William Huskisson
Encyclopedia
William Huskisson PC (11 March 1770 – 15 September 1830) was a British
statesman
, financier, and Member of Parliament
for several constituencies, including Liverpool
. He is best known today, however, as the world's first widely reported railway casualty as he was run over by George Stephenson
's locomotive engine Rocket
.
, Malvern
, Worcestershire
, the son of William and Elizabeth Huskisson, both members of Staffordshire
families. He was one of four brothers. After their mother Elizabeth died, their father William eventually remarried and had further children by his second wife. His half-brother Thomas Huskisson
was a captain of the Royal Navy
, an eyewitness of Trafalgar
, and was appointed as the Paymaster of the Navy. His other half-brother George Huskisson
was an officer in the Royal Marines
before taking up his appointment as Collector of Customs at Saint Vincent
.
In 1783, Huskisson was sent to Paris to live with his maternal great-uncle Dr. Richard Gem, who was physician to the British embassy there. He remained in Paris until 1792, and his experience as an eyewitness to the prelude and beginning of the French Revolution
gave him a life-long interest in politics. Huskisson first came to public notice while still in Paris. As a supporter of the moderate party, he became a member of the "Club of 1789," which favoured making France into a constitutional monarchy
. On 29 August 1790, he delivered a speech entitled "Sur les Assignats", about the issue of assignat
s by the French government. This speech gave him a reputation as an expert in finance. From 1790 to 1792, the Marquess of Stafford
was the British ambassador to Paris. Huskisson became a protégé of the Marquess, and returned to London with him.
, the Home Secretary
, and William Pitt the Younger
, the Prime Minister
. Because of Huskisson's fluency in French, Dundas appointed him in January 1793 to oversee the execution of the Aliens Act
, which mostly dealt with French refugees. In the discharge of his delicate duties, he manifested such ability that in 1795 he was appointed Under-Secretary at War
(the Secretary at War's
deputy). In the following year he entered parliament as member for Morpeth
, but for a considerable period he took scarcely any part in the debates. In 1800 he inherited a fortune from Dr Gem. On the retirement of Pitt in 1801 he resigned office, and after contesting Dover
unsuccessfully he withdrew for a time into private life. Having in 1804 been chosen to represent Liskeard
, he was on the restoration of the Pitt
ministry appointed secretary of the treasury
, holding office till the dissolution of the ministry after the death of Pitt in January 1806.
After being elected for Harwich
in 1807, he accepted the same office under the Duke of Portland
, but he withdrew from the ministry along with Canning
in 1809. In the following year he published a pamphlet on the currency system, which confirmed his reputation as the ablest financier of his time; but his free-trade principles did not accord with those of his party. In 1812 he was returned for Chichester
. When in 1814 he re-entered the public service, it was only as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
, but his influence was from this time very great in the commercial and financial legislation of the country. He took a prominent part in the corn-law debates of 1814 and 1815; and in 1819 he presented a memorandum to Lord Liverpool advocating a large reduction in the unfunded debt, and explaining a method for the resumption of cash payments, which was embodied in the act passed the same year. In 1821 he was a member of the committee appointed to inquire into the causes of the agricultural distress then prevailing, and the proposed relaxation of the corn laws
embodied in the report was understood to have been chiefly due to his strenuous advocacy.
In 1823 he was appointed President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy
, and shortly afterwards he received a seat in the cabinet. In the same year he was returned for Liverpool
as successor to Canning, and as the only man who could reconcile the Tory
merchants to a free trade policy. Among the more important legislative changes with which he was principally connected were a reform of the Navigation Acts
, admitting other nations to a full equality and reciprocity of shipping duties; the repeal of the labor laws; the introduction of a new sinking fund; the reduction of the duties on manufactures and on the importation of foreign goods, and the repeal of the quarantine
duties. In accordance with his suggestion Canning in 1827 introduced a measure on the corn laws proposing the adoption of a sliding scale to regulate the amount of duty. A misapprehension between Huskisson and the Duke of Wellington
led to the duke proposing an amendment, the success of which caused the abandonment of the measure by the government.
After the death of Canning in the same year Huskisson accepted the secretaryship of the colonies
under Lord Goderich
, an office which he continued to hold in the new cabinet formed by the Duke of Wellington in the following year. After succeeding with great difficulty in inducing the cabinet to agree to a compromise on the corn laws, Huskisson finally resigned office in May 1828 on account of a difference with his colleagues in regard to the disfranchisement of East Retford
. He was followed out of the government by other Tories who are usually described as Canningites including Lord Palmerston, Charles Grant
, Lord Dudley
, and Lord Melbourne
.
The Duke of Wellington felt that the remainder of the day's events should be cancelled following the accident at Parkside, and proposed to return to Liverpool. However, a large crowd had gathered in Manchester to see the trains arrive, and was beginning to become unruly. Wellington was persuaded to continue to Manchester. By the time the trains reached the outskirts of Manchester the crowd had become hostile and was spilling onto the tracks. With local authorities unable to clear the tracks, the trains were obliged to drive at low speed into the crowd, using their own momentum to push people out of the way. Eventually they arrived at Liverpool Road railway station in Manchester to be met by a hostile crowd, who waved banners and flags against the Duke and pelted him with vegetables. Wellington refused to get off the train, and ordered that the trains return to Liverpool. Mechanical failures and an inability to turn the locomotives meant that most of the trains were unable to leave Manchester. While the Duke of Wellington's train left successfully, only three of the remaining seven locomotives were usable. These three locomotives slowly hauled a single long train of 24 carriages back to Liverpool, eventually arriving 61⁄2 hours late after having been pelted with objects thrown from bridges by the drunken crowds lining the track.
The death and funeral of William Huskisson caused the opening of the railway to be widely reported, and people around the world became aware for the first time that cheap and rapid long-distance transport was now possible. The L&M became extremely successful, and within a month of its opening plans were put forward to connect Liverpool and Manchester with the other major cities of England. Within ten years, 1,775 miles (2,857 km) of railways had been built in Britain, and within 20 years of the L&M's opening over 6,200 miles (10,000 km) were in place. The L&M remains in operation, and its opening is now considered the start of the age of mechanised transport; in the words of industrialist and former British Rail chairman Peter Parker, "the world is a branch line of the pioneering Liverpool–Manchester run".
According to parish council records, a woman in Eaglescliffe
, Teesside
, thought to be a blind beggar, was "killed by the steam machine on the railway" in 1827— and fatal
boiler explosions in 1815
and 1828
.) While attending the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
, Huskisson rode down the line in the same train as the Duke of Wellington
. At Parkside Railway Station, close to Newton-le-Willows
in Lancashire
, the train stopped to observe a cavalcade
on the adjacent line. Several members of the duke's party stepped onto the trackside to observe more closely. Huskisson went forward to greet the duke. As Huskisson was exiting his car, the locomotive Rocket
approached on the parallel track. As the train drew close he held on to the open carriage door, but the door was wider than the gap between the two trains and The Rocket struck it, forcing Huskisson off balance and under its wheels. His leg was horrifically mangled. The wounded Huskisson was taken by a train (driven by George Stephenson
himself) to Eccles
. When he reached hospital he was given a massive dose of laudanum
. After being told his death was imminent he made his will, and died a few hours later.
, the commander-in-chief at Portsmouth
. Emily Huskisson survived her husband and remained a widow until her death in April 1856. They had no children. In 1800 Huskisson bought Eartham House
in West Sussex from his friend William Hayley
, and is commemorated in the parish church by a long carved eulogy from Emily on the south wall.
The monument where his remains are buried is the centrepiece of St James Cemetery
, Liverpool
. A marble statue of him was housed in a mausoleum there until 1968, when it was transferred to the Walker Art Gallery
in Liverpool.
Emily also commissioned a second marble statue for the Custom House in Liverpool. This statue now stands in Pimlico Gardens in London. A bronze casting of it was unveiled at the Custom House in 1847, and after several moves is now in Duke Street in the city centre.
|-
|-
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...
statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
, financier, and 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,...
for several constituencies, including Liverpool
Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool was a Borough constituency in the county of Lancashire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament...
. He is best known today, however, as the world's first widely reported railway casualty as he was run over by George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
's locomotive engine Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, built in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in 1829.- Design innovations :...
.
Background and education
Huskisson was born at Birtsmorton CourtBirtsmorton Court
Birtsmorton Court is a medieval moated manor house near Malvern in Worcestershire, in the former woodlands of Malvern Chase. The English place name element birt-, which often signifies the birches such as grow in this low-lying site, in this particular case may be a transformation of de Brute,...
, Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
, 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...
, the son of William and Elizabeth Huskisson, both members of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
families. He was one of four brothers. After their mother Elizabeth died, their father William eventually remarried and had further children by his second wife. His half-brother Thomas Huskisson
Thomas Huskisson
Thomas Huskisson was an officer in the Royal Navy. Thomas Huskisson was half-brother of William Huskisson, the British politician. Thomas joined the Royal Navy in 1800. He saw action at the Battle of Trafalgar on HMS Defence in 1805....
was a captain of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, an eyewitness of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, and was appointed as the Paymaster of the Navy. His other half-brother George Huskisson
George Huskisson
George Huskisson - half-brother of William Huskisson the MP - was commissioned in the Royal Marines until 1820, when he resigned his commission to take up his appointment as Collector of Customs at Saint Vincent in the West Indies, an appointment he held until his death 24 years later in 1844....
was an officer in the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
before taking up his appointment as Collector of Customs at Saint Vincent
Saint Vincent (island)
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
.
Early life
Huskisson was a student at Appleby Grammar School (later renamed Sir John Moore Church of England Primary School), a boarding school designed by Sir Christopher Wren on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire borders.In 1783, Huskisson was sent to Paris to live with his maternal great-uncle Dr. Richard Gem, who was physician to the British embassy there. He remained in Paris until 1792, and his experience as an eyewitness to the prelude and beginning of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
gave him a life-long interest in politics. Huskisson first came to public notice while still in Paris. As a supporter of the moderate party, he became a member of the "Club of 1789," which favoured making France into a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
. On 29 August 1790, he delivered a speech entitled "Sur les Assignats", about the issue of assignat
Assignat
Assignat was the type of a monetary instrument used during the time of the French Revolution, and the French Revolutionary Wars.- France :...
s by the French government. This speech gave him a reputation as an expert in finance. From 1790 to 1792, the Marquess of Stafford
George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland
George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG, PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, as Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and as The Marquess of Stafford from 1803 to 1833, was a British politician, diplomat, landowner and patron of the arts. He is estimated to have been the...
was the British ambassador to Paris. Huskisson became a protégé of the Marquess, and returned to London with him.
Political career
Once in London, Huskisson quickly gained an additional two powerful political patrons: Henry DundasHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC and Baron Dunira was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and the last person to be impeached in the United Kingdom....
, the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, and William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, the Prime Minister
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...
. Because of Huskisson's fluency in French, Dundas appointed him in January 1793 to oversee the execution of the Aliens Act
Aliens Act 1793
The Aliens Act 1793 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain regulating immigration into the country. The Act, inspired by a sharp increase in refugees from the French Revolution seeking asylum in Great Britain, required that aliens be recorded upon arrival and to register with the local...
, which mostly dealt with French refugees. In the discharge of his delicate duties, he manifested such ability that in 1795 he was appointed Under-Secretary at War
Under-Secretary of State for War
The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean . In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies...
(the Secretary at War's
Secretary at War
The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. It was occasionally a cabinet level position, although...
deputy). In the following year he entered parliament as member for Morpeth
Morpeth (UK Parliament constituency)
Morpeth was a borough constituency centred on the town of Morpeth in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, but for a considerable period he took scarcely any part in the debates. In 1800 he inherited a fortune from Dr Gem. On the retirement of Pitt in 1801 he resigned office, and after contesting Dover
Dover (UK Parliament constituency)
Dover is a 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.-Boundaries:...
unsuccessfully he withdrew for a time into private life. Having in 1804 been chosen to represent Liskeard
Liskeard (UK Parliament constituency)
Liskeard was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.- History :...
, he was on the restoration of the Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
ministry appointed secretary of the treasury
Secretary to the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are junior Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure as Lord Treasurer in the 16th century. The...
, holding office till the dissolution of the ministry after the death of Pitt in January 1806.
After being elected for Harwich
Harwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Harwich was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until its abolition for the 2010 general election it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
in 1807, he accepted the same office under the Duke of Portland
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
, but he withdrew from the ministry along with Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
in 1809. In the following year he published a pamphlet on the currency system, which confirmed his reputation as the ablest financier of his time; but his free-trade principles did not accord with those of his party. In 1812 he was returned for Chichester
Chichester (UK Parliament constituency)
Chichester is a county constituency in West Sussex, 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....
. When in 1814 he re-entered the public service, it was only as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
First Commissioner of Woods and Forests
The Commissioners of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues were established in the United Kingdom in 1810 by merging the former offices of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases and Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown into a three-man commission...
, but his influence was from this time very great in the commercial and financial legislation of the country. He took a prominent part in the corn-law debates of 1814 and 1815; and in 1819 he presented a memorandum to Lord Liverpool advocating a large reduction in the unfunded debt, and explaining a method for the resumption of cash payments, which was embodied in the act passed the same year. In 1821 he was a member of the committee appointed to inquire into the causes of the agricultural distress then prevailing, and the proposed relaxation of the corn laws
Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
embodied in the report was understood to have been chiefly due to his strenuous advocacy.
In 1823 he was appointed President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy
Treasurer of the Navy
The Treasurer of the Navy was an office in the British government between the mid-16th and early 19th century. The office-holder was responsible for the financial maintenance of the Royal Navy. The office was a political appointment, and frequently was held by up-and-coming young politicians who...
, and shortly afterwards he received a seat in the cabinet. In the same year he was returned for Liverpool
Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool was a Borough constituency in the county of Lancashire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of England to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Members of Parliament...
as successor to Canning, and as the only man who could reconcile the Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
merchants to a free trade policy. Among the more important legislative changes with which he was principally connected were a reform of the Navigation Acts
Navigation Acts
The English Navigation Acts were a series of laws that restricted the use of foreign shipping for trade between England and its colonies, a process which had started in 1651. Their goal was to force colonial development into lines favorable to England, and stop direct colonial trade with the...
, admitting other nations to a full equality and reciprocity of shipping duties; the repeal of the labor laws; the introduction of a new sinking fund; the reduction of the duties on manufactures and on the importation of foreign goods, and the repeal of the quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
duties. In accordance with his suggestion Canning in 1827 introduced a measure on the corn laws proposing the adoption of a sliding scale to regulate the amount of duty. A misapprehension between Huskisson and the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
led to the duke proposing an amendment, the success of which caused the abandonment of the measure by the government.
After the death of Canning in the same year Huskisson accepted the secretaryship of the colonies
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet level position responsible for the army and the British colonies . The Department was created in 1801...
under Lord Goderich
Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich
Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon PC , styled The Honourable F. J. Robinson until 1827 and known as The Viscount Goderich between 1827 and 1833, the name by which he is best known to history, was a British statesman...
, an office which he continued to hold in the new cabinet formed by the Duke of Wellington in the following year. After succeeding with great difficulty in inducing the cabinet to agree to a compromise on the corn laws, Huskisson finally resigned office in May 1828 on account of a difference with his colleagues in regard to the disfranchisement of East Retford
East Retford (UK Parliament constituency)
East Retford was a parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons for the first time in 1316, and continuously from 1571 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished...
. He was followed out of the government by other Tories who are usually described as Canningites including Lord Palmerston, Charles Grant
Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg
Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg PC FRS was a Scottish politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...
, Lord Dudley
John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley
John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley, PC, FRS , known as the Honourable John Ward from 1788 to 1823 and as the 4th Viscount Dudley and Ward from 1823 to 1827, was a British politician...
, and Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
.
Death
At Parkside railway station, near the midpoint of the line, the locomotives made a scheduled stop to take on water. Although the railway staff had advised passengers to remain on the trains while this took place, around 50 of the dignitaries on board alighted when the Duke of Wellington's special train stopped. One of those who got off was William Huskisson, former cabinet minister and Member of Parliament for Liverpool. Huskisson had been a highly influential figure in the creation of the British Empire and an architect of the doctrine of free trade, but had fallen out with Wellington in 1828 over the issue of parliamentary reform and had resigned from the cabinet. Hoping to be reconciled with Wellington, he approached the Duke's railway carriage and shook his hand. Distracted by the Duke, he did not notice an approaching locomotive on the adjacent track, Rocket. On realising it was approaching he panicked and tried to clamber into the Duke's carriage, but the door of the carriage swung open leaving him hanging directly in the path of the oncoming Rocket. He fell onto the tracks in front of the train, suffering serious leg injuries and dying later that night.The Duke of Wellington felt that the remainder of the day's events should be cancelled following the accident at Parkside, and proposed to return to Liverpool. However, a large crowd had gathered in Manchester to see the trains arrive, and was beginning to become unruly. Wellington was persuaded to continue to Manchester. By the time the trains reached the outskirts of Manchester the crowd had become hostile and was spilling onto the tracks. With local authorities unable to clear the tracks, the trains were obliged to drive at low speed into the crowd, using their own momentum to push people out of the way. Eventually they arrived at Liverpool Road railway station in Manchester to be met by a hostile crowd, who waved banners and flags against the Duke and pelted him with vegetables. Wellington refused to get off the train, and ordered that the trains return to Liverpool. Mechanical failures and an inability to turn the locomotives meant that most of the trains were unable to leave Manchester. While the Duke of Wellington's train left successfully, only three of the remaining seven locomotives were usable. These three locomotives slowly hauled a single long train of 24 carriages back to Liverpool, eventually arriving 61⁄2 hours late after having been pelted with objects thrown from bridges by the drunken crowds lining the track.
The death and funeral of William Huskisson caused the opening of the railway to be widely reported, and people around the world became aware for the first time that cheap and rapid long-distance transport was now possible. The L&M became extremely successful, and within a month of its opening plans were put forward to connect Liverpool and Manchester with the other major cities of England. Within ten years, 1,775 miles (2,857 km) of railways had been built in Britain, and within 20 years of the L&M's opening over 6,200 miles (10,000 km) were in place. The L&M remains in operation, and its opening is now considered the start of the age of mechanised transport; in the words of industrialist and former British Rail chairman Peter Parker, "the world is a branch line of the pioneering Liverpool–Manchester run".
According to parish council records, a woman in Eaglescliffe
Eaglescliffe
Eaglescliffe is a small town in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the north bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in County Durham. The bridge at Eaglescliffe on the border with Yarm marked the last crossing point of tidal section of the River Tees...
, Teesside
Teesside
Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...
, thought to be a blind beggar, was "killed by the steam machine on the railway" in 1827— and fatal
boiler explosions in 1815
Philadelphia (UK) boiler explosion 1815
The 1815 Philadelphia train accident occurred on 31 July 1815, in Philadelphia, County Durham, England, when an early experimental railway locomotive, Brunton's Mechanical Traveller, suffered a boiler explosion. This engine, also known as the Steam Horse, ran on four wheels but was pushed by...
and 1828
Locomotion No 1
Locomotion No. 1 is an early British steam locomotive. Built by George and Robert Stephenson's company Robert Stephenson and Company in 1825, it hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 27 September 1825....
.) While attending the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
, Huskisson rode down the line in the same train as the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
. At Parkside Railway Station, close to Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows is a small market town within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is situated about midway between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, to the east of St Helens, to the north of Warrington and to the south of...
in 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...
, the train stopped to observe a cavalcade
Cavalcade
Cavalcade may refer to:*Cavalcade, a horseback procession, parade, or mass trail ride*A huge parade*A huge procession*Suzuki GV1400 Cavalcade, a Suzuki luxury touring motorcycle available from 1985 to 1988 in North America...
on the adjacent line. Several members of the duke's party stepped onto the trackside to observe more closely. Huskisson went forward to greet the duke. As Huskisson was exiting his car, the locomotive Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket
Stephenson's Rocket was an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, built in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the Forth Street Works of Robert Stephenson and Company in 1829.- Design innovations :...
approached on the parallel track. As the train drew close he held on to the open carriage door, but the door was wider than the gap between the two trains and The Rocket struck it, forcing Huskisson off balance and under its wheels. His leg was horrifically mangled. The wounded Huskisson was taken by a train (driven by George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
himself) to Eccles
Eccles, Greater Manchester
Eccles is a town in the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, west of Salford and west of Manchester city centre...
. When he reached hospital he was given a massive dose of laudanum
Laudanum
Laudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
. After being told his death was imminent he made his will, and died a few hours later.
Family and commemorations
On 6 April 1799, Huskisson married Emily Milbanke, the youngest daughter of Admiral Mark MilbankeMark Milbanke
Admiral Mark Milbanke was a British naval officer and colonial governor.-Military career:Born the son of Sir Ralph Milbanke Bt, Mark Milbanke graduated from the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth in 1740. He was made Lieutenant in 1744 and in 1746 was given command of HMS Serpent.In 1789, Milbanke...
, the commander-in-chief at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
. Emily Huskisson survived her husband and remained a widow until her death in April 1856. They had no children. In 1800 Huskisson bought Eartham House
Eartham
Eartham is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north east of Chichester east of the A285 road....
in West Sussex from his friend William Hayley
William Hayley
William Hayley was an English writer, best known as the friend and biographer of William Cowper.-Biography:...
, and is commemorated in the parish church by a long carved eulogy from Emily on the south wall.
The monument where his remains are buried is the centrepiece of St James Cemetery
St James Cemetery
St James's Cemetery is an urban park behind the Liverpool Cathedral that is below ground level. Until 1825, the space was a stone quarry, and until 1936 it was used as the Liverpool city cemetery. It has been designated a Grade I Historic Park by English Heritage.-History:The workings and...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
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...
. A marble statue of him was housed in a mausoleum there until 1968, when it was transferred to the Walker Art Gallery
Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group, and is promoted as "the National Gallery of the North" because it is not a local or regional gallery but is part...
in Liverpool.
Emily also commissioned a second marble statue for the Custom House in Liverpool. This statue now stands in Pimlico Gardens in London. A bronze casting of it was unveiled at the Custom House in 1847, and after several moves is now in Duke Street in the city centre.
See also
- Lists of rail accidents
- Huskisson, New South WalesHuskisson, New South WalesHuskisson is a town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven, on the shores of Jervis Bay. It is 24 km south-east of Nowra.Situated alongside Currambene Creek which serves also as an anchorage and fishing port...
, a town named after William Huskisson
External links
- William Huskisson page on the Peel Web.
- A Piece of Lowton History has information about Huskisson's death and memorial.
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