Wikipedia

William Haswell Stephenson

Sir William Haswell Stephenson (1836-1918) was an English industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne.[1][2][3]

Sir
William Haswell Stephenson
Stephenson c. 1894
Lord Mayor of Newcastle Upon Tyne
In office
  • 1875
  • 1884
  • 1894
  • 1902
  • 1909 - 1911
Monarchs
Sheriff of Newcastle upon Tyne
In office
1886
Preceded byJoseph Baxter Ellis
Succeeded byThomas Bell
Personal details
Born
William Haswell Stephenson

(1836-05-15)15 May 1836
Throckley Hall, Throckley
Died7 May 1918(1918-05-07) (aged 81)
SpouseEliza Mary Bond (m.1862)
Children2
ResidenceThrockley Hall
Alma materWesley College
Occupation
AwardsFreedom of the City (1910)

Personal life

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Stephenson was born at Throckley, near Newcastle upon Tyne, on 15 May 1836. His family were Methodists and his ancestors had been involved in John Wesley's first establishment of Methodism in the north east of England in the 1740s. He was educated at Wesley College in Sheffield.[1] He became a Methodist local preacher in 1859, and was a supporter of the Local Preachers' Mutual Aid Association.[2]

 
Plaque at Throckley Hall commemorating Stephenson

He married Eliza Mary Bond, from Lincolnshire, in 1862. She died in December 1901, aged 67. They had two daughters, Charlotte, who died before her father, and Kate.[3]

Stephenson died on 7 May 1918.[2]

During his earlier life as well as during his time as Mayor of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Stephenson lived in the manor house Throckley Hall in Throckley[4] with his wife and two daughters. Stephenson was born in the same house,[4] then known as Throckley House,[5] prior to its expansion in c. 1850 and renaming to Throckley Hall, as it continues to stand to this day.[6]

The manor house Throckley Hall has been preserved and remains a private residence along with the associated land.[6][7]

Main article: Throckley Hall

Career, public office and philanthropy

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Stephenson was involved in his family's business, the Throckley Coal Company, and later in other local businesses including John Spencer and sons, steel manufacturers,[8] and Airedale Mills.[1]

 
Stephenson's residence, Throckley Hall

He was Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1875, 1884, and 1894; Lord Mayor in 1902, 1909, 1910, and 1911; and sheriff in 1886.[9] In November 1902 he received the Lord Mayor (Sir Marcus Samuel) and Sheriffs of the City of London on an official visit to Newcastle.[10]

Together with his wife he endowed several early public libraries in Newcastle. In 1896 the Stephenson Library at Elswick was the first branch library in the city, built at a cost of £4,000. It became West End Leisure and Learning in 1984, later a housing office, and then West End Woman and Girls Centre.[11][1] The Victoria Library in Heaton was opened in 1898; by 2001 it was no longer in use as a library and the council had proposed selling the building but after local objections it was agreed to use it as a centre for the local Muslim community.[12][13] After his wife's death in 1901 Stephenson built the Lady Stephenson Library in Walker; opened in 1908 it was still in use as a library, also known as Walker Library, until it closed on 29 June 2013[14] and was refurbished in 2014 to form the premises of Cambridge Scholars Publishing.[3][1]

 
Statue of Queen Victoria donated by Stephenson to celebrate 500 years of the shrievaltie

In 1903, Stephenson gave the city a bronze statue of Queen Victoria by Alfred Gilbert, to commemorate 500 years of the office of Sheriff of Newcastle upon Tyne. It stands in St Nicholas Square, near Newcastle Cathedral in the city centre and is Grade II* listed.[15][16][17]

Recognition

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Stephenson was knighted on 30 June 1900 at Windsor Castle.[18]

In October 1910, Stephenson was awarded with Newcastle upon Tyne's Freedom of the City award.[19]

In June 2024, Stephenson was honored with the installation of an official Commemorative Plaque, placed at the outer gates of the Throckley Hall private estate. Unveiled in a ceremony by Cllr Rob Higgins, the current Lord Mayor of Newcastle Upon Tyne, at the time, and K Blackhall, the owner of Throckley Hall and the private estate.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "William Haswell Stephenson (1836-1918), Businessman and Civic Leader". Philanthropy North East. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Stephenson, Sir William Haswell, DL, DCL". A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Stephenson and Bond" (PDF). Newsletter. 2. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "FreeCEN -General Register Office: 1861 Census Returns database". FreeCEN. Free UK Genealogy. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. ^ ""View map: Ordnance Survey, Northumberland XCVI - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952"". National Library of Scotland. 1864.
  6. ^ a b "Throckley Hall - View Land and Property Information". HM Land Registry, GOV.UK.
  7. ^ "Land Associated with Throckley Hall - View Land and Property Information". HM Land registry, GOV.UK.
  8. ^ "1914 Who's Who in Business: Company S: Spencer (John) & sons ltd". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Mayors and Sheriffs 1216 to date" (PDF). Newcastle City Council. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36937. London. 28 November 1902. p. 10.
  11. ^ "Elswick, Elswick Road, Stephenson Library". www.twsitelines.info. Newcastle City Council. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Heaton, Heaton Park Road, Victoria Library". www.twsitelines.info. Newscastle City Council. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  13. ^ "New life starts for old library". Evening Chronicle. 19 March 2001. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Happy Birthday Lady Stephenson Library". CityLife. Newcastle City Council. November–December 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  15. ^ Historic England. "Statue of Queen Victoria (1024771)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  16. ^ ""Queen Victoria (Newcastle)" by Sir Alfred Gilbert". www.victorianweb.org. The Victorian Web. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  17. ^ Morton, David (24 July 2014). "Remember When: Queen Victoria's statue in Newcastle - then and now". The Chronicle. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  18. ^ Shaw, William Arthur (1970). "Knights Bachelors". The Knights of England: A Complete Record from the Earliest Time to the Present Day of the Knights of All the Orders of Chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of Knights Bachelors. Incorporating a Complete List of Knights Bachelors Dubbed in Ireland. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 408. ISBN 978-0-8063-0443-4. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Honorary Freedom of the City | Newcastle City Council". www.newcastle.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Newcastle philanthropist honoured with plaque". Newcastle City Council Press Office. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Former Lord Mayor of Newcastle honoured with a plaque in his memory". The Chronicle. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
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