Successful, family businesses

Introduction

Victorian Bournemouth (131) explores the lives of watchmakers & jewellers working in Bournemouth 1871-1881. Their numbers had increased in response to the opportunities offered by the growing number of visitors and residents. Jewellery and watchmaking often ran in their families. Many enjoyed commercial, some also civic, success.

Victorian Bournemouth (131): landscape

Companies and workers

A directory lists fifteen companies selling jewellery and watches established in Bournemouth during the 1870s. They ran from the Triangle, down Commercial Road, then up Old Christchurch Road to Lansdowne, including two in the Arcade. Except for Emma Hannaford, the lapidary, men ran the companies. Three companies (Butler, Mattocks, and Wright) already had listings in 1871. Thus, the town had attracted many jewellers to establish shops towards the end of the decade. According to the 1881 census, seven male Bournemouth residents worked in the category. Only one appeared to have his own business in later years, so perhaps these men worked for the shop owners in different capacities. William Moore, for example, long resident in Bournemouth, worked at repairing and finishing watches. He may have acted as a craftsman for some of the shops. William Freemantle, based for years in Iford, perhaps worked in a similar way. 

Establishment and turnover

Some of the firms disappeared from the record, but identifications for most have emerged. Most would stay in Bournemouth, but others would leave. John Lashmore, for example, a watchmaker’s son from Southampton, appears to have gone into liquidation twice (1876, 1883) according to the press. By 1891, his family moved to Hornsey, where he continued as a watchmaker, although in 1901 he gave his occupation as watch repairing. John Edgecombe had a shop during the late 1870s, but, in 1886 he moved his family to Canada. Later he substituted farming for watchmaking. The Primavesi brothers, however, Italians, but naturalised citizens, established a business in Bournemouth that would last many decades. John Clamp would sell his business to Charles Fox in the 1890s. Frederick Wright’s widow ran his business for a decade after his death in 1884. The son of William Mattocks continued the family’s jewellery business after his father became a developer and served as mayor.

Victorian Bournemouth (131): commercial aspects

Activities

The advertisements placed by William Mattocks positioned his business as a watchmaker: ‘the oldest, established practical watchmaker in the town’. His listings appearing in the directories described him sometimes as a watchmaker, at others as a jeweller. John Clamp, a jeweller in early days listed his occupation in the census as jeweller and watchmaker. Advertisements placed by the Primavesi Brothers emphasised a wide range of merchandise. ‘Goldsmiths, jewellers, watchmakers, opticians, diamond and pearl merchants, dealers in old silver plate.’ In some cases, perhaps, people emphasised jewellery or timepieces, but, in others, they attempted to cater for all aspects of customer demand. Some found additional revenue in property, not least hotels or lodging-houses. William Mattocks developed the Tralee into a large establishment, as well as holding other hotels. Emma Hannaford, once a widow, ran a lodging-house at Boscombe Marina. Fanny Moore, wife, later widow of a watch-repairer took guests as well.

Branches

Some traders had the resources and ambition to open more than a single branch. John Clamp had shops in the Arcade and on Old Christchurch Road. Emma Hannaford also had two sites: in the Belle Vue Hotel and at Lansdowne. William Mattocks had at least two branches as did Frederick Wright. During this decade the Arcade always had two stores: Clamp and Wright. Unless family members could help in these circumstances, the owner would have to employ managers. In the case of William Mattocks, he found that such a strategy created problems large enough to warrant a court case. His assistant, employed via a strict contract, traded on his own account on several occasions, despite receiving a wage increase. Several witnesses provided examples. He appears to have traded with farming friends. Mattocks dismissed him, then prosecuting him. The judgement favoured the plaintiff, but he failed in his attempt to prevent the defendant from further trading in town on his own account.

Victorian Bournemouth (131): social profiles

Family activity

Genealogical analysis shows that jewellery and watchmaking ran in these families. It went down the generations, across them, and sometimes occurred in partners and their families.  In half of traceable cases, the father worked in the same trade. Walter Wyatt’s father had four employees in his Blandford jewellery shop. John Lashmore’s father made watches and clocks in Southampton. William Moore finished watches as did his father in Coventry. Sons of some continued in the business: William Mattocks (noted above), Christopher Pearce, Walter Wyatt. Emma Hannaford’s father and brother worked as lapidaries and jewellers. She did the same as well by marrying a jeweller, his father a goldsmith. John Clamp’s father-in-law worked with silver. In 1891, the census listed Archidoro Primavesi’s wife as an optician. Their son worked for a time in the business as a jeweller. The culture of these families, therefore, combined craftsmanship with commerce.

Position

Even where their fathers did not work in the industry, their occupations concerned craftsmanship. They included these areas: mason, gunmaker, boat-builder, ribbon-maker, tailor, brewer. Thus, the families belonged to the skilled, higher levels of working people, if not edging into the rankings of their middling counterparts. Probate records, where found, show levels of success in some cases. One Primavesi brother left £20,000, the other almost £50,000. Others left respectable, if smaller, estates. Christopher Pearce left nearly £15,000, while William Mattocks’s estate almost reached £10,000. This may have excluded his substantial real estate developments. Some, however, did not prosper, leaving smaller or no estates. One lived in Christchurch workhouse at one point. Of those who stayed in Bournemouth, one or two became involved in community activities. William Mattocks became mayor. Christopher Pearce served as churchwarden and once captained the local rifle club.

Takeaway

Victorian Bournemouth (131) has explored the lives of people who sold jewellery and watches during the 1870s. An increase in businesses accompanied the growth of residents and visitors. Several of these enterprises provided long-term employment for their owners, in some cases considerable wealth as well. Some became active in the community. Several had fathers and sons working in the business, even partners.

References

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