Francis Schnadhorst
Encyclopedia
Francis Schnadhorst was a Birmingham
draper and Liberal Party
politician. He briefly held elected office on Birmingham Council and was offered the chance to stand for Parliament
in winnable seats but he found his true metier was in political organisation and administration both in his home town as secretary of the highly successful Birmingham Liberal Association from 1867 onwards and nationally as secretary of the newly formed National Liberal Federation after 1877. He was famously described as ‘the spectacled, sallow, sombre’ Birmingham draper who within a short period of time was to establish himself through the Birmingham Liberal caucus as one of the most brilliant organisers in the country.
. He was married to Mary the daughter of a Birmingham provision merchant and they had two sons and a daughter His youngest son, Frank Gladstone Schnadhorst volunteered to fight in the Boer War
with Kitchener's Fighting Scouts and reached the rank of Lieutenant. He was wounded in action near Heilbron
, Orange River Colony
and died of his wounds on 22 October 1901 aged 21 years. Francis' brother Edward Schnadhorst was a Congregationalist minister in east London who stood for election as a Liberal on a number of occasions to the London School Board.
tradesman and ardent nonconformists, Francis was keenly interested in improving himself and his town. He involved himself in the civic life of Birmingham. He served as secretary to the Central Nonconformist Committee set up in Birmingham to oppose Church influence in education. He was also an active member of a number of Birmingham civic and local improvement societies. Through these groups and the close connection between nonconformity, self-help
and Liberalism
, Schnadhorst was drawn into political activity for the Liberal Party.
, more than doubling Birmingham’s representation in Parliament
. A Royal decree declared the corporation of the City of Birmingham in 1889 and the first Lord Mayor was elected in 1896. The Liberal Party organisation formed to respond to this civic expansion and in anticipation of the additional electors enfranchised by the 1867 Reform Act
was called the Liberal Caucus, or just the Caucus. The Caucus was first a term of abuse used about the Birmingham Liberal organisation by Benjamin Disraeli. The Caucus was formed in 1865 and reorganised in 1868. Francis Schnadhorst, was its secretary. Membership in the Caucus was open to anyone able to pay the one shilling annual fee. This meant political participation was wrested from the great ruling families. In 1868 the Caucus had 400 members but by 1886 it had become known as ‘the Two Thousand’. Its existence enabled the Birmingham Liberals to fight general, town council and school board
elections more effectively and successfully. As an example of political efficiency the Caucus could not be rivalled and this was due substantially to Schnadhorst's administrative abilities.
but Schnadhorst bolstered the organisation of the party to oust the Conservative
and Anglican majorities on the town council and the school board. Joseph Chamberlain
may have provided the political leadership to make Birmingham the ‘gas and water’ socialist capital of Victorian civic life but behind the scenes Schnadhorst was ‘the organising genius of the Birmingham association’.
Schnadhorst was invited to stand in two Birmingham seats, South
and East
both of which were won by the Liberals. However he did not wish to enter Parliament. He said he felt he could better promote the cause of Liberalism through his administrative work for the party. In 1890 he also turned down the offer of a seat in Newcastle-under-Lyme
but by this time his health was deteriorating; he had already had to have some time off work on medical advice and had undertaken a holiday voyage to Australia a few years earlier.
(NLF) and became its first secretary. This Federation, which was set up for educational and propagandist purposes and co-ordinated the work of the several hundred Liberal associations in England and Wales, became a great political force and was largely responsible for Liberal victories of 1880
, 1885
, and 1892
. In recognition of his services to the Liberal Party, he was presented with 10,000 guineas
and an address at a banquet in 1887 which followed the removal of the National Liberal Federation from Birmingham to London. The formation of the NLF was the most important development in Liberal Party organisation after the 1874 general election
which had seen the Liberals lose office and Benjamin Disraeli return to Number 10 Downing Street. The NLF held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party’s rank and file. Chamberlain described it as ‘a really Liberal Parliament...elected by universal suffrage and with some regard for fair distribution of political power’.
In 1884 Schnadhorst resigned his post of secretary of Birmingham Liberal Association to concentrate full time on the NLF. As secretary of the NLF, Schnadhorst became the link between the leadership and the constituency associations and hence the key figure in rebuilding the party following the split over Irish Home Rule and the defection of the Liberal Unionists
. One of Schnadhorst's jobs as secretary to the National Liberal Federation was to provide speakers who would draw crowds at Liberal rallies and it was William Ewart Gladstone
who addressed the inaugural meeting of the NLF at Bingley Hall
, Birmingham in 1877. Schnadhorst's achievement in keeping the NLF Gladstonian rather than Chamberlainite in 1886 when the party split on the issue of Irish Home Rule and Birmingham followed Chamberlain into the Liberal Unionist fold, was of considerable importance to the Liberal Party. He reorganized the NLF to make it more responsive to the needs of local associations, so encouraging affiliations. In 1886 he also agreed to become the secretary of the Liberal Central Association and revolutionized the Association's conduct of elections, the improvements being reflected in a series of favourable by-election results at the end of the 1880s.
. As the 19th century wore on, the role of the LCA changed from that of a members’ association to that of a Liberal Whips’ Office. It put local Liberal Associations in touch with potential candidates and made grants of money to help with elections. It had no policy role but supporters of various factions within the party did try to capture the offices of the LCA from time to time, most notably in the dissensions in the party over imperialism
.
as the ‘chief organiser and adviser of the Liberal party, 1885-1892.’
on 2 January 1900. He had been in declining health since the late 1890s. In 1894 he had suffered a mental breakdown leading to years of illness, including the suffering of convulsions. In December 1899 he was confined to bed and he never recovered. He also suffered increasingly from deafness as he got older. His funeral was held at Putney Cemetery on 6 January 1900.
Library, Special Collections Department. The collections consist of scrap albums of and relating to Francis Schnadhorst and illuminated addresses presented to him. There is also correspondence and other private papers principally relating to his activities as secretary to the Birmingham Liberal Association, to the National Liberal Federation and to the Liberal Central Association, 1867-1901. His correspondents include John Bright
, William Gladstone, Arthur Morley, John Morley, Henry Labouchere
, Lord Rosebery, Joseph Chamberlain, William Vernon Harcourt
, Campbell Bannerman, Cecil Rhodes and many other political figures.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
draper and Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician. He briefly held elected office on Birmingham Council and was offered the chance to stand for Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
in winnable seats but he found his true metier was in political organisation and administration both in his home town as secretary of the highly successful Birmingham Liberal Association from 1867 onwards and nationally as secretary of the newly formed National Liberal Federation after 1877. He was famously described as ‘the spectacled, sallow, sombre’ Birmingham draper who within a short period of time was to establish himself through the Birmingham Liberal caucus as one of the most brilliant organisers in the country.
Family and education
Francis Schnadhorst was the son of a draper and hosier of German descent. who carried on business in Bull Street, Birmingham. His father died when he was very young and he was brought up by his mother and his paternal grandfather who owned a tailoring business in Moor Street. He was educated at King Edward's School, BirminghamKing Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
. He was married to Mary the daughter of a Birmingham provision merchant and they had two sons and a daughter His youngest son, Frank Gladstone Schnadhorst volunteered to fight in the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
with Kitchener's Fighting Scouts and reached the rank of Lieutenant. He was wounded in action near Heilbron
Heilbron
Heilbron is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa which services the cattle, dairy, sorghum, sunflower and maize industries. Raw stock beneficiation occurs in leisure foods, dairy products and stock feeds...
, Orange River Colony
Orange River Colony
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after this nation first occupied and then annexed the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War...
and died of his wounds on 22 October 1901 aged 21 years. Francis' brother Edward Schnadhorst was a Congregationalist minister in east London who stood for election as a Liberal on a number of occasions to the London School Board.
Career
When Francis was sixteen his grandfather died and Francis took over the family business. However, like many VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
tradesman and ardent nonconformists, Francis was keenly interested in improving himself and his town. He involved himself in the civic life of Birmingham. He served as secretary to the Central Nonconformist Committee set up in Birmingham to oppose Church influence in education. He was also an active member of a number of Birmingham civic and local improvement societies. Through these groups and the close connection between nonconformity, self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
and Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, Schnadhorst was drawn into political activity for the Liberal Party.
Late 19th century Birmingham
Before the end of the 19th century the Liberal party’s championing of reform and improvement had created in Birmingham a model of civic government. The 1885 Redistribution Act created seven single-member constituenciesPlurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
, more than doubling Birmingham’s representation in Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
. A Royal decree declared the corporation of the City of Birmingham in 1889 and the first Lord Mayor was elected in 1896. The Liberal Party organisation formed to respond to this civic expansion and in anticipation of the additional electors enfranchised by the 1867 Reform Act
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
was called the Liberal Caucus, or just the Caucus. The Caucus was first a term of abuse used about the Birmingham Liberal organisation by Benjamin Disraeli. The Caucus was formed in 1865 and reorganised in 1868. Francis Schnadhorst, was its secretary. Membership in the Caucus was open to anyone able to pay the one shilling annual fee. This meant political participation was wrested from the great ruling families. In 1868 the Caucus had 400 members but by 1886 it had become known as ‘the Two Thousand’. Its existence enabled the Birmingham Liberals to fight general, town council and school board
Birmingham board schools
__notoc__The Birmingham board schools were set up very rapidly after the Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 was enacted, covering England and Wales...
elections more effectively and successfully. As an example of political efficiency the Caucus could not be rivalled and this was due substantially to Schnadhorst's administrative abilities.
Birmingham politics
Schnadhorst first got involved in political activity at the Birmingham election of 1867 when he took on the roles of vice-chairman and secretary to the St.George’s Ward Liberal committee. He was himself briefly a member of the Council for St Mary’s Ward in 1872 but he was most effective politically as the secretary of the Birmingham Liberal Association, a position he held from 1873. The Liberals in Birmingham had been electorally successful, particularly at the 1868 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1868
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...
but Schnadhorst bolstered the organisation of the party to oust the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Anglican majorities on the town council and the school board. Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
may have provided the political leadership to make Birmingham the ‘gas and water’ socialist capital of Victorian civic life but behind the scenes Schnadhorst was ‘the organising genius of the Birmingham association’.
The chance of a Parliamentary seat
Before the 1885 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
Schnadhorst was invited to stand in two Birmingham seats, South
Birmingham South (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham South was a parliamentary constituency in Birmingham which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1918 general election....
and East
Birmingham East (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham East was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Birmingham, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
both of which were won by the Liberals. However he did not wish to enter Parliament. He said he felt he could better promote the cause of Liberalism through his administrative work for the party. In 1890 he also turned down the offer of a seat in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency)
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
but by this time his health was deteriorating; he had already had to have some time off work on medical advice and had undertaken a holiday voyage to Australia a few years earlier.
National Liberal Federation
In 1877, along with Joseph Chamberlain, Schnadhorst was instrumental in the establishment of the National Liberal FederationNational Liberal Federation
The National Liberal Federation was the union of all English and Welsh Liberal Associations. It held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party’s rank and file and was broadly the equivalent of a present-day party conference.-Foundation:The...
(NLF) and became its first secretary. This Federation, which was set up for educational and propagandist purposes and co-ordinated the work of the several hundred Liberal associations in England and Wales, became a great political force and was largely responsible for Liberal victories of 1880
United Kingdom general election, 1880
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
, 1885
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
, and 1892
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
. In recognition of his services to the Liberal Party, he was presented with 10,000 guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
and an address at a banquet in 1887 which followed the removal of the National Liberal Federation from Birmingham to London. The formation of the NLF was the most important development in Liberal Party organisation after the 1874 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1874
-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
which had seen the Liberals lose office and Benjamin Disraeli return to Number 10 Downing Street. The NLF held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party’s rank and file. Chamberlain described it as ‘a really Liberal Parliament...elected by universal suffrage and with some regard for fair distribution of political power’.
In 1884 Schnadhorst resigned his post of secretary of Birmingham Liberal Association to concentrate full time on the NLF. As secretary of the NLF, Schnadhorst became the link between the leadership and the constituency associations and hence the key figure in rebuilding the party following the split over Irish Home Rule and the defection of the Liberal Unionists
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
. One of Schnadhorst's jobs as secretary to the National Liberal Federation was to provide speakers who would draw crowds at Liberal rallies and it was William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
who addressed the inaugural meeting of the NLF at Bingley Hall
Bingley Hall
Bingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site....
, Birmingham in 1877. Schnadhorst's achievement in keeping the NLF Gladstonian rather than Chamberlainite in 1886 when the party split on the issue of Irish Home Rule and Birmingham followed Chamberlain into the Liberal Unionist fold, was of considerable importance to the Liberal Party. He reorganized the NLF to make it more responsive to the needs of local associations, so encouraging affiliations. In 1886 he also agreed to become the secretary of the Liberal Central Association and revolutionized the Association's conduct of elections, the improvements being reflected in a series of favourable by-election results at the end of the 1880s.
Liberal Central Association
On 21 February 1860 twenty Liberal MPs had formed the Liberal Registration Association to promote general co-operation between MPs and assisting in the process of registering electors in constituencies where the Liberals were not well-organised. It changed its name to the Liberal Central Association in 1874 and re-modelled its structure and purpose to become the ‘central medium of communication with and between the Party throughout the whole kingdom in aid of and in connection with local organization.’ The chairman of the LCA was originally the Leader of the Liberal MPs but by the end of the 19th century it was the Liberal Chief WhipChief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
. As the 19th century wore on, the role of the LCA changed from that of a members’ association to that of a Liberal Whips’ Office. It put local Liberal Associations in touch with potential candidates and made grants of money to help with elections. It had no policy role but supporters of various factions within the party did try to capture the offices of the LCA from time to time, most notably in the dissensions in the party over imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
.
Resignation
Schnadhorst undertook other public duties, chairing Liberal meetings and rallies and in connection with campaigns and causes promoted by the Liberal Party. For example he was elected one of the Vice-Presidents of the Free Land League in 1886. However he resigned all party offices in 1893 almost certainly due to declining health, even though he was still only 53 years old. His achievement was recognised in many quarters and he earned the description in the publication Who's WhoWho's Who (UK)
Who's Who is an annual British publication of biographies which vary in length of about 30,000 living notable Britons.-History:...
as the ‘chief organiser and adviser of the Liberal party, 1885-1892.’
Ill-health and death
Francis Schnadhorst died at the Priory, described in the terminology of the day as a lunatic asylum, at RoehamptonRoehampton
Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...
on 2 January 1900. He had been in declining health since the late 1890s. In 1894 he had suffered a mental breakdown leading to years of illness, including the suffering of convulsions. In December 1899 he was confined to bed and he never recovered. He also suffered increasingly from deafness as he got older. His funeral was held at Putney Cemetery on 6 January 1900.
Birmingham
Schnadhorst’s papers are mostly deposited at the University of BirminghamUniversity of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
Library, Special Collections Department. The collections consist of scrap albums of and relating to Francis Schnadhorst and illuminated addresses presented to him. There is also correspondence and other private papers principally relating to his activities as secretary to the Birmingham Liberal Association, to the National Liberal Federation and to the Liberal Central Association, 1867-1901. His correspondents include John Bright
John Bright
John Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
, William Gladstone, Arthur Morley, John Morley, Henry Labouchere
Henry Labouchere
Henry Du Pré Labouchère was an English politician, writer, publisher and theatre owner in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. He married the actress Henrietta Hodson....
, Lord Rosebery, Joseph Chamberlain, William Vernon Harcourt
William Vernon Harcourt
William Vernon Harcourt may refer to:*William Vernon Harcourt , son of the archbishop,father of the politician, and founder of the British Association for the Advancement of Science...
, Campbell Bannerman, Cecil Rhodes and many other political figures.