Samuel Morton Peto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (August 4, 1809 – November 13, 1889) was an English entrepreneur in the 19th century. Initially he constructed prestigious buildings in London before becoming one of the major contractors for the growing railways of the time.

Contents 1 Early Life 2 Railway Works 3 Other Activities 4 Family 5 Notes 6 References

[edit] Early Life

He was born in Woking, Surrey, and was apprenticed as a brick-layer to his uncle who ran a building firm in London. When the uncle died in 1830, Peto and his cousin Thomas Grissell went into partnership. The firm of Peto & Grissell built many well-known London buildings, including the Reform Club, the Oxford & Cambridge Club, the Lyceum, and St James's Theatre, Hungerford Market, as well as Nelson's column and the London brick sewer.

[edit] Railway Works

In 1834 Peto saw the potential of the newly developing railways, dissolved the connection with his uncle's building firm and became a railway contractor. The first railway work was to build two stations in Curzon Street, Birmingham. The first line built was the Hanwell and Langley section of the Great Western Railway which included the Wharncliffe viaduct^[1]. Grisell became increasingly nervous of the risks taken by Peto and so dissolved the partnership in 1846. Peto then entered into partnership with Edward Betts, who had married his sister, Ann^[2].

Between 1846 and 1855, the firm carried out many large railway contracts both at home and abroad, among them the South-Eastern Line and the London, Chatham & Dover lines, and in partnership with Thomas Brassey the London, Tilbury & Southend line and the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada^[3]. In the late 1850s he helped to build the first railway in Algeria and accompanied Napoleon III to the official opening of the line^[4].

In 1854 during the Crimean War Peto, Betts and Brassey constructed the Grand Crimean Central Railway between Balaklava and Sevastopol to transport supplies to the troops at the front line^[5]. He was made a Baronet for his services.

[edit] Other Activities

Peto became a Liberal Member of Parliament for Norwich in 1847 to 1854, for Finsbury from 1859 to 1865, and for Bristol from 1865 to 1868. During this time he was one of the most prominent figures in public life. He helped to make a guarantee towards the financing of the Great Exhibition of 1851, backing Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace^[6].

However, he became involved in the financial crisis of 1866, was declared bankrupt and in 1868 he had to give up his seat in Parliament, despite having the support of both Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. He exiled himself to Budapest and tried to promote railways in Russia and Hungary. When he returned to England he tried to launch a small mineral railway in Cornwall, which failed, and he died in obscurity in 1889^[7].

Peto had bought Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk in 1843. He re-built the hall and constructed a school and more houses in the village, before turning his attention to Lowestoft. He built a railway to connect the town to the rest of the rail network, as well as a harbour for 1,000 ships and some luxury hotels for the burgeoning holiday trade.

[edit] Family

Sir Samuel's daughter Helen Agnes married a Magistrate of Somerset, Lawrence Ingham Baker, son of the former Liberal MP for Frome. They lived at Wayford Manor, near Crewkerne, Somerset. Helen's brother was Harold Ainsworth Peto, the celebrated Edwardian landscape gardener, renowned for turning Italian exotica into even more ornate Japanese gardens before the Great War. Sir Samuel's eldest eldest son, Sir Michael Peto inherited his title as 2nd baronet. (Sources: 107th edition of Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, published: London 2004. Mowl, T Historic Gardens of Wiltshire, Tempus publishing: London 2004.).

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Joby, p. 59.
2. ^ Faith, pp. 103-104.
3. ^ Helps. p. 109.
4. ^ Faith, p. 105.
5. ^ Cooke
6. ^ Faith, p. 105.
7. ^ Faith, p. 106.

[edit] References

• Cooke, Brian The Grand Crimean Central Railway, Cavalier House, Knutsford, 1990 ISBN 0-9515889-0-7
• Faith, Nicholas The world the railways made The Bodley Head, London, 1990 ISBN 0-370-31299-6
• Helps, Arthur The Life and Works of Mr Brassey, 1872 republished Nonsuch, 2006 ISBN 1845880110
• Joby, R S The Railway Builders: Lives and Works of the Victorian Railway Conctractors, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1983, ISBN 0-7153-7959-3
• Stacey, Tom Thomas Brassey: The Greatest Railway Builder in the World, Stacey International, London, 2005, ISBN 1905299095