Walter Whitehead
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Walter Whitehead, , (12 October 1840 – 19 August 1913) was a surgeon at various hospitals in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England, and held the chair of Clinical Surgery at the
Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...
. He was president of the
British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...
in 1902. He once claimed that knowledge of
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
was an impediment to being a good surgeon but was himself a bold, innovative practitioner of international repute. His procedure for excision of the tongue using scissors and his formulation of a related ointment became a standard treatment, as did a procedure he developed for the treatment of
haemorrhoid Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''hemo ...
s. Whitehead was born to a family with a long-standing interest in textile manufacture in
Bury, Lancashire Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the Historic counties of Englan ...
. His interest in medicine was piqued when he attended lectures intended to improve his knowledge of the chemical processes of bleaching cloth. He enrolled at the
Manchester Royal School of Medicine The Manchester Royal School of Medicine (also known as the Manchester Royal School of Medicine and Surgery and as Pine Street School) has its origins in a medical teaching establishment opened on Pine Street, Manchester, England, by Thomas Turner ...
without telling his parents and thus embarked on his medical career. He began as a general practitioner and gained experience caring for
workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
inmates, including while working for a time in
Mansfield Woodhouse Mansfield Woodhouse is a settlement about north of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England, along the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers Maun and Meden.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): Founded before the Rom ...
,
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
. In 1867 he returned to Manchester to begin his career as a surgeon. Several Mancunian hospitals appointed Whitehead to various surgical positions during his career, sometimes concurrently. Of those, it was the
Manchester Royal Infirmary Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. Founded by Charles White in 1752 as part of the voluntary hospital movement of the 18th century, it is now a major regional and nati ...
, which he joined in 1873, with which he was associated for the longest time. His association with the university in Manchester began in 1884 and eventually included governing roles as well as his professorial chair. His career also included acting as an
expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...
in court cases, as a co-publisher of a medical magazine and as a member of various committees and a hospital reform organisation. He also held various posts as an officer of the
Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
and related military units. A clock tower commemorating Whitehead was erected in Bury after his death in 1913.


Early life and training

Walter Whitehead was born on 12 October 1840 at Haslam Hey, between Lowercroft and
Walshaw Walshaw is a village forming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the south of Tottington and 2 miles northwest of Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English ...
in Bury, Lancashire. He was a son of John Whitehead and Eliza Ellen (née Allanson). According to some sources, his family had been textile bleachers in the Lowercroft area for well over 200 years prior to his birth, while others say that his father came from
Penwortham Priory Penwortham Priory was first a Benedictine priory and, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house in the village of Penwortham, near Preston, Lancashire. The house was demolished as the village expanded into a town and a housing e ...
, near Preston. His father was a bleacher and perhaps also a dyer and printer of textiles. Among his relations were the inventors John Kay (
flying shuttle The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. It allowed a single weaver to weave much wider fabrics, and it could be mechanized, allowing for automatic machine l ...
), Robert Kay (drop box for weaving looms) and
Robert Whitehead Robert Whitehead (3 January 1823 – 14 November 1905) was an English engineer who was most famous for developing the first effective self-propelled naval torpedo. Early life He was born in Bolton, England, the son of James Whitehead, ...
(
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
). Whitehead, who extracted the teeth of his younger siblings while a child, described himself as being a wilful character. This trait caused him to be sent at the age of eight to an academy on the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
that promised to improve his character, apparently through coercion. It failed in its purpose and after three years there he was sent for six months to a school in
Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
. Thereafter, he attended Making Place, a boarding school in
Soyland Soyland is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is just north of Ripponden Ripponden is a village and civil parish on the River Ryburn near Halifax in West Yorkshire, England. Historically it was part of the West Riding of ...
, near to
Ripponden Ripponden is a village and civil parish on the River Ryburn near Halifax in West Yorkshire, England. Historically it was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its population was 6,412 at the time of the 2001 Census, and 7,421 in 2011. Rippond ...
. These latter two schools were much more relaxed in their treatment of pupils and he thrived in that environment; he became head boy at Making Place, where the headmaster believed in placing trust in his pupils to act on their honour. Whitehead began work in his father's business when he was sixteen. He earned 2 s. 6 d. a week, never progressed beyond being an ordinary workman of the lowest grade, and according to an obituary in the ''
British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
'' (''BMJ''), enjoyed what he did. A similar tribute in ''
The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' noted otherwise, saying that he was not particularly enamoured with his work. Both agree that he met with medical students in Manchester while attending chemistry lectures intended to give him more knowledge of the workings of the family business; later, he also met with them while attending the market in Manchester on behalf of the business. In 1859, Whitehead enrolled at the Manchester Royal School of Medicine, also known as the Chatham Street Medical School. He did so without telling his parents and by borrowing money from a cousin for the purpose. Concurrent with the early years of his training, and as was usual at the time, he was apprenticed for 18 months to the general practice of Drs. Harris and Bennett in Bury. These two men also acted as medical officers appointed by the Board of Guardians of the Bury Poor Law Union; Bennett alone was attending an average of 860 cases per annum for the Union around this time and Whitehead was thus exposed to work specifically relating to the conditions of the poor as well as general dispensing. The experience gained during this initial period subsequently enabled him to act as a
locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...
at the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI), where he mingled with qualified physicians and surgical staff, watched operations and witnessed the administrative workings of a hospital. So much of his time was spent at the hospital that it became his primary residence; he also spent six months working in the infirmary at
Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...
workhouse. Whitehead was awarded a Certificate of Merit at the end of his first year in training, when his address was given as 16 Union Square, Bury. In 1864, he was awarded a licentiate by the
Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a m ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and from institutions in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
(LM) and
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
(LFPS).


Hospital career

Whitehead moved to Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, on completion of his training. There he bought a general practice and in 1866 established an eight-bed
cottage hospital A cottage hospital is a semi-obsolete type of small hospital, most commonly found in the United Kingdom. The original concept was a small rural building having several beds.The Cottage Hospitals 1859–1990, Dr. Meyrick Emrys-Roberts, Tern Publicati ...
. The business of the practice itself was not great but he also held the post of medical officer to the local Poor Law Union. The Union provided him with plenty of work and a gross income of 30
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...
a year, out of which he had to fund his own horse for transport and supply all medicines and surgical equipment. He became a
Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located on ...
in 1866. A year later, he sold his practice and returned to Manchester, where he was appointed Honorary Surgeon at St Mary's Hospital for Women and Children in 1868. He remained there until he moved to the MRI to be Honorary Assistant Surgeon in 1873. In 1876 he was a signatory to the almost-unanimous request from MRI medical staff for the hospital to be rebuilt, either on its current site or elsewhere, due to its inadequacies both in size and design. He was promoted to Honorary Surgeon in 1879 and in the early 1880s he abandoned his remaining involvement in general practice to concentrate entirely on surgical work. He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
on 7 February 1881. As was customary, he was appointed an Honorary Consulting Surgeon at the MRI when he reached his 60th birthday in 1900, at which point regulations demanded he resign his position as the senior Honorary Surgeon. This last appointment at the MRI coincided with the 30th anniversary of his association with the hospital and was marked with a dinner attended by surgical colleagues such as F. A. Southam and Bilton Pollard; it was described by the ''BMJ'' as "probably the first of its kind" in the city. Whitehead played a significant role in the establishment of the Manchester and Salford Hospital for Diseases of the Skin in 1888, which was done by dividing the specialisms of the Manchester and Salford Lock and Skin Hospital. He had been appointed a Surgeon at the Lock Hospital in 1881, became the senior Surgeon at the Christie Cancer Pavilion, when it was established in 1892, and also held an active post at the new Skin Hospital. Although retired from the MRI, Whitehead remained a Surgeon at the Lock Hospital until July 1904, when he resigned and was appointed Consulting Surgeon. He was a Consulting Surgeon at the Skin Hospital by 1902 and at that time was still the senior Surgeon at the Cancer Pavilion, where he also eventually held an appointment as Consulting Surgeon.


Other appointments


Education

Although Whitehead did not teach very often, he was respected by those whom he did educate and his ward classes attracted good attendances. He was appointed Lecturer in Surgery in 1884 and then, between 1892 and 1900, he was the first holder of the Chair of Clinical Surgery at the Victoria University of Manchester. He resigned the Chair at the time of his retirement from the MRI, believing that to be in the best interests of the university's medical college. It was announced in January 1905 that he had been elected to the Court of Governors of the university and, later in the year, also became a member of its Council. He remained a Governor after resigning from the Council in 1909.


Medical

Between 1870 and 1871, Whitehead was a joint-editor, with Samuel Messenger Bradley (1841–1880), of the ''Manchester Medical and Surgical Reports'' journal. The exercise was short-lived, being superseded by the ''Liverpool and Manchester Medical and Surgical Reports'' in 1873. He was Secretary of the Manchester Medical Society between 1874 and 1878, and President in 1884. In 1899–1900 he served as President of the Manchester Ethical Society and in 1902 he was President of the British Medical Association, when its annual conference was held in Manchester.


Military

Whitehead had joined the 8th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1859 and was gazetted as an
Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in August 1860. He left the force in September 1862 when he moved from the town. He took an interest in the Royal Army Medical Corps from the time of its formation in 1898. He was appointed Honorary Surgeon-Colonel in 1900 when he became Honorary Commandant in the Manchester Companies section of the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps (VMSC). Within a month he was heading a public fund-raising appeal for at least £12,000 to give the Corps, which numbered around 700 men, a suitable new
drill hall A drill hall is a place such as a building or a hangar where soldiers practise and perform military drills. Description In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term was used for the whole headquarters building of a military reserve unit, ...
.


Other

In addition to his institutional appointments, Whitehead was sometimes called upon to be an expert witness in court cases relating to medicine, examples of which include an action in 1896 against a known
quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack (b ...
who claimed specialism in the treatment of
hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...
s, and ''Thomas vs. Barker'' (an action for damages against Herbert Atkinson Barker, the
bonesetter Traditional bone-setting is a type of a folk medicine in which practitioners engaged in joint manipulation. Before the advent of chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists, bone-setters were the main providers of this type of treatment. T ...
, in 1911). In 1911, Whitehead referred again to this latter case in an article published in ''
The English Review ''The English Review'' was an English-language literary magazine published in London from 1908 to 1937. At its peak, the journal published some of the leading writers of its day. History The magazine was started by 1908 by Ford Madox Hueffer (lat ...
''. In this he appealed for an investigation by the medical profession into the potential for adoption of some of the methods used by bonesetters. He said that these people had traditionally been viewed by the profession, including himself, as "anathema" and "technically unqualified" but that Barker's case had demonstrated that there was good cause to investigate their methods and successes rather than be "blinded by professional prejudices". Whitehead was involved with the Hospital Reform Association for some time. He also favoured an expansion in the number of village hospitals, believing that they would relieve pressure on hospitals such as the MRI, reduce the amount of travel for patients and provide a safer environment than private houses given the development of increasingly complex operations. Another cause saw him play a significant role in the introduction of a bill intended to protect infant life, reflecting his involvement in various charities whose purpose shared a similar goal. He had opened the first
day nursery Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
in Manchester and because of this he gave evidence to a
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
Select Committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...
in 1871. Whitehead both worked and played hard. Away from medical matters, his primary interest was sailing. He built, maintained and raced yachts on
Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...
and was Commodore of the
Royal Windermere Yacht Club The Royal Windermere Yacht Club is a sailing club which was founded in 1860, situated at Fallbarrow Road, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria, England. History The first recorded yacht race was to be held on Windermere in 1818, using, as its land base, ...
in 1899. In 1910 he donated a cup to be used as an annual club prize.


Contributions to medicine and surgery

Both Whitehead's training and the earlier part of his career pre-dated the introduction of
anaesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...
and
antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...
techniques in surgery. It was essential to operate quickly and there was little scope for finesse. His colleague, William Thorburn, said: Widely respected for his simple, bold and direct operating technique, Whitehead said that "the greatest drawback under which a surgeon can suffer is knowledge of anatomy – it makes him timid". His methods did not use antiseptic but instead relied on soap and water, as was common at the time. Unlike many surgeons of his generation, he was open to learning and using new techniques, such as those of
Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of s ...
. He was described as "one of the most go-ahead surgeons of his day" by Arthur Burgess, in his 1929 Presidential Address to the BMA. Burgess also noted that Whitehead's preference for
aseptic surgery Asepsis is the state of being free from disease-causing micro-organisms (such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, pathogenic fungi, and parasites). There are two categories of asepsis: medical and surgical. The modern day notion of asepsis is deri ...
was demonstrated at the MRI in 1895 with an unorthodox
mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...
that omitted the use of antiseptic on the wound and thus aroused both interest and misgivings. The success of the operation was instrumental in causing a shift of practice within the hospital towards aseptic surgical methods. Whitehead was particularly noted for the invention of two surgical procedures, both of which bear his name. The first related to the surgical removal of haemorrhoids and was described in the ''BMJ'' in 1882, with a further study of 300 patients being published in 1887. The technique is rarely used now because it usually left a deformity, which also bore his name, but this is because those performing the operation misunderstood his description of it. The second procedure, which was a form of
glossectomy A glossectomy is the Surgery, surgical removal of all or part of the tongue. It is performed in order to curtail Malignancy, malignant growth such as oral cancer. Often only a portion of the tongue needs to be removed, in which case the procedure ...
and earned him international repute, is also not much used today. It concerned removal of
carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal ...
from the mobile tongue and was described by him in an 1891 paper titled ''A Hundred Cases Of Entire Excision Of The Tongue''. There is a story that this latter procedure was devised when he was irritable due to a hangover and declined the choice of surgical instruments offered to him with the words "for God's sake give me a pair of scissors". Twenty of the patients described in the 1891 paper died post-operatively; he said that he believed all 300 patients documented his 1887 paper had been "completely and permanently cured". In addition to his surgical innovations, which also included a new technique for
tracheostomy Tracheotomy (, ), or tracheostomy, is a surgical airway management procedure which consists of making an incision (cut) on the anterior aspect (front) of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the Vertebrate trachea, trache ...
, Whitehead created the eponymous ''Whitehead's Varnish'', which is now sometimes called ''Whitehead's ointment''. This strong-smelling substance is still used, although the chemical composition has been somewhat modified. Devised by him around 1881, it was described in his 1891 ''BMJ'' paper. In its original version, it was a solution of
iodoform Iodoform (also known as triiodomethane and, inaccurately, as carbon triiodide) is the organoiodine compound with the chemical formula C H I3. A pale yellow, crystalline, volatile substance, it has a penetrating and distinctive odor (in older che ...
,
turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...
and the solids of
Friar's Balsam Tincture of benzoin is a pungent solution of benzoin resin in ethanol. A similar preparation called Friar's Balsam or Compound Benzoin Tincture contains, in addition, Cape aloes or Barbados aloes and storax resin. Friar's balsam was invented by Jo ...
, that hardened as a dressing to give anaesthetic and antiseptic benefits for wounds that were situated in potentially contaminated areas of the body. In its application during his tongue excision procedure, he noted that it enabled the patient "to take food in the ordinary manner almost immediately after the operation"; nowadays, it is used for such things as packing jaw and nasal cavities, and on areas of the body where skin has been removed for grafting. Among Whitehead's patients were
Joseph Nuttall Joseph "Joey" Nuttall (31 August 1869 - 1 June 1942) was an accomplished English swimmer in the 1880s and 1890s, and into the early 1900s. He was the amateur English 100-yard and 220-yard champion from 1886 to 1888. He later turned professional ...
, a renowned professional swimmer of the time, and the footballers
Di Jones David "Di" Jones (1867 – 27 August 1902) was a Welsh footballer who played as a full-back for Oswestry, Chirk, Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City in the late 19th century. He also won 14 caps for the Welsh national team. Career Club career ...
and Charlie Burgess.


Last years

Whitehead and his wife were listed as supporters of the
Primrose League The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883. At a late point in its existence, its declared aims (published in the ''Primrose League Gazette'', vol. 83, no. 2, March/April ...
in 1901, and in 1891 Whitehead had supported
Viscount Emlyn A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a Title#Aristocratic titles, title used in certain European countries for a nobility, noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-he ...
's attempt to unseat
Henry Enfield Roscoe Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe (7 January 1833 – 18 December 1915) was a British chemist. He is particularly noted for early work on vanadium, photochemical studies, and his assistance in creating Oxo (food), in its earlier liquid form. Life an ...
as MP for South Manchester. Some time in the late 1890s, Whitehead bought of land at Flagstaff Hill in
Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...
,
North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
. This became known as The Flagstaff and there he engaged the services of the landscape gardener
Thomas Hayton Mawson Thomas Hayton Mawson (5 May 1861 – 14 November 1933), known as T. H. Mawson, was a British garden designer, landscape architect, and town planner. Personal life Mawson was born in Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, and left school at age 12. H ...
and the architect
Dan Gibson Dan Gibson (January 19, 1922 in Montreal – March 18, 2006) was a Canadian photographer, cinematographer and sound recordist. During the late 1940s, Dan Gibson took photographs and made nature films, including ''Audubon Wildlife Theatre''. Gibs ...
, with whom Mawson was for some time in partnership. In 1907, he said that he had "practically resided in Colwyn Bay for the last nine years". By 1902 he was president of the town's golf club. He retired to his new residence in 1903, where he indulged in his pastimes of entertaining friends, gardening and yachting. He became president of the Colwyn Bay Chess Club and he praised both the people and the environment, as well as defending the town against charges of unsanitary conditions that were raised in the House of Commons in 1907. He also allowed the
Gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...
circle for the 1910
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...
to be built in the grounds at The Flagstaff. Whitehead bought at least four other residential properties in Colwyn Bay but the grand mansion house that he had planned at The Flagstaff was never constructed and he lived instead in the estate's gatehouse. He died at Colwyn Bay of a
stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
on 19 August 1913, and was survived by his second wife and his daughter. He had suffered a stroke at least once previously and had been in poor health since that time. His funeral took place at Manchester Crematorium on 23 August 1913 and his ashes were interred at The Flagstaff. He left a net estate valued at £176,892.


Memorials

Whitehead is commemorated in Bury with a clock tower and surrounding gardens near to the Town Hall. Both were donated by his brother, Henry, who had been
High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...
in 1903 and who, like his father, was a prominent local industrialist. It was designed by
Maxwell and Tuke Maxwell and Tuke was an architectural practice in Northwest England, founded in 1857 by James Maxwell in Bury. In 1865 Maxwell was joined in the practice by Charles Tuke, who became a partner two years later. The practice moved its main office ...
in a late
Tudor style Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
and is constructed of
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...
and
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
, with a copper canopy, a bronze effigy of ''Time'' and bronze plaques. The stonework was carved by John Jarvis Millson; the effigy was the work of Moreau, although which of the many sculptors who bore that name is uncertain. The dial clocks that are present on each side were constructed by J. B. Joyce & Co. Despite appearances, the tower contains no bells. The tower was formally dedicated on 27 June 1914 by Sir Frederick Treves, who described Whitehead as a "Lancastrian among surgeons". It was designated a
Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in January 1985. Henry Whitehead gave £1000 for the endowment of a cot in the new MRI surgical ward that had been named after his brother. In 1937, a Robert Whitehead gave £1000 to the MRI for the endowment of a bed in his memory.


Publications

Whitehead's publications include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (with Bilton Pollard) * (with Bilton Pollard) * (with Bilton Pollard) * (with Bilton Pollard) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References

Notes Citations Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Walter 1840 births 1913 deaths Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester English surgeons Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire People from Bury, Greater Manchester Presidents of the British Medical Association
Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...