![William Orme Foster Silvy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/William_Orme_Foster_Silvy.jpg)
William Orme Foster (29 October 1814 – 29 September 1899) was an English ironmaster, coalmaster and owner of the large industrial firm
John Bradley & Co, which he inherited from his uncle, James Foster in 1853. He served as a
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 ...
MP for
South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settlements ...
from 1857 until 1868.
Biography
He was born in 1814, the son of William Foster of Wordsley House in
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...
and his wife Charlotte,
daughter of William Orme of
Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half 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. ...
.
His father had an iron business in Stourbridge, a partnership with his brother-in-law trading as Foster & Orme; but it was as heir to his uncle
James Foster that William Orme Foster was to achieve wealth and position as an ironmaster in the Midlands region of England.
Foster attended
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury.
Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...
between 1826 and 1829. He was employed as an agent by his uncle before 1850. In 1852, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Worcestershire. On James Foster's death in 1853, he inherited the bulk of his estate which was valued at £700,000.
It included mines, ironworks, furnaces and engineering works situated at Stourbridge, Shropshire and in the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
region of England. The growth of his business was stimulated by booming railways, rails and other equipment being a major product of his works.
[ In 1855, Foster bought the second version of ]Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
's painting ''The Lock'' for £860.
From 1857 until 1868 Foster served as a Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settlements ...
. He was elected unopposed for this two-member constituency in 1857, 1859 and 1865. After boundary changes, he contested West Staffordshire in 1868, but came only third in the poll for the two-member constituency.[ In 1867, he was described as: "a Liberal; opposed to the ballot but in favour of a "large and comprehensive measure" of Parliamentary reform.
Other public offices held by Foster included High Sheriff for the County of Wexford in 1876, and High Sheriff for the County of Shropshire in 1883. In 1873 he served as treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in ]Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
.
In 1867 Foster bought the Apley Park estate near Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079.
Histor ...
in Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, from Douglas Whitmore for over £300,000. The estate included most of Bridgnorth town.[ In 1873 as landowner he held in England 8,457 acres in Shropshire, 1,917 acres in Worcestershire and 874 acres in Staffordshire, besides 9,724 acres in ]County Wexford
County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...
in Ireland.
Under Foster the industrial enterprises such as John Bradley & Co, inherited from his uncle, continued to prosper, the 1860s being particularly good years. John Bradley & Co became one of the largest iron manufacturers in the Midlands, producing wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
by the traditional puddling process. However, soon after his loss at the West Staffordshire election of 1868, Foster suffered a "paralytic seizure" which weakened his health and, for many years, he left business affairs with his wife and with his eldest son. From the 1870s onwards, profits from the business declined as steel manufacturers competed with wrought iron producers and the final decades of the century brought a gradual contraction of iron output. In 1884, Foster attempted unsuccessfully to sell John Bradley & Co. In the same year, he donated the early steam locomotive ''Agenoria'', which had once served his ironworks and mines at Shut End, to the Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019.
Like other publicly funded ...
.
William Orme Foster died at Apley Hall on 29 September 1899, aged 84, and was buried on 5 October at Stockton.[ His estate was probated at £2,588,000,][ and he left his fortune to his son William Henry Foster.
]
Family
In 1843 Foster married Isabella (died 1910), daughter of Henry Grazebrook of Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, by whom he had two sons (William and James) and four daughters (Charlotte, Constance, Isabella and Julia). It was through his daughter Julia Mary (1860–1931), who married as her first husband Hugh Tyrwhitt, that he became grandfather of the composer Lord Berners
Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 188319 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners.
Biography
Early life and education
...
.[ Article on Lord Berners by Mark Amory, who wrongly titles William Orme Foster 'Sir' though latter was never knighted or became a baronet.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, William Orme
1814 births
1899 deaths
People from Stourbridge
English ironmasters
British businesspeople in the coal industry
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies
High Sheriffs of Wexford
High Sheriffs of Shropshire
UK MPs 1857–1859
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1865–1868
19th-century English businesspeople