Models for the ambitious
Introduction
Victorian Bournemouth (214) finds that the careers and lives of early aldermen offered examples of success for others to follow. The article looks at the social background and place within the resort’s community of the first aldermen. From this emerges a blueprint for political advancement that younger men might emulate.
Victorian Bournemouth (214): background
Alderman’s role
In the first decade of Bournemouth’s new council, one alderman represented each of the six wards. They received their election not from the voters but from the councillors, the ceremony happening when the new mayor took office. A term could last up to six years. Several of the early aldermen received their election perhaps in compensation for losing at the recent council elections. Most had had experience of local civic government while serving on the Improvement Commission, the body replaced by the council in 1890. Some of the older men had supported the Incorporation movement from its beginning. In council business, aldermen took equal part to the councillors, including voting. They also served on committees. Alderman Thomas Beechey and, later, J. H. Moore, tended to take extreme positions on issues, often commenting on expenditure and income. A few early aldermen, therefore, owed their position to influence rather than electoral success.
Origins and business profiles
In common with most of Bournemouth’s population, the aldermen had immigrated from elsewhere. Unlike many immigrants who had originated elsewhere in Hampshire or Dorset, most of the aldermen came from further afield. The list included men born in Liverpool, Plymouth, or near Ipswich. They had arrived in Bournemouth having progressed to different stages in their life. Some came with young wives, some with established families. Most settled in Bournemouth. Harry Jenkins, a Christchurch builder, in business with his son, a councillor, appeared to keep the family’s base in that town. Most had established businesses in the town. These included a hotelier, watchmaker, ironmonger, wine merchant, and tobacconist. Three men had construction businesses. Only a few professionals served: a pair of doctors and a solicitor. The aldermen averaged 50 in age. To some extent, becoming an alderman signified the end of a political career, yet four became mayor.
Victorian Bournemouth (214): social
Family backgrounds
Two of the three aldermen working as professionals had this background. Dr Hosker described his father as a stockbroker on his marriage certificate. The father of J.H.R. Smythe, solicitor, appeared to have no occupation, living with his father, a clergyman without cure of souls. George Hirons, in contrast, grew up in a bakery. All, however, married within their social position, two wives the daughters of Royal Navy officers, the other a clergyman’s child. The other aldermen, however, emerged from much humbler contexts. Their fathers included a range of working occupations: ribbon-maker, tailor, shoemaker, carpenter, and agricultural labourer. Where information exists for a further generation back, this suggests perhaps even lower rankings. Their wives included daughters of similar trades: publican, cook, builder, watchmaker, and agricultural labourer. Thus, in their small number, the aldermen reflected the social profile of both town and government. Gentry did not, these days, participate in Bournemouth’s government.
Men in appetite
Despite their humble origins, several, if not all, aldermen appeared to have had successful lives, improving in wealth, social, and civic position. C.A.D. George, perhaps, excelled the most in terms of wealth. An agricultural labourer’s son, he laid bricks during the early 1870s. By 1881, however, he employed 79 men on various projects. At the end, his estate had reached almost £200,000 in value. Thomas Beechey, a weaver’s son, had worked as a porter and servant before establishing business as a wine merchant. He left an estate worth almost £15,000. J. R. Ridley followed his father into ironmongery but appears to have had several branches in his Bournemouth business. James Hosker, physician, became the youngest mayor in the country, later acquiring a knighthood and leaving over £60,000. H. W. Jenkins, a successful builder, had two political careers, one in Bournemouth, one in his native Christchurch, where he became mayor.
Victorian Bournemouth (214): spurs
Reputation
In 1884, C. A. D. George won election as an Improvement Commissioner. The description of his qualities presents a blueprint for local political success. ‘… a gentleman very well known to most of the Commissioners, a very long resident, a large ratepayer, and a thoroughly practical and business-like man’. George had become known through expertise and success in one of Bournemouth’s main businesses: construction. He chaired the Bournemouth Land Society. Others followed lines shaped by the national political structure. John Ridley percolated through events held by the local Liberal party, sometimes presiding. William Mattocks swam in Conservative waters, cited at a local party dinner and, also, attending a Primrose League meeting. Both physicians Hirons and Hosker had served in a local dispensary, an activity that would make them known to charity donors who had the vote. Edward Offer invested in local companies, an activity followed by Commissioners and other powerbrokers.
Bonhomie
John Webber, manager at the South-Western Hotel, used this as a base to gain wider recognition. He provided hospitality for many local groups: slate clubs, railway workers, embryonic unions, and the like. The Jubilee offered him another route upwards. He joined the committee concerned with its celebration, a huge tent erected outside the South-Western. Webber also belonged to several local benefit societies: Foresters, Oddfellows, Masons. He established the local lodge of the Buffaloes, based at his hotel. Several other aldermen would have met each other at these society dinners: H. N. Jenkins and George Hirons, for example. Sporting clubs provided further opportunities to increase reputation. Aldermen had featured in the Regatta and the amateur rowing club. Mattocks attended a meeting held by the Bicycle and Social Club. He also moved into artistic circles by becoming a committee member for the Choral Union. Thus, community involvement honed political qualifications.
Takeaway
Victorian Bournemouth (214) has considered the origins, careers, and community participation evident for those serving as aldermen during the 1890s. The analysis has shown that most emerged from humble backgrounds, but, by commercial success and community involvement, they achieved social elevation and respectability. This formed the basis for securing political positions distant from their social origins. Their stories illustrate how, at Victorian Bournemouth, political influence became a reward for merit and enterprise. Aldermen, therefore, offered a model for advancement to younger ambitious men. Indeed, some became mayor.
References
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