Sir Sydney Waterlow, Lord Mayor of London in 1873

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 (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician, principally remembered for donating

Waterlow Park Waterlow Park is a park in the south east of Highgate Village, in north London. It was given to the public (''i.e.'' the London County Council) by Sir Sydney Waterlow, as "a garden for the gardenless" in 1889. Description The park is set on a ...

to the public as "a garden for the gardenless".

Life

He was born in

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

, on the edge of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, and was brought up in

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

. Educated at

St Saviour's Grammar School St Saviour's Grammar School was a free grammar school for boys located in the borough of Southwark, south of the River Thames in London, England. It existed as a separate entity from 1559 until 1896, when it was amalgamated with St Olave's Gra ...

, he was apprenticed to a stationer and printer and worked in the family firm of

Waterlow and Sons Waterlow and Sons Limited was a major worldwide engraver of currency, postage stamps, stocks and bond certificates based in London, Watford and Dunstable in England. The company was founded as a family business in 1810. It was acquired in 1961 ...

, 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 The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

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 is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

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 p ...

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 Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

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 Model dwellings company founded in 1863 by the printer, philanthropist and later Lord Mayor of London Sir Sydney Waterlow. The company operated predominantly in Central London as a ...

, 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 are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

in 1866 and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

from 1872 to 1873. While he was Mayor he was instrumental, after a suggestion from the Lancet, in setting up the

Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund The Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund was formed in London in 1873 at a time when all hospitals were voluntary - with no government health services. This situation meant that the poor could not always afford treatment and also that hospitals oft ...

. Having been

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. 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 and M26 motorways. History The name first occurs as ''U ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

and of

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

in the

County of Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

'' on 4 August 1873. He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

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 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

(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 and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

(1880–1885). In 1870, he bought large areas of land in Kent, including the village of Fairseat (near

Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

), 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 - se
www.geograph.org.uk
. 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 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...

, 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 Trosley Country Park is in Trottiscliffe, near Vigo, in Kent, England. Once part of a large woodland estate then after many changes, it was passed to Kent County Council, who turned it into a large country park. History The country park was onc ...

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 country houses in Highgate and was originally built for R ...

(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 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

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 t ...

, and in 1889 he gave the surrounding park to the

London County Council 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 kno ...

. His former house next to the park, Fairseat, became Channing Junior School. Sir Sydney was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1902.

Family

His fourth son,

David Sydney Waterlow David Sydney Waterlow (18 December 1857 – 25 August 1924), was a British Liberal Party politician and businessman. Background He was born in Highgate, he was the fourth son of Sir Sydney Waterlow, a Liberal Member of Parliament. He was educate ...

, was Liberal MP for

Islington North Islington North () is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Jeremy Corbyn. He served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from 2015 to 2020. Cor ...

. 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 , , spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi , issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Pri ...

, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

, which created

Works

References

External links

*
19th century biography

Biography

Friends of Waterlow Park

Photograph of Pilgrims House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterlow, Sydney 1822 births 1906 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 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 Politicians awarded knighthoods UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 People from Mile End People from Meopham Waterlow and Sons People from Wrotham 19th-century British businesspeople