Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow, 1st Baronet, (1 November 1822 – 3 August 1906) was a British

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician, principally remembered for donating Waterlow Park to the public as "a garden for the gardenless".

Life

He was the son of James Waterlow and was born in

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the southeastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manorialism, Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man c ...

, on the edge of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, and was brought up in

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

. Educated at St Saviour's Grammar School, he was apprenticed to a stationer and printer and worked in the family firm of Waterlow and Sons, a large printing company employing over 2000 people. From that he moved into finance and became a director of the Union Bank of London. He was a Commissioner at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

in 1851 and a juror at the Paris International Exhibition in 1867, for which he was knighted. He started his political career as a

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

in 1857 (when he introduced

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

links between police stations). In 1863 he became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and began his philanthropic works. He was chairman of the philanthropic housing company The

Improved Industrial Dwellings Company The Improved Industrial Dwellings Company (IIDC) was a Victorian architecture, Victorian Model dwellings company founded in 1863 by the printer, philanthropist and later Lord Mayor of London Sir Sydney Waterlow. The company operated predominantly ...

, which built the Leopold Buildings amongst others. He also worked for many other charities. He was a

Sheriff of the City of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

in 1866 and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

from 1872 to 1873. While he was Mayor he was instrumental, after a suggestion from ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

'', in setting up the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund. Having been

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1867 Waterlow was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

''of Fairseat in the parish of

Wrotham Wrotham ( ) is a village on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is north of Borough Green and approximately east of Sevenoaks. It is between the M20 motorway, M20 and M26 motorway, M26 motorways. History T ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

and of

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

in the

County of Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hi ...

'' on 4 August 1873. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

from 1868 to 1869, when he was unseated on the grounds that he was a government contractor, his firm having taken a contract without his knowledge. He then sat for

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

(1874–1880) and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

(1880–1885). In 1870, he bought large areas of land in Kent, including the village of Fairseat (near Stansted), a major portion of Stansted as well as other pieces of land extending from

to Meopham. The parts of the estate were linked by a small bridge bearing the family crest over Trottiscliffe Road (which is still in evidence today. In 1887, he built Trosley Towers on the crest of the escarpment on the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

, to the east of Trottiscliffe Road. Two drives approached the house, and it was surrounded by wooded grounds. Later, other private drives were constructed, including Hamilton Drive which still survives within the Trosley Country Park and runs from the site of the old house to Commority Road. In 1872 he gave

Lauderdale House Lauderdale House is an historic house, now run as an arts and education centre, based in Waterlow Park, Highgate in north London, England. History Lauderdale House was one of the finest English country house, country houses in Highgate and was ...

(now in Waterlow Park) to

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

to be used as a convalescent home for the poor, staffed by nurses supplied by

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

, and in 1889 he gave the surrounding park to the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. His former house next to the park, Fairseat, became Channing Junior School. Sir Sydney was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(KCVO) in 1902.

Family

His fourth son, David Sydney Waterlow, was Liberal MP for

Islington North Islington North is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London established for 1885 United Kingdom general election, the 1885 general election. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of C ...

. The artist Ernest Albert Waterlow was his nephew. His daughter, Ruth Waterlow (later Homan), was an educationist and women's welfare campaigner.

Legacy

When Sir Sidney died aged 83 in 1906 at his Trosley Towers estate, Wrotham, his son Philip inherited his title and the estate. When Sir Philip died in 1931, the estate was sold off. Some of the houses were bought by their tenants; one of these was Pilgrims House, with six acres of land, which went for £600. Trosley Towers and the woodlands around it, were sold to 'Mr E. E. Shahmoon' in 1935. In 1936, Mr Shahmoon had Trosley Towers demolished and had Hamilton Lodge, built along with adjoining stables. One story suggests that the Lodge and stables were built to accommodate the racehorses of Rezā Shāh, the ruler of Persia. The whole area was still owned by Mr Shahmoon when it was taken over by the army in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and Hamilton Lodge was to be the HQ of the Army Brigade that was stationed here. Later the Trosley Towers Estate passed to

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

, which created Trosley Country Park.

Works

References

External links

*
19th century biography

Biography

Friends of Waterlow Park

Photograph of Pilgrims House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterlow, Sydney 1822 births 1906 deaths English philanthropists Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Scottish Liberal Party MPs Sheriffs of the City of London 19th-century lord mayors of London 19th-century English politicians Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at St Saviour's Grammar School UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 People from Mile End People from Meopham Waterlow and Sons 101

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

People from Wrotham 19th-century English businesspeople