Sir William Haswell Stephenson (1836-1918) was an English industrialist, Methodist and philanthropist, and mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne. [1] [2] [3]
Stephenson was born at Throckley, near Newcastle upon Tyne, on 15 May 1836. His family were Methodists and his ancestors had been involved in John Wesley's first establishment of Methodism in the north east of England in the 1740s. He was educated at Wesley College in Sheffield. [1] He became a Methodist local preacher in 1859, and was a supporter of the Local Preachers' Mutual Aid Association. [2]
He married Eliza Mary Bond, from Lincolnshire, in 1862. She died in December 1901, aged 67. They had two daughters, Charlotte, who died before her father, and Kate. [3]
Stephenson died on 7 May 1918. [2]
During his earlier life as well as during his time as Mayor of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Stephenson lived in the manor house Throckley Hall in Throckley [4] with his wife and two daughters. Stephenson was born in the same house, [4] then known as Throckley House, [5] prior to its expansion in c. 1850 and renaming to Throckley Hall, as it continues to stand to this day. [6]
The manor house Throckley Hall has been preserved and remains a private residence along with the associated land. [6] [7]
Stephenson was involved in his family's business, the Throckley Coal Company, and later in other local businesses including John Spencer and sons, steel manufacturers, [8] and Airedale Mills. [1]
He was Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1875, 1884, and 1894; Lord Mayor in 1902, 1909, 1910, and 1911; and sheriff in 1886. [9] In November 1902 he received the Lord Mayor (Sir Marcus Samuel) and Sheriffs of the City of London on an official visit to Newcastle. [10]
Together with his wife he endowed several early public libraries in Newcastle. In 1896 the Stephenson Library at Elswick was the first branch library in the city, built at a cost of £4,000. It became West End Leisure and Learning in 1984, later a housing office, and then West End Woman and Girls Centre. [11] [1] The Victoria Library in Heaton was opened in 1898; by 2001 it was no longer in use as a library and the council had proposed selling the building but after local objections it was agreed to use it as a centre for the local Muslim community. [12] [13] After his wife's death in 1901 Stephenson built the Lady Stephenson Library in Walker; opened in 1908 it was still in use as a library, also known as Walker Library, until it closed on 29 June 2013 [14] and was refurbished in 2014 to form the premises of Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [3] [1]
In 1903, Stephenson gave the city a bronze statue of Queen Victoria by Alfred Gilbert, to commemorate 500 years of the office of Sheriff of Newcastle upon Tyne. It stands in St Nicholas Square, near Newcastle Cathedral in the city centre and is Grade II* listed. [15] [16] [17]
Stephenson was knighted on 30 June 1900 at Windsor Castle. [18]
In October 1910, Stephenson was awarded with Newcastle upon Tyne's Freedom of the City award. [19]
William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor and philanthropist. In collaboration with the architect Richard Norman Shaw, he built Cragside in Northumberland, the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity. He is regarded as the inventor of modern artillery.
John Dobson was a 19th-century English neoclassical architect. During his life, he was the most noted architect in Northern England. He designed more than 50 churches and 100 private houses, but he is best known for designing Newcastle railway station and his work with Richard Grainger developing the neoclassical centre of Newcastle. Other notable structures include Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn, Northumberland, and Beaufront Castle.
Throckley is a village in the Newcastle upon Tyne district, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of Newcastle city centre. Hadrian's Wall passed through the village, its course traced by the village's main road, Hexham Road. Throckley lies within the historic county of Northumberland.
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Newcastle upon Tyne Central is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Chi Onwurah of the Labour Party. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius, the name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.
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Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labour Party, led by Nick Kemp. Karen Robinson serves as the Lord Mayor and Veronica Dunn serves as Deputy Lord Mayor, and Sheriff. The council is a member of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
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Sir Henry Anderson (1582–1659) was an English Royalist landowner and politician who represented Newcastle-upon-Tyne once as Mayor and twice as MP in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1643 and was also High Sheriff of Northumberland.
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Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP) is an academic book publisher based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is not affiliated with the University of Cambridge or Cambridge University Press, but was founded by former lecturers and researchers from the University of Cambridge.
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Newcastle Independents, formerly known as Newcastle First, is a localist political party based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Initially established as the Newcastle upon Tyne Community First Party, the party was registered with the Electoral Commission in February 2011 and fielded its first candidates in May 2011 and won its first council seat in 2019 with two more elected in 2021. The party changed its name to Newcastle Independents in 2019. As of May 2023, the party has four councillors elected to Newcastle City Council.
Henry Anderson was an English landowner and politician who was elected to represent Newcastle-upon-Tyne once as Sheriff, three times as Mayor, and four times as MP in the House of Commons between 1584 and 1593 and was also Sheriff of Northumberland.
Bertram Anderson was an English merchant, landowner and politician who represented Newcastle-upon-Tyne and served once as Sheriff, three times as Mayor and was elected five times as MP in the House of Commons between 1553 and 1563 and was also Governor of the Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.