned to uphold the balance of authority among the great powers as established in the Treaty of Vienna. As reforming movements built strength in the dependent or neighbouring states of Austria and Russia, notably in Poland, Germany and Italy, Palmerston intensified his ‘moral’ challenge to the autocratic powers, as stated by David Brown in Palmerston: A Biography.

“Florence from the Cascina”, The Landscape Annual for 1832, ‘The Tourist in Italy’ by Thomas Roscoe, 1832 [D919], p.29.

Primary sources on Tuscany

The Palmerston Papers contain some interesting series of primary sources on Tuscany, including draft despatches and general correspondence with British Diplomats in Tuscany, and correspondence with the Honorary George Edgcumbe and Honorary Peter Campbell Scarlett, secretaries of the British Legation at Tuscany.

Label found in the drafts of despatches to British diplomats in Tuscany [MS62/PP/BD/TU/130A]

The draft despatches largely cover controversial appointments made by the Pope in Rome to a vacant canonry of the Cathedral church at Malta, and the request to remission of punishment for murder. They also explain the intentions of the Papal Government to cede to the Grand Duke of Tuscany a portion of the Papal states, providing His Royal Highness takes on the debts and financial engagements of the Roman Government. Palmerston writes in his response to Ralph Abercrombie, later second Baron Dunfermline, British minister resident in Tuscany, 1835-1838, that this will “contribute greatly to the welfare and happiness of the population which would be transferred to the Dominion of the Grand Duke”. [Despatch to Ralph Abercrombie, later second Baron Dunfermline, August 1837, MS62/PP/BD/TU/129]

Further correspondence between Abercrombie and Palmerston can be found in the General Correspondence series of the Palmerston Papers, which covers matters between Tuscany and Sardinia. While Abercrombie informs Palmerston of the King’s readiness to conclude the defensive alliance with Tuscany and Rome, he also reveals his hope that the change of government will produce much good:

“The late ministers had permitted all authority to escape from them, and the country was fast falling into confusion for the want of some firm and judicious minds to set things to rights… The King has decided to seek his ministers from those who have public confidence… and who, by their previous conduct, have a right to count upon the frank and cordial support of the liberal party in this country, in helping them to preserve order, and to repress the violence of the radicals, who desire only to create anarchy in the hope of making a nest for themselves”. [Letter from Ralph Abercrombie, later second Baron Dunfermline, to Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston, 8 March 1848, MS62/PP/GC/AB/117]

In his response Palmerston assures Abercrombie that he is quite right in pushing the Sardinian government to form a league with Tuscany and Rome, stating that “the more Italy can unite its separate parts into one common system, commercial and political, the better… Now that France has broke loose, the King of Sardinia must bless his stars that he gave way in time.”

Letter from Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston to Ralph Abercrombie, later second Baron Dunfermline, 21 March 1848 [MS62/PP/GC/AB/269]

The letters from Honorary George Edgcumbe, secretary of the British Legation at Tuscany, to Palmerston provide great amusement. Edgcumbe protests of the squabble taken place between Mr Abercrombie and his wife and himself and his wife, which all started when “Mr Abercrombie suddenly dropped my wife’s acquaintance, and even ceased bowing to her in the streets” [MS62/PP/GC/ED/2]. This led Edgcumbe to believe that his wife may have said something imprudent and injudicious about his associates. His wife had sent her apologies via a message through a third person, but Mr Abercrombie proceeded to no longer allow Mrs Edgcumbe to present the English ladies at Court.

In his response, Palmerston explains that the matter could have easily been dealt with by the good offices of friends and private communication on the spot and states:

“Pray remember that the credit and character of the mission and of the Government which it represents will be seriously affected by any recurrence of such bickerings.”

Letter from Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston, to Hon George Edgcumbe, secretary of the British legation at Tuscany, 7 December 1836 [MS62/PP/GC/ED/6]

In contrast to Edgcumbe’s correspondence, Hon. Peter Campbell Scarlett reports of issues of a more serious nature, reporting that the Pope in Rome was very unpopular amongst the public as a result of not yet removing from power the legates in the Provinces known to be attached to the system, who were adopted by his predecessor. Campbell Scarlett further reports that robberies and murders are on the increase in Bologna, to the extent that inhabitants demand provision to form an armed patrol to defend property and life. There have also been rumours that there is some secret arrangement in existence for the protection of the Italian courts in case of a rising in these countries.

Hon. Peter Campbell Scarlett, secretary of the British legation at Tuscany, to Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston, 8 November 1846 [MS62/PP/GC/SC/8]

We hope you have enjoyed your whistle-stop tour of primary sources on Tuscany that can be found in the Palmerston Papers. Join us in a fortnight, where we will be exploring the Ottoman Empire using sources from the Palmerston Papers.

Palmerston: S is for Southampton

We believe that our exports are much diminished and the progress of commerce retarded from the want of this direct communication with the manufacturing districts. The former attractions of Southampton are now gone and our struggle is to arrive at some importance as a commercial port.

[MS62/BR114/9/23]

Thus writes Joseph Lankester to Lord Palmerston in July 1845, advocating the projected Manchester to Southampton railway. “I understand”, he continues, “that the line is intended to pass thro’ a portion of your Lordship’s property which Mr W[alkinshaw] stated will be effected in an unobjectionable manner”: they are “exceedingly anxious” to secure Palmerston’s approval of the scheme.

Map of Hampshire and surrounding area showing existing and proposed railways, 1835 [MS 62/BR201/8]. The London to Southampton Railway already sanctioned by Parliament, and in an advanced state of progress is shown in yellow. It opened in 1840, was the first railway in Hampshire and was soon renamed the London and South-Western Railway. The construction of the Great Western Railway, completed in 1841, was masterminded by the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This is shown in green. The Basing to Bath Railway, indicated in red on the map, was rejected.

And so, for our seventh blog in the P-A-L-M-E-R-S-T-O-N series we look at S for Southampton and, in particular, the development of its railways.

The first successful railway locomotive train ran in 1804 and Stephenson’s Rocket was designed in 1829. The world’s earliest recognizably modern inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&M), opened in 1830; and by 1840 railway mania was upon the country. The many people who supported the railways recognised how important they could be in developing the trade and industrial capabilities of British towns. While the port of Southampton had excellent trade connections to Europe and the wider world, before the advent of the railway, links by land to London were poor. 

When the Southampton Council meet to discuss the intended railway between Manchester and Southampton, it resolved unanimously:

That a direct line of Railway connection between Southampton and Manchester such as is proposed by the Southampton and Manchester Railway Company is calculated essentially to promote the interests of the town and port of Southampton, the neighbouring towns and districts the rich agricultural counties through which it will pass, and afford to the great manufacturing districts, the most direct communication with the English Channel, the Mediterranean, and all parts of the East and West Indies.

That this Council will therefore to the utmost of its power support the general features of the undertaking, and that a counsellor be appointed to take such measures as may be most calculated to promote the object and secure the particular interests of Southampton connected therewith.

Report of a meeting of the Borough Council in Southampton, 30 July 1845 [MS6/BR/114/9/29]

Notice requesting a public meeting to consider the proposed Manchester and Southampton railway, August 1845 [MS62/BR114/9/34]

Some people saw the new railways as disruptive and damaging to the countryside, and consent from landowners had to be obtained or the public interest demonstrated to Parliament. Lord Palmerston was a case in point. In 1825 he wrote to the engineer John Rennie concerning the route of a proposed railway line from Southampton to Salisbury:

It seems to me, that from Southampton the rail road would go along the shore of the River to Redbridge; From thence on the east side of the Test in a line parallel with the Andover Canal to Nutshalling; at Nutshalling it would cross the canal & the Test, there being already a carriage way over the meadows at that point […]

The only other practicable line would, I conceive, be that of the Andover Canal from Redbridge to Ramsey & Mottisfont, & from thence to the Westward along the Valley […]

The advantage of the line which I have suggested, as compared with this last, supposing no material difficulty in point of level to occur between Landford & Downton, would be that it would be shorter by rather more than a mile, that it would pass through a great deal of ground of comparatively little value, instead of going through a great tract of valuable water meadows, & good arable in the Valley of the Test […]

To me the former line would be extremely desirable, as it would secure me from an annoyance to which the last mentioned line would expose me.

Copy letter from Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston, to John Rennie concerning the route of a proposed railway line from Southampton to Salisbury, 3 August 1825  [MS62/BR113/6/16]

Ten years on and it seems Palmerston was still not “sold” on the prospect of railways. British engineer, and prolific railway-builder, Isambard Kingdom Brunel wrote to Lord Palmerston in 1837 regarding a proposed railway through his land near Romsey:

I beg to forward to Your Lordship a plan shewing by a red line the direction in which the proposed Southampton and Bristol railway could be carried out so as to effect what I understand to be Your Lordship’s desire; the diminuation of the amount of severance of the lands and shewing also the deviation of the roads.

By a slight alteration of some of the existing fences and water course the lands on either side of the railway might be more conveniently divided even than at present. As regarding the diversion of roads, if it should be essential that the new road should be shorter than the old as well as straighter and wider the alternative line shown at C-D, if not objectional to Your Lordship would effect it.

The deviation of the railway the Company has power to undertake and as regards the roads, I understand that the lands to be traversed are entering Your Lordship’s or under your control, the Company can also undertake to execute the work as the same public authorities whose assent is given in the one case would of course consent in this other, and on the part of the Company I represent I am prepared to undertake to do it as a consideration of Your Lordship’s assent as a landowner, and I beg to add that the cost of such a work, if borne by the Company is not greater than that which a Railway Company would unhesitatingly take upon themselves in order to meet any objection to the passing through a property such as Broadlands.

Letter from Isambard Kingdom Brunel to Lord Palmerston regarding a proposed railway through his land near Romsey, 4 February 1837 [MS62/BR201/25]

Consequences for his estates were clearly forefront in Palmerston’s mind. His Hampshire lands included profitable water meadows which would be threatened if the Andover Canal was drained and converted to railway purposes.

Did Palmerston’s views soften over the years? His lifetime also saw the advent of the London Underground Tube trains; apparently Palmerston – at the time 80 years of age and serving as Prime Minister – declined an invitation to board a train for the inaugural journey.

There are only three more blogs in our P-A-L-M-E-R-S-T-O-N series. Join us in a fortnight and see where in the world we travel for T.