William Henry Wakefield Explained

William Henry Wakefield
Birth Date:18 May 1828
Birth Place:Broughton Lodge near Cartmel
Nationality:British
Occupation:Banker
Spouse:Augusta Hagarty
Children:4 sons, 3 daughters

William Henry Wakefield (1828–1889) was an English banker. Wakefield was a partner in Wakefield Crewdson & Co., the family bank in to which his father brought him. He became the senior partner of the bank in 1864. Through the bank he was involved in railways and gunpowder manufacturing.

Early years

He belonged to the Kendal banking family of Wakefield, as the son of John Wakefield III.[1] The Wakefields were Quakers, but his father had been disowned by the Kendal Society of Friends on marrying an Anglican.[2] He was born at Broughton Lodge near Cartmel, on 18 May 1828, one of six children of John Wakefield and Fanny McArthur of Glasgow.[3] [4]

Career

Wakefield was a partner in Wakefield Crewdson & Co., the family bank to which his father brought him in, during 1850; and a gunpowder manufacturer.[1] [5] In 1863 the Wakefield family took on a majority share of the bank; in 1864 Wakefield became the senior partner.[6]

Wakefield was a director of the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway, a cross-Pennine venture to connect Furness to the north-east in which Kendal men were well represented.[7] [8] He was also a landowner, with over 5000 acres in Westmorland in 1873.[9]

In 1858 Wakefield built a house at Prizett, 2.5 miles south of Kendal.[10] [11] After his father's death in 1866, he had a 7/16 share of the bank, and set about building Sedgwick House, nearby.[12] [13] It replaced the old house of the same name, just to the north-west on the same site. He also supported the building of St Thomas' Church, Crosscrake, which used the same architects, Paley and Austin, as Sedgwick House.[14] With Sir Francis Powell he succeeding in turning round Sedbergh School, when it was close to collapse.[15]

Death

Wakefield died while hunting.[16] The gunpowder company W. H. Wakefield & Co. continued into the 20th century.[17] The Kendal bank was bought by the Bank of Liverpool in 1893.[18]

Family

He married Augusta, daughter of James Hagarty, US Consul at Liverpool.[3] Their children, four sons and three daughters, included Mary Augusta Wakefield (1853–1910), organiser of music festivals.[4] [12] [19]

References

Notes and References

  1. Chandler, p. 99.
  2. Book: Rosemary Mingins . The Beacon Controversy and Challenges to British Quaker Tradition in the Early Nineteenth Century . 2004 . Edwin Mellen Press . 0-7734-6383-6 . 241.
  3. Web site: Mary Wakefield, a memoir by Rosa Newmarch. 1912. Kendal Atkinson and Pollitt.
  4. [Joseph Foster (genealogist)|Joseph Foster]
  5. Book: A directory of the joint-stock and private banks in England and Wales. 23 April 2013. 1852. vi.
  6. Chandler, p. 100.
  7. Book: Maurice W. Kirby. The Origins of Railway Enterprise: The Stockton and Darlington Railway 1821-1863. 23 April 2013. 4 July 2002. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-89280-3. 188.
  8. Book: Margaret E. Shepherd. From Hellgill To Bridge End: Aspects of Economic and Social Change in the Upper Eden Valley Circa 1840-95. 23 April 2013. 2003. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. 978-1-902806-32-7. 200.
  9. Book: Marshall . The Lake Counties from 1830 to the Mid-twentieth Century: A Study in Regional Change . Walton . John K. . Manchester University Press . 1981 . 978-0-7190-0824-5 . 122 . John Duncan Marshall . John K. Walton . 23 April 2013.
  10. Web site: Mary Wakefield, a memoir by Rosa Newmarch. 1912. Kendal Atkinson and Pollitt.
  11. Book: Black Adam and Charles, ltd. John Phillips. Black's picturesque guide to the English lakes. A. & C. Black. 23 April 2013. 1870. 11.
  12. Chandler, p. 101.
  13. Web site: Mary Wakefield, a memoir by Rosa Newmarch. 1912. Kendal Atkinson and Pollitt.
  14. http://www.fox73.freeserve.co.uk/page5.html The Story of St Thomas Crosscrake.
  15. Book: Frederic Blagden Malim. Almae Matres: Recollections of Some Schools at Home and Abroad. 23 April 2013. 1948. CUP Archive. 33. GGKEY:PQ8ZGX74UXE.
  16. Book: Howard L. Malchow. Gentlemen Capitalists: The Social and Political World of the Victorian Businessmen. 23 April 2013. 1992. Stanford University Press. 978-0-8047-1807-3. 223.
  17. Web site: The rise and progress of the British explosives industry. 1909.
  18. Chandler, vol. 1, p. 379.
  19. Web site: History of the Festival - Mary Wakefield Westmorland Music Festival . 23 April 2013 . 27 January 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130127214917/http://www.mwwf.co.uk/history-of-the-festival/page_2.html . dead .

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