Rearranging deck-chairs …
Introduction
Victorian Bournemouth (242) analyses the bumpy commercial fortunes experienced by the town’s main omnibus companies. Competition turned early success sour, damaging investors’ returns. Further uncertainty occurred as people realised that some Councillors held shares in the companies. Awkward questions arose. A merger offered a possible solution. Before long, however, the development of tram technology rendered horse-drawn public transport obsolete.
Victorian Bournemouth (242): background
Early years
Advertisements for omnibus services connecting Bournemouth with its two neighbours appeared in the late 1850s. Much of their traffic connected passengers with the national rail network, then still distant from the resort. In accordance with the stagecoach’s tradition, hotels and inns acted as destinations and stopping points. Journeys originating and terminating within Bournemouth used private carriages or horses. From the 1870s, stimulated by the railway’s arrival, a growing opportunity for cab-drivers emerged. One or two men saw the potential for a local omnibus service. The press reported occasional friction between such companies. A nasty example of this happened at the station in 1874. William Coates, a combative driver, met Henry Laidlaw, an established transporter, in court after a collision between two vehicles. A free market, however, did not result in efficiency. In 1889, the local authority refused to issue new licences, instead favouring a consolidation into one company.
Golden years
By the early 1890s, two limited companies had appeared in Bournemouth to supply omnibus transport. The General Penny Omnibus Company built sales during the decade, paying a 10% dividend every year until 1901 (7.5%). On occasion, it paid a bonus. The Bournemouth, Boscombe, and Westbourne Omnibus Company operated at similar levels to General Penny, but paid lower dividends, often 5%. Extensions to their routes included Winton and Richmond Park Road, but these offered little commercial return. They did not compete in Springbourne with General Penny. Soon, the two companies appeared to have formed a loose cartel or ‘working arrangement’, claimed to benefit both operations and the public. A third company, the Southbourne, Boscombe, and Bournemouth Omnibus Company, appeared in 1899. At the decade’s end, however, difficulties arose. The Boer War caused prices of forage and horses to rise, while the arrival of the tramlines proved fatal. A merger could not help.
Victorian Bournemouth (242): companies
General Penny
This company seems to have had strong connections with Springbourne. Several of its directors had other business interests there, centred on the South-Western Hotel and the nearby brewery. This hotel had long served as the stronghold for J. C. Webber, local representative for Eldridge Pope’s brewery. A Councillor, soon to become mayor, he chaired the bus company. Charles Dacre, during his time in Bournemouth, often appeared in concert with Webber. He managed several public houses before taking root at The Criterion hotel, from which he ran a catering business. Robert White, another in the drinks trade, had run the brewery and the Railway Hotel. Two other directors had roots in property: G. H. Rolls, an auctioneer, and George Horsey, a builder. Shareholders included a hairdresser, carriage-builders, a grocer and a wine merchant. Not least stood Edward Dyke, Councillor, builder of the Holdenhurst brewery and owner of the Criterion.
BBW
Genealogical analysis of its directors and shareholders suggests a different social profile from General Penny. Several appeared very wealthy. These included John Exton, J. A. Hosker, William and Charles Mate, Major Maunsell, and William Hurd Pettey. Exton transformed Linden Villa, Boscombe, into a large, successful hydrotherapy business. Hosker, the youngest mayor in the country in 1897, physician, later achieved a knighthood. The Mates had substantial publishing and newspaper interests. William had served as mayor of Poole. Major Maunsell belonged to the Irish aristocracy, his father serving with the East India Company. Pettey held almost two thousand acres, several dairies, and a half share in the Quadrant restaurant. Their probate records show substantial estates; the same applied to the Chairman, George Lawson, builder and later mayor. Thus, BBW’s board perhaps seemed more genteel than General Penny’s. Nevertheless, this did not induce finer feelings during business matters, even with aged laundresses.
Victorian Bournemouth (242): business at work
Red in tooth and claw
Mrs Ann Rogers, a widow, 74, lived with a married daughter’s family in Pokesdown. The census notes a laundry behind their property and her as a laundress. She had a year’s lease but had laundered for 15 years. BBW bought the property (1889). Directors Lawson, Exton, and Trantum visited, explaining that she had to leave as the company would replace part of it with large stables. She protested, citing her lease, but assented to their ‘compromise’ of signing an early departure. Lawson’s foot, illustrating the limit for demolition work, reassured her. As building work progressed, however, they encroached beyond Councillor Lawson’s line, dirtying the drying laundry. She sued for £40 damages, winning the case but receiving £15. In 1911, the little family laundry, still nearby, run by her widowed daughter, had outlasted not only Ann Rogers, but also BBW, replaced by the new tramline system and motor transport (1902).
Loose wires
Analysis shows that directors and shareholders of both companies maintained an active community and civic life. Major Maunsell, active in his local church and in the Primrose League, also sat on the Union’s Board of Guardians. So, too, did Robert Toop, successful in business despite early years in service. Councillors also featured among this number, including three future mayors. Their involvement, however, could cause embarrassment. Several directors sat on the Council’s Horse Committee, giving rise to comment. For example, when members debated whether to summon each company for a public row between their drivers, though present in the chamber, neither chairman voted. Despite this intertwining of civic and commercial life, technology’s momentum proved unstoppable. The Council provided temporary blockage to the tramlines, but bowed to the inevitable. Despite the Councillors on their boards, the omnibus companies could not join this future. First, they merged, then the joint operation closed.
Takeaway
Victorian Bournemouth (242) has followed the fortunes of the two main local omnibus companies operating during the 1890s. Beneficial to their directors and shareholders for a while, a comfortable cartel between them, neither could withstand the commercial threat posed by motor traffic and the tramlines.
References
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