Sir Arthur Bower Forwood, 1st Baronet, (23 June 1836 – 27 September 1898) was an English merchant, shipowner, and politician. He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament from 1885 until his death, and in 1895 he 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 ...

Early life and business

Forwood was born in Edge Hill,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the eldest son of Thomas Brittain Forwood, a merchant, and Charlotte née Bower, the daughter of a cotton broker. He was educated at

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a coeducational day and boarding school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, Headmasters' Conference. History Liverpool Coll ...

and then joined the family business.Waller, Philip (2004)
Forwood, Sir Arthur Bower (1836-1898)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, retrieved on 25 December 2009. When his father retired from the business in 1862, he ran it with his younger brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. This was at a time when the cotton trade was being disrupted by the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The brothers made a fortune "first from wartime speculation and

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

running, and then from exploiting telegraph and cotton

futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded *''Modern Trader'', formerly Futures, an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures' ...

". They set up offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and ran a small fleet of ships that traded in the West Indies,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and New York.Killick, J. R. (2004)
Forwood, Sir William Bower (1840-1928)
, ''

'',

, retrieved on 25 December 2009.

Political life

Career

Forwood's political life started in 1871 when he was elected as a city

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 ...

. He served as

Lord Mayor of Liverpool The Lord Mayor of Liverpool is a largely ceremonial civic office of Liverpool City Council. The Lord Mayor is the ‘first citizen’ of Liverpool representing the city and acting as a focal point of community events and is also the Chair (off ...

in 1878–79, and became effectively the leader of Liverpool's Conservatives. He stood for the Liverpool constituency in an 1882 by-election, but lost the Conservative held seat to the Liberal candidate. In the general election of 1885 Forwood was returned for

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

, a seat he held until his death. In 1886 Lord Salisbury appointed him as

Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy The Roy ...

, a post he retained until 1892. He was the first shipowner to become an

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

minister. In 1892 he was appointed as a privy councillor, and was the first serving town councillor to be appointed to this position. He was created a baronet in 1895.

Policies and personality

Forwood was "orthodox, a resolute champion of the union and

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

and

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina *Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 19 ...

and

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

", he was concerned that the Conservative leaders were "too faint-hearted or stuck up", and was worried about the "timidity" of the Liverpool merchants. He supported the establishment of an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

and a University College in Liverpool and, more generally, advocated

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

, the redistribution of parliamentary seats, temperance reform, comprehensive employers' liability, old age

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

and

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

. When he was a minister, he was described as being "a hustler" and as having drive as an administrator and reformer, but he did not have "the knack of making himself popular". His manner was described as being "unvarnished" and he was "short of the instincts of a

Gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

". Nevertheless, he was praised for his effectiveness and for his determination.

Personal life

In 1858 Forwood married Lucy, daughter of Simon Crosfield (brother of the businessman

Joseph Crosfield Joseph Crosfield (5 October 1792 – 16 February 1844) was a businessman who established a soap and chemical manufacturing business in Warrington, which was in the historic county of Lancashire and is now in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. T ...

), of Liverpool; they had three daughters. Lucy died in 1873, and the following year Forwood married Mary Anne Eliza, daughter of the journalist and historian

Thomas Baines (John) Thomas Baines (27 November 1820 – 8 May 1875) was an English artist and explorer of British colonial southern Africa and Australia. Life and work Born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on 27 November 1820, Baines was apprenticed to a coach ...

, FRS, of Liverpool and of London. They had four sons (the eldest, Dudley, being heir to the baronetcy), and a daughter. Forwood died in September 1898 at his home, The Priory, Gateacre, Liverpool and was buried nearby in the graveyard of All Saints Church,

Childwall Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640. ...

. He had been suffering from

colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and ...

, and this led to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

. Forwood's

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...

amounted to a little over £87,320 (£ as of ). His statue stands in St John's Gardens, Liverpool.

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forwood, Arthur 1836 births 1898 deaths Forwood, Sir Arthur, 1st Baronet Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 19th-century English merchants Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Mayors of Liverpool People from Edge Hill People educated at Liverpool College Conservative Party (UK) councillors in Liverpool