Goodwin Newton
Encyclopedia
Thomas Henry Goodwin Newton (1835 - 1907) was the Chairman of Imperial Continental Gas Association
(now known as Calor Gas), one of the United Kingdom
's largest energy businesses. He used "Goodwin" as his main christian name, which became a family middle name for generations afterwards.
and Barrells Hall
at Ullenhall
near Henley-in-Arden
in Warwickshire
, Goodwin Newton was born in 1835 in Birmingham
.
He was educated at St. John's College
part of Cambridge University along with his brother Canon Horace Newton
, and graduated in 1858. Following this he was called to the Bar
by the members of Middle Temple
, but never practiced due to his father dying.
Barrells Hall
and became Lord of the Manor
of Ullenhall
. Before William II purchased Barrells Hall
in 1856 the family house had been (and continued to be in addition to Barrells Hall for 20 years after the Barrells Hall purchase) Whateley Hall, Castle Bromwich
, which was destroyed for development in 1935
He and his brother inherited a "quite absurdly large fortune" estimated at around £100 million in today's money. The family fortune came from Welsh Slate Quarries
on the estate he owned by Llanberis
, North Wales
which including Bryn Bras Castle
, as well as vast amounts of freehold land in Birmingham
, including large portions of New Street
in the centre, and many ground rent
s. In his obituary
from 1907 The Times
stated that he was one of the largest owners of freehold property in Birmingham
Upon the death of his father he also gave up a career as a Barrister
and potential Member of Parliament
in the House of Commons to become a Country Gentleman
and landowner at the family seat
.
and later Redditch
, he bought the Glencripesdale Estate
on Loch Sunart
, Argyll
, Scotland
as a holiday home for the family.
Both brothers then set about purchasing more neighbouring land and estates, including the Isle of Carna
and Rahoy and eventually building the whole land mass up to 41 square miles (106.2 km²), and 20 miles (30 km) of coastline along the southern shore of Loch Sunart
.
, now known as Calor Gas, for a long period during the late nineteenth century, at a time of much growth within the company.
He was also a County Magistrate
for Warwickshire
In 1887 he was the High Sheriff of Warwickshire
, which was also the Jubilee
year for Queen Victoria
. The London Gazette
records him as being invited to Windsor Castle
for a celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday with the other High Sheriffs from around the country.
He was also a founder member of the Warwickshire County Council, such was his position and respect within the County
He was Lord of the Manor
s of Ullenhall
and also Aspleigh, both in Warwickshire
, and also Oldberrow
in Worcestershire
, which he inherited from his father, and upon his death passed on to his oldest son and heir Hugh Goodwin Newton.
He also had Advowson
rights for the vicarage of Ullenhall, and with his brother was a great supporter of the Church of England
.
, giving away millions of pounds in today's money, and building hospitals, schools, theatres, churches and donating to various charities with the support of his brother Canon Horace Newton
.
Imperial Continental Gas Association
Imperial Continental Gas Association plc was a leading British gas utility operating in various cities in Continental Europe . It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
(now known as Calor Gas), one of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's largest energy businesses. He used "Goodwin" as his main christian name, which became a family middle name for generations afterwards.
Early years
The eldest son of William Newton II of Whateley Hall near Castle BromwichCastle Bromwich
Castle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, North Warwickshire to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale,...
and Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall is a small stately home in the Warwickshire countyside near Henley-in-Arden. The nearest village is Ullenhall, which for many years was the estate village, large parts of it having been built by the owners of Barrells Hall, the Newtons of Glencripesdale Estate...
at Ullenhall
Ullenhall
Ullenhall is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, situated about West of Henley in Arden and West of the county town of Warwick...
near Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden is a small town in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 2,011....
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, Goodwin Newton was born in 1835 in Birmingham
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...
.
He was educated at St. John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
part of Cambridge University along with his brother Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton was a well-respected priest within the Church of England, philanthropist, and country landowner.-His life:...
, and graduated in 1858. Following this he was called to the Bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
by the members of Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, but never practiced due to his father dying.
Inheritance
Upon the death of his father William II in 1862, Goodwin Newton inheritedInheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall is a small stately home in the Warwickshire countyside near Henley-in-Arden. The nearest village is Ullenhall, which for many years was the estate village, large parts of it having been built by the owners of Barrells Hall, the Newtons of Glencripesdale Estate...
and became Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Ullenhall
Ullenhall
Ullenhall is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, situated about West of Henley in Arden and West of the county town of Warwick...
. Before William II purchased Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall is a small stately home in the Warwickshire countyside near Henley-in-Arden. The nearest village is Ullenhall, which for many years was the estate village, large parts of it having been built by the owners of Barrells Hall, the Newtons of Glencripesdale Estate...
in 1856 the family house had been (and continued to be in addition to Barrells Hall for 20 years after the Barrells Hall purchase) Whateley Hall, Castle Bromwich
Castle Bromwich
Castle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, North Warwickshire to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale,...
, which was destroyed for development in 1935
He and his brother inherited a "quite absurdly large fortune" estimated at around £100 million in today's money. The family fortune came from Welsh Slate Quarries
Quarries
Quarries - The "Royal Quarries" — not found in Scripture — is the namegiven to the vast caverns stretching far underneath the northern hill, Bezetha, on which Jerusalem is built. Out of these mammoth caverns stones, a hard limestone, have been quarried in ancient times for the buildings in the...
on the estate he owned by Llanberis
Llanberis
Llanberis is a village in Gwynedd, North Wales, lying on the southern banks of Llyn Padarn in Snowdonia. It takes its name from Saint Peris, an early Welsh saint.According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the population of Llanberis was 1,954...
, North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
which including Bryn Bras Castle
Bryn Bras Castle
Bryn Bras Castle is a Grade II* Listed Building, located on the old road between Llanrug and Llanberis known locally as the Clegir road, in Caernarfon, Gwynedd....
, as well as vast amounts of freehold land in Birmingham
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...
, including large portions of New Street
New Street
New Street may refer to:*Birmingham New Street railway station, a railway station in Birmingham, UK*New Street, Birmingham, a street in Birmingham, UK...
in the centre, and many ground rent
Ground rent
Ground rent, sometimes known as a rentcharge, is a regular payment required under a lease from the owner of leasehold property, payable to the freeholder. A ground rent is created when a freehold piece of land or a building is sold on a long lease...
s. In his obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
from 1907 The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
stated that he was one of the largest owners of freehold property in Birmingham
Upon the death of his father he also gave up a career as a Barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and potential Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in the House of Commons to become a Country Gentleman
Country Gentleman
Country Gentleman was an agricultural magazine founded in 1831 in Rochester, NY by Luther Tucker. The magazine was purchased by Curtis Publishing Company in 1911. Curtis redirected the magazine to address the business side of farming, which was largely ignored by the agricultural magazines of the...
and landowner at the family seat
Family seat
A seat or family seat is the principal residence of a family. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families took their dynasty name from their family seat , or named their family seat after their own dynasty...
.
Scottish estates
With his younger brother Canon Horace Newton, a very well respected vicar and Gentleman, who was Vicar of DriffieldDriffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield....
and later Redditch
Redditch
Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
, he bought the Glencripesdale Estate
Glencripesdale Estate
Glencripesdale Estate is situated along the south side of Loch Sunart, a sea loch in the west highlands of Scotland.Today, the Isle of Càrna is the last remaining part of the once huge 35,000 acre deer forest and grousemoor based Glencripesdale Estate, which was bought in 1870 by the three Newton...
on Loch Sunart
Loch Sunart
Loch Sunart is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. Loch Sunart runs west from the sea, bounded to the north by the Sunart district of Ardnamurchan and to the south by the Morvern district. An inlet from Loch Sunart, Loch Teacuis, runs south-easterly into Morvern.At it is the longest sea...
, Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
as a holiday home for the family.
Both brothers then set about purchasing more neighbouring land and estates, including the Isle of Carna
Carna
-Places:*Cârna, a commune in Dolj County, Romania*Càrna, an island in Loch Sunart on the west coast of Scotland*Carna, County Galway, a village in Connemara in the west of Ireland...
and Rahoy and eventually building the whole land mass up to 41 square miles (106.2 km²), and 20 miles (30 km) of coastline along the southern shore of Loch Sunart
Loch Sunart
Loch Sunart is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. Loch Sunart runs west from the sea, bounded to the north by the Sunart district of Ardnamurchan and to the south by the Morvern district. An inlet from Loch Sunart, Loch Teacuis, runs south-easterly into Morvern.At it is the longest sea...
.
Positions held & Lord of the Manor
He was Chairman of Imperial Continental Gas AssociationImperial Continental Gas Association
Imperial Continental Gas Association plc was a leading British gas utility operating in various cities in Continental Europe . It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
, now known as Calor Gas, for a long period during the late nineteenth century, at a time of much growth within the company.
He was also a County Magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
for Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
In 1887 he was the High Sheriff of Warwickshire
High Sheriff of Warwickshire
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
, which was also the Jubilee
Golden Jubilee
A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...
year for Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. The London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
records him as being invited to Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
for a celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday with the other High Sheriffs from around the country.
He was also a founder member of the Warwickshire County Council, such was his position and respect within the County
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
He was Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
s of Ullenhall
Ullenhall
Ullenhall is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, situated about West of Henley in Arden and West of the county town of Warwick...
and also Aspleigh, both in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, and also Oldberrow
Oldberrow
Oldberrow is a village in the Stratford on Avon District of Warwickshire, England. The parish was part of Worcestershire until 1896, when it was transferred to Warwickshire, into which county it penetrated, between Morton Bagot and Ullenhall, as a narrow strip some long by about ½ mile wide. The...
in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, which he inherited from his father, and upon his death passed on to his oldest son and heir Hugh Goodwin Newton.
He also had Advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
rights for the vicarage of Ullenhall, and with his brother was a great supporter of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
.
Philanthropy
During his lifetime he became famous for his philanthropyPhilanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, giving away millions of pounds in today's money, and building hospitals, schools, theatres, churches and donating to various charities with the support of his brother Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton was a well-respected priest within the Church of England, philanthropist, and country landowner.-His life:...
.