William George Ainslie
JP (9 January 1832 – 10 February 1893) was a British
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
politician,
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
,
ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain.
The ironmaster was usually a large ...
and stockbroker.
Early life
Born in 1832 in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and educated at
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...
,
[Obituary of William George Ainslie in ''The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute'' vol. 43 (1893), p. 172] Ainslie was a son of
Montague Ainslie (1792–1884), a native of
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
in
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
.
Ainslie's father, after attending the
East India Company College
The East India Company College, or East India College, was an educational establishment situated at Hailey, Hertfordshire, nineteen miles north of London, founded in 1806 to train "writers" (administrators) for the Honourable East India Company ( ...
, entered the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's service and was Political Agent to
Lord William Bentinck
Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the First G ...
while he was
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
(1828–1835), and later returned to
Grizedale Hall
Grizedale Hall was a large country house at Grizedale, Hawkshead, in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. After two earlier Grizedale Halls had preceded, it was built anew in 1905 in the style of Gothic Revival architecture. During World War I ...
in Lancashire where he became a Justice of the Peace and a
Deputy Lieutenant for the county.
[Montague Ainslie](_blank)
page at sirjohnbarrowmonument.co.uk
Ainslie's father built a house for him at
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...
. Set in parkland, the house was named Ford Park in honour of Montague Ainslie's grandfather, the
ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain.
The ironmaster was usually a large ...
William Ford.
Career
Ainslie, like his father before him, entered the service of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
, but spent only a short time in India.
In 1849, he entered the family firm of
Harrison Ainslie
The firm of Harrison Ainslie & Co. was a British firm of ironmasters and iron ore merchants, selling high quality haematite from their mines on Lindal Moor to smelters in Glasgow, Scotland, South Wales and the Midlands. From a 21st-century persp ...
& Co, which traded as Ironmasters at Newland Furnace,
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...
, Lancashire, and Lorn Furnace, Bonaw,
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
, and as
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
manufacturers at
Melfort, near
Oban
Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...
.
[''London Gazette']
Gazette Issue 22831 published on the 11 March 1864, Page 1505
/ref> The firm, which also had shipping interests, had carried the name of Ainslie since 1785.
page at lindal-in-furness.co.uk Ainslie was also a partner in the stockbroking firm of R. S. and C. J. Scrimgeour and Co., of Threadneedle Street
Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, England, between Bishopsgate at its northeast end and Bank junction in the southwest. It is one of nine streets that converge at Bank. It lies in the ward of Cornhill.
History
The stree ...
in 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 ...
.[''London Gazette']
Gazette Issue 23095 published on the 3 April 1866, Page 2231
/ref>
Ainslie became senior partner of Harrison, Ainslie & Co. in 1863, on the death of Benson Harrison. In 1861, he was living at Ford House, Ulverston, but by 1869 he had become permanently based in London to supervise the financial affairs of the firm.
In 1860, Ainslie was commissioned as a Captain of the North Lonsdale (or 37th) Lancashire Rifle Volunteers. In June 1863 it was announced that "The 71st Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps having been struck out of the records of the War Office, will henceforth cease to hold any number or designation in the Volunteer Force, and her Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve of the services of Lieutenants Innes Macpherson and William James Audsley and Ensign John Milligan in that Corps being dispensed with. Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to accept the resignations of the following officers... Captain William George Ainslie in the 37th A Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps."
In October 1863, he withdrew from his partnership in the family firm of Harrison, Ainslie & Co., and retired from his partnership in the stockbroking firm of Scrimgeour and Co. on 30 December 1865. The withdrawal from Harrison Ainslie was temporary, as in 1879 he held 31% of the shares and drew a salary of £500pa as manager. He became the first chairman of the North Lonsdale Iron and steel company when the company was established in 1873.
In December 1868, the Office of the Commissioners of Patents for Inventions
The Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom (often referred to as the UK IPO) is, since 2 April 2007, the operating name of The Patent Office. It is the official government body responsible for intellectual property rights in the UK ...
gave Ainslie provisional protection "To William George Ainslie, of 3, East India-avenue, Leadenhall-street, in 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 ...
, for the invention of "improvements in means for drying peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
, peat compounds, and other materials"."
In 1885, Ainslie was elected as member of parliament for North Lonsdale
The Lonsdale Hundred is an historic hundred of Lancashire, England. Although named after the dale or valley of the River Lune, which runs through the city of Lancaster, for centuries it covered most of the north-western part of Lancashire aro ...
in Lancashire and held the seat until 1892.
At the time of his death, aged 61, in February 1893, Ainslie was senior partner in Harrison, Ainslie & Co. Following his death, he was described in the ''London Gazette'' as "...formerly of Furness Lodge, East Sheen
East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Its long high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mort ...
, in the county of Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, and late of 21 Ennismore-gardens, Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, in the county of Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, and Grizedale, Hawkshead
Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, which attracts tourists to the South Lakeland area. The parish includes the hamlets of Hawkshead Hill, to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains one ...
, in the county of Lancaster". Administration of his Will was granted to his son William Langstaff Ainslie.
Wife and children
On 29 April 1858, Ainslie married Eliza Anne Sawer, daughter of Thomas Sawer of Ickham, Kent, and they had ten children; son Charles Bernard Ainslie was father of 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 ...
politician Jack Ainslie
John Bernard Ainslie OBE (2 August 1921 – 5 January 2007), known as Jack Ainslie, was a Wiltshire farmer and Liberal politician, Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1986 to 1990.
Early life
Born at Stanmore, Middlesex, on 2 August 1921 ...
.
Ainslie's widow outlived him by six years, dying on 27 December 1899.