Lynne About Loughborough: Walter Chapman Burder

Showing posts with label Walter Chapman Burder. Show all posts

Sunday, 25 July 2021

Conservatories, hot water apparatus and bandstands

Last week we learned about the chrysanthemum and celery shows that took place in Loughborough and nearby. One of the people mentioned in relation to the Leicester and Leicestershire Chrysanthemum and Celery Society Exhibition of 1883 was Walter Chapman Burder, who at the time of the shows lived at 153 Park Road, but who later moved to Field House. This show took place only a year before Burder took over the ownership of the horticultural engineering business of Thomas Messenger.

It comes as no surprise that Messengers placed advertisements in a variety of publications - newspapers, magazines and their own catalogues - for their products. This example is from the Gardeners' Chronicle of 24 November 1883:

But what of this product, referred to as the Loughborough hot water apparatus, which was advertised in the same magazine as the Messenger greenhouse above?

Is this also a Messenger product? The history of Deane & Co. is well covered on a site about the Greenwich Park bandstand, which was produced by the company in 1880. Interesting that the company was involved in the creation of the bandstand: ours in Queen's Park, which was installed in 1902, was created by Hill & Smith of Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, and was in commemoration of the coronation of Edward VII. When Queen's Park was extended, the bandstand was moved from its original position, which was close to Granby Street, to its current position in 1908.

Hill & Smith actually created just over 40 bandstands across the country, some as far away as Exmouth and Bishop Auckland, and some as close as Kettering, Northampton, and Swadlincote. Easton Gardens, one of two gardens created in Easton on the Isle of Portland, in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (although created somewhat later, around 1904) also has a bandstand that was created by Hill & Smith. The gardens also has a clock tower, the tower of which was made from the local Portland stone, and the clock also houses a bell cast by Taylors of Loughborough. Portland stone is also used in the construction of Loughborough's carillon.

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 25 July 2021

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Dyer, Lynne (2021). Conservatories, hot water apparatus and bandstands. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2021/07/conservatories-hot-water-apparatus-and.html [Accessed 25 July 2021]

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Lynne

Sunday, 14 July 2019

Knocking on the door to the past

I was talking recently with some friends about answering the door or answering the telephone to unexpected callers, and how these days we often choose not to. This set me thinking back to a conversation I had with another friend years ago who said: "if you can't drop in unexpectedly on your parents, then who can you drop in on?" I must have been thinking about this a lot lately because I dreamed one evening that my parents dropped in on me when I was out, but others in my house were in, so when I got home I was horrified - not horrified to see my parents, but horrified because I hadn't vacuumed for 4 days, the place was untidy and the washing basket was overflowing. And as for the dust ... well!

So these days, I wouldn't dream of calling in on anybody without either phoning them, texting them or emailing them to arrange a suitable time for a visit. I might walk past their house on a regular basis, but I certainly wouldn't interrupt their life without due warning. And even if we did arrange something, we'd be more likely to meet for tea in a cafe in town!

But, as we know, this closed door society hasn't always been like this. Years ago people didn't even used to shut their front door, kids played in the street and not only would you pop in and chat with your friends and neighbours, you'd even - horror or horrors - borrow some sugar from them!

This led me to the curious thought of who from Loughborough's past would I call in on if I happened to be around during their lifetime! Here's some of those who are on my list - and it is just some of them, as there are hundreds more!

In 1891 I'd visit William Clarke, who was part of the Clarke's Dyeworks family, at The Gables on Forest Road. It's student accommodation now, but I wonder what it would have been like inside as a new house around 1891? And what would William and his family have been like? In 1911 I'd have called in on his widow, Laura, who was now living at no.55 Park Road. That house would surely have been magnificent in those days. In early 1953 I'd have visited William's son, also William, at his home at no.3 Park Street, unaware that this was probably the last time I'd see him.

In 1889 I'd pop in to see Arthur Paget and his wife, Rose, in Radmoor House, to hear how exciting it was to have an invention displayed at the recent Paris Exposition! Arthur died in 1895, and Rose moved away, so, later that year, I'd drop in an Ernest Coltman, son of Huram Coltman, boilermaker, and see how the house and nearby grounds had changed.

In 1891 I'd mount the steps of no.20 Burton Street to pop in on Thomas Messenger and talk about the old Messenger business he sold to Walter Burder in 1874. In 1911 I'd be calling in two doors down, at no.22, to pass the time of day with Henry Corah, who ran a printing business. 1939 would see me again calling in at no.20 to see what architectural plans Arnold Barrowcliff was currently working on.

In the meantime, in 1891 I'd pop in to see how Walter Burder was getting on in his new house, Field House, after moving here from Park Road. Then I'd walk over to The Elms, off the Leicester Road and see how his younger brother, Alfred was getting on in his big house.

Having visited Edward Middleton, owner of Middleton's Bank in Market Place, at his home in the Grove on Ashby Road (now student halls) in 1871, I'd then walk up to Leicester Road, to visit his son Edward William Craddock Middleton and his wife Augusta Sophia. They're living in Shelthorpe Cottage, a beautiful house in a park setting - lovely and quiet! In 1887 Edward died, and Augusta Sophia continued to live in Shelthorpe House, but eventually moved to Fairfield House, now known as the White House, probably to get away from the steam of the new Great Central Railway, and the constant machinery of the new Tucker's brick works, which both opened around 1898-9. In 1907 I'd pop in to Fairfield House and chat about the recent events Mrs Middleton had been to - she's a very social lady and has numerous friends!

And this would leave me plenty of other folk to visit on other days!

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2019). Knocking on the door to the past. Available from: [Accessed 14 July 2019]

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Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Sunday, 24 April 2016

Investigating the Victorians leads to Messengers

Call me mad, if you will, but I've signed up to another online course, this time discovering more about the Victorians. 10 weeks of at least 10 hours a week study, lots of which will be on the pc, and much with my nose in the course text.

Talking of which, the course text -

Royle, E. (2012). Modern Britain: a social history 1750-2011, Bloomsbury Academic, 3rd ed. -

is a mere 576 pages long (ok, so this includes extensive notes, a bibliography and an index) and quite awkward to hold. It's saving grace, I suppose, is that Loughborough does actually appear in the index! How exciting, I thought, but I admit to be a little disappointed that the entry referred to a paragraph on Thomas Cook and his Temperance outing from Leicester to Loughborough in 1841! There are brief mentions of Luddites, Scotch Cattle and Rebecca Riots (sorry, the latter two are more relevant to my Welsh background) and several pages devoted to Chartists.

The course itself has started with an introduction to the Victorians, and there has already been mention of the agricultural revolution, including the work of our very own Robert Bakewell. One of the first units of the course focussed on the Great Exhibition of 1851, in the Crystal Palace. This was a fascinating discussion, and the building itself reminded me of some of the large conservatories that used to be built onto large stately homes, only on an absolutely enormous scale. The fact that is was put up in 22 weeks was quite staggering, and to realise it was only a temporary structure, and was dismantled and re-built in a different location was enlightening.

Anyway, the architect of the Crystal Palace was Joseph Paxton and because I could see similarities with Messengers of Loughborough who initially made conservatories, I did a quick scour of the internet and found a place called Combermere Abbey in Shropshire, which had a Messenger conservatory. In fact, the writer of the article said the following:

"the largest of Messenger’s buildings almost rivalled Paxton’s glasshouse of 1851"

praise indeed, I'd say!

I'm sure most of you reading will know that Messengers was founded in 1858 by Thomas Goode Messenger who was initially a plumber and glass fitter and had offices on High Street. In 1874 the firm was taken over by Walter Chapman Burder, and in 1884 the company moved to Cumberland Road, presumably to be near the Charnwood Forest Railway, and the coal that was needed for the new foundry.

I've taken a couple of photos today, and if you zoom in on the one of the Messenger building from Hospital Walk, and look carefully at the columns at each side of the door, you might see that they have been etched with initials, EJGB on the left and WCB (Walter Chapman Burder) on the right. Hmm, not sure about the first set, but Walter Chapman Burder's wife was Elizabeth Jane Gifford Burder (nee Nash), so perhaps they are hers?