Robertson Gladstone
Encyclopedia
Robertson Gladstone was an English merchant
and politician. He was the second son, and third child of Sir John Gladstone and the brother of William Ewart Gladstone
who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
four times.
at the Gladstone house in Rodney Street
and then at Seaforth House
from 1813. He studied at Eton College
along with his older brothers Thomas
and William. He was moved by his father to Glasgow Academy at the age of sixteen, where he was keen on mathematics, which he judged would be of use in his intended future career as a merchant. He then returned to Liverpool work in the offices of his father's company.
On 28 September 1827 he traveled with his brother Thomas to spend the Winter in Naples
. Whilst there they viewed an eruption of Vesuvius. On his return to England he proposed to his father that he should visit the family estates in the West Indies with his father accepting the proposal. Leaving on 12 October 1828 he traveled to Demerara
, British Guiana
, arriving in November and remained for three months until March 1829. Robertson made record of this journey in his Journal of a Voyage & Residence in the Colony of Demerara which is held in the library of the Liverpool Athenaeum
. He traveled back to England via the United States of America where he stopped in Philadelphia.
In 1833 he became a freemason in Liverpool.
, a faith which was considered to be divergent from the evangelical Church of England
beliefs of the Gladstone family. After the marriage a mansion house called Court Hey Hall
was built in the same year as their family home.
They had eight children together.
None of sons had issue.
He was also the owner of 24 Abercromby Square
which is now part of the University of Liverpool
.
Active in radical Liverpool politics, he was elected as one of the councilors in Liverpool's Abercromby ward as part of the 1838 Municipal Elections. This was his third attempt at taking the seat, and this was noted as a "The scene of a great Tory truimph, however it was achieved." He served as mayor of the city between 1842 and 1843. In 1846 he was one of the 'gentlemen' present during the visit of Prince Albert to the Liverpool Sailors' Home
. As a measure of his continued importance he was still a member of seven of the thirteen town council committees in 1859. In 1862 he unsuccessfully supported Charles Mozley as candidate for mayor. In November 1863 he again proposed him for mayor, and with a majority of five Mozley became the first Jewish mayor of Liverpool.
He was also a Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Lancashire
, a Trustee of the Liverpool Union Mill and Bread Company and a member of the Health Committee.
, where his father-in-law was a partner.
In August 1845 he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Grand Junction Railway
and was also on the committee of the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway. He was the first President of the Liverpool Financial Reform Association after it was instituted in Liverpool on 20 April 1848., a body which was noted as "the most persistent and single-minded free trade body England had ever known".
Robertson inherited his father's Liverpool firm after John Gladstone's death in 1851
and Hope Street
.
The executors of his estate were his sons Robertson and Arthur. His will was "proved in the Liverpool District Court of Probate. The personality was sworn under £120,000. A sum of £500 was bequeathed to local charities and schools."
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and politician. He was the second son, and third child of Sir John Gladstone and the brother of 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 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
four times.
Early years
Robertson, along with his siblings was bought up in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
at the Gladstone house in Rodney Street
Rodney Street, Liverpool
Rodney Street in Liverpool, England is noted for the number of doctors and its Georgian architecture. It is sometimes known as the "Harley Street of the North". Together with Hope Street and Gambier Terrace it forms the Rodney Street conservation area...
and then at Seaforth House
Seaforth House
Seaforth House was a mansion in Seaforth, Merseyside England built in 1813 for Sir John Gladstone, father of William Ewart Gladstone who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom four times....
from 1813. He studied at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
along with his older brothers Thomas
Sir Thomas Gladstone, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Gladstone, 2nd Baronet was a Tory politician in the United Kingdom.He was Member of Parliament for Queenborough from 1830 to 1831, for Portarlington from 1832 to 1835, for Leicester from 1835 to 1837, and for Ipswich 1842...
and William. He was moved by his father to Glasgow Academy at the age of sixteen, where he was keen on mathematics, which he judged would be of use in his intended future career as a merchant. He then returned to Liverpool work in the offices of his father's company.
On 28 September 1827 he traveled with his brother Thomas to spend the Winter in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. Whilst there they viewed an eruption of Vesuvius. On his return to England he proposed to his father that he should visit the family estates in the West Indies with his father accepting the proposal. Leaving on 12 October 1828 he traveled to Demerara
Demerara
Demerara was a region in South America in what is now Guyana that was colonised by the Dutch in 1611. The British invaded and captured the area in 1796...
, British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
, arriving in November and remained for three months until March 1829. Robertson made record of this journey in his Journal of a Voyage & Residence in the Colony of Demerara which is held in the library of the Liverpool Athenaeum
Liverpool Athenaeum
The Athenaeum originated as a gentlemen's club in Liverpool, England. It has been in continuous use since the end of the 18th century. The club was founded to ensure the up-to-date provision of newspapers and pamphlets, and to create a library for the use of the merchants and professional...
. He traveled back to England via the United States of America where he stopped in Philadelphia.
In 1833 he became a freemason in Liverpool.
Marriage and family
He was engaged at the age of 30 to Mary Ellen Jones (d. 23 September 1865), daughter of a notable local banker, Hugh Jones. They married on 28 January 1836 in St George's Church, Liverpool. The marriage caused disagreements within the Gladstone family because of the religious beliefs of the Jones family who were unitariansUnitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, a faith which was considered to be divergent from the evangelical 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...
beliefs of the Gladstone family. After the marriage a mansion house called Court Hey Hall
Court Hey Hall
Court Hey Hall was a mansion in England built for Robertson Gladstone , elder brother of William Ewart Gladstone.The hall was built c.1836 in the Court Hey area of what is now Knowsley Borough in Merseyside and stayed in the Gladstone family until the death of one of his sons in 1919.The estate was...
was built in the same year as their family home.
They had eight children together.
- John Gladstone (b. 1838 - d. 13 October 1852 at Court Hey)
- Mary Ellen Gladstone (b. 1840 - d. 17 September 1895)
- Arthur Robertson Gladstone, Capt (b. 1841 - d. 30 March 1896, late of Court Hey)
- Hugh Jones Gladstone (b. 1843 - d. 1 September 1874 at Court Hey)
- Robertson Gladstone (b. 14 September 1844 - d. November 1893 in Liverpool, late of Court Hey)
- Walter Longueville Gladstone (b. 30 September 1846 - d. 14 May 1919) - donated a unique organ to All Saints Church in ChildwallChildwallChildwall is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Gateacre, Wavertree, Belle Vale, Broadgreen, Bowring Park and Mossley Hill...
with an inscription to his father, mother and uncle William. - Anna Maria Heywood Gladstone (b. 1848 - d. 14 May 1901)
- Richard Francis Gladstone (b. 24 December 1849 - d. 2 May 1909, late of Court Hey)
None of sons had issue.
He was also the owner of 24 Abercromby Square
Abercromby Square
Abercromby Square is a square at the heart of the University of Liverpool. It is bordered by Oxford Road to the North. It is named after General Sir Ralph Abercromby, commander of the British Army in Egypt, he was killed at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801....
which is now part of the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
.
Political and community activities
Gladstone purchased the patronage of St Andrew's Church in Renshaw Street, Liverpool, a church which was built by his father.Active in radical Liverpool politics, he was elected as one of the councilors in Liverpool's Abercromby ward as part of the 1838 Municipal Elections. This was his third attempt at taking the seat, and this was noted as a "The scene of a great Tory truimph, however it was achieved." He served as mayor of the city between 1842 and 1843. In 1846 he was one of the 'gentlemen' present during the visit of Prince Albert to the Liverpool Sailors' Home
Liverpool Sailors' Home
Liverpool Sailors' Home, was open for business in Canning Place, Liverpool, England from December 1850 to July 1969.The home was not only a magnificent building it also played a pivotal role in establishing Liverpool as one of the world's successful commercial seaports following the dismantling of...
. As a measure of his continued importance he was still a member of seven of the thirteen town council committees in 1859. In 1862 he unsuccessfully supported Charles Mozley as candidate for mayor. In November 1863 he again proposed him for mayor, and with a majority of five Mozley became the first Jewish mayor of Liverpool.
He was also a Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, a Trustee of the Liverpool Union Mill and Bread Company and a member of the Health Committee.
Commercial interests
In the fullness of time after his marriage, Robertson obtained a partnership in Heywood's BankHeywood's Bank
Heywood's Bank was a private banking firm established and run in Manchester by members of the Heywood family of Pendleton between 1788 and 1874.- Family and banking history :...
, where his father-in-law was a partner.
In August 1845 he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Grand Junction Railway
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
and was also on the committee of the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway. He was the first President of the Liverpool Financial Reform Association after it was instituted in Liverpool on 20 April 1848., a body which was noted as "the most persistent and single-minded free trade body England had ever known".
Robertson inherited his father's Liverpool firm after John Gladstone's death in 1851
Later life and death
He lost around £6,000 of his brother William's share of the Seaforth estate. He died on 23 September 1875 at Court Hey. Much of his extensive property portfolio was sold at a Liverpool auction the following year between 7 and 9 February. This included dozens of homes on Liverpool’s most prestigious streets including a row of townhouses in Rodney Street and stables, workshops and homes in Dale StreetDale Street
Dale Street Liverpool, England is a street in the Commercial Centre conservation area. The street together with Castle Street, Old Hall Street, Victoria Street and Water Street are the main commercial streets and occupy area of the medieval town of Liverpool...
and Hope Street
Hope Street, Liverpool
Hope Street, Liverpool, England stretches from Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral past Liverpool Cathedral to Upper Parliament Street. It contains several restaurants, hotels and bars. The road runs parallel to Rodney Street...
.
The executors of his estate were his sons Robertson and Arthur. His will was "proved in the Liverpool District Court of Probate. The personality was sworn under £120,000. A sum of £500 was bequeathed to local charities and schools."