Arthur Wilson (1836 – 1909) was a prominent English ship-owner who is best known for playing host to his friend Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, at his home

Tranby Croft Tranby Croft is a large Grade II listed Victorian country house and estate at Anlaby, near Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The house is now the co-educational, independent day school, Tranby School. The house is built in wh ...

, the scene of the

royal baccarat scandal The Royal Baccarat Scandal, also known as the Tranby Croft Affair, was a British gambling scandal of the late 19th century involving the Prince of Wales—the future King Edward VII. The scandal started during a house party in September 1890, ...

Life

Arthur Wilson was born on 14 December 1836 in Hull, Yorkshire. His father was Thomas Wilson, owner of the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. shipping business. His brother was Charles Wilson, who was later created

Baron Nunburnholme Baron Nunburnholme, of the City of Kingston-upon-Hull, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1906 for the former Liberal Member of Parliament for Hull and Hull West, Charles Wilson. His son, the second Baron, al ...

. Like his brother, he was educated at Kingston College in Hull. He was associated with Charles throughout his life, and became the head of the business after his brother's death in 1907. Before this, he served as director of the North Eastern Railway, and chairman of the shipping committee of the Hull Chamber of Commerce. He was

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the 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 o ...

for 1891. For the last twenty years of his life, his London home was 17

Grosvenor Place Grosvenor Place is a street in Belgravia, London, running from Hyde Park Corner down the west side of Buckingham Palace gardens, and joining lower Grosvenor Place where there are some cafes and restaurants. It joins Grosvenor Gardens to the ...

, a building which now serves as the embassy of Ireland. Wilson's son

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

entered Parliament as a Unionist for the Holderness division of Yorkshire in 1900. Wilson himself was active in protecting the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

interest in Yorkshire, but spoke against Gladstone's

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

bill, and joined the

Liberal Unionist 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 (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

s. In 1909, he spoke in favour of

tariff reform The Tariff Reform League (TRL) was a protectionist British pressure group formed in 1903 to protest against what they considered to be unfair foreign imports and to advocate Imperial Preference to protect British industry from foreign competitio ...

. Wilson died of cancer in 1909, two years after taking charge of the shipping business. He was a generous benefactor to Hull, and is especially remembered for the Victoria Children's Hospital, for which he served as chairman.

Royal baccarat scandal

Arthur Wilson is best remembered for playing host, at

in 1890, to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. During the Prince's stay, one of the party, William Gordon-Cumming, was accused of cheating at the game of

baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

. Baccarat was illegal in England at the time. Several members of Wilson's household at Tranby Croft claimed to have independently witnessed Gordon-Cumming cheating at the game, and when this was brought to the attention of the Prince, Gordon-Cumming signed a document promising never to play cards in the future. This event remained secret for a time, but it was revealed to the press in early 1891. As a result, Gordon-Cumming attempted to bring the accusers, including Wilson, to trial on the charge of defamation. Gordon-Cumming lost the court case, but it brought the Prince much bad publicity, and he never returned to Tranby Croft.

References

External links

*
Glasgow Archives: Wilson Line collection
archived in 2007
Article on Hull shipping
Hull City Council, 2003, archived in 2007

Hull University library, archived in 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Arthur 1836 births 1909 deaths Businesspeople from Kingston upon Hull High Sheriffs of Yorkshire Alumni of Kingston College (England) 19th-century English businesspeople

Life

Royal baccarat scandal

See also

References

External links