Augustus Smith (politician)

Augustus Smith.

Augustus John Smith (15 September 1804 – 31 July 1872) was governor of the Isles of Scilly for over thirty years, and was largely responsible for the economy of the islands as it is today.

Biography

Smith was born in 1804 "at the house of a fashionable accoucheur in Harley street" before returning to the family home of Ashlyns in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. Taking up his family's traditional trade of banking, he became known locally as a philanthropist, doing his best to improve educational standards in his home district, opening several non-denominational schools with his own money. In 1834 he acquired the lease on the Isles of Scilly from the Duchy of Cornwall for £20,000, and set about changing the islanders' way of life, expelling those who could not find a job locally and evacuating some of the smaller islands, where small populations were farming at barely subsistence level.

Stemmata Smithiana-Ferraria

In 1861, Augustus Smith Esq., M.P. published "A True and Faithful History of the Family of Smith, Originally Cradled at Wiverton and Cropwell-Butler, in the Parish of Titheby, and more recently established at Nottingham, in the County of Nottingham". As the title suggests, it traces the family name from its early beginnings and purports "the county of Nottingham may justly be considered as the fatherland of Smiths, who have always abounded within its borders."[1]

Berkhamsted Common

In 1866 Lord Brownlow tried to enclose Berkhamsted Common with 5' steel fences built by Woods of Berkhamsted and therefore, claim it as part of his estate. Augustus Smith MP led gangs of local men and hired men from London's East End brought out on the new railway on a specially chartered train to break the fences and protect Berkhamsted Common for the people of Berkhamsted. East End toughs and local Berkhamsted men and women fought that night against Lord Brownlow's men in what became known nationally as the Battle of Berkhamsted Common. This and his actions in promoting working class education are commemorated by the award of the Augustus Smith scholarship for state school students in Berkhamsted.

Lord Proprietor of Scilly

In 1834, Augustus Smith acquired the lease on the Isles of Scilly from the Duchy of Cornwall for £20,000, created the quasi-aristocratic title Lord Proprietor for himself, and set about changing the islanders' way of life. Besides building a new quay at Hugh Town on St. Mary's, he sowed gorse and trees to provide shelter for the agricultural land. He built schools on the well-inhabited islands. Many of his actions were unpopular; he expelled those who could not find a job locally and removed some of the inhabitants of smaller islands, in a manner similar to that practised in the Highland Clearances. In 1855, he expelled the ten inhabitants of the island of Samson, to turn the island into a deer park (the deer did not like the habitat, and escaped.)

Personal life

Smith lived at Tresco Abbey. He never married, but is believed to have had illegitimate children by several of his female servants. He had a close relationship with Lady Sophia Tower, a married woman (and only daughter of the 1st Earl Brownlow) who often visited him at Tresco. The estate was inherited by his nephew Thomas Algernon Smith-Dorrien-Smith, and his descendents retain the lease into the present day. He also owned the Hammerwood Park estate in Sussex, and introduced rhododendrons to the gardens where they remain to this day.

The plaque on the front of a monument to Smith, located in the churchyard of St Mary's Old Church, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. Click to enlarge.

Public offices

He was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Truro from 1857 to 1865. He served as President of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall from 1857–1862,[2] and also of the Royal Institution of Cornwall[3]

Death

Smith died in Plymouth on 31 July 1872. He was laid to rest in St Buryan's Church, St Buryan, Cornwall. A tall stone monument was erected in the churchyard of St Mary's Old Church, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly to recognise Smith's involvement with the Isles.

References

  1. ↑ SMITH, Esq., M.P., Augustus (1861). A True and Faithful History of the Family of Smith, Originally Cradled at Wiverton and Cropwell-Butler, in the Parish of Titheby, and more recently established at Nottingham, in the County of Nottingham. London: Charles Whiting, Beaufort House, Strand. p. 4.
  2. ↑ Hosking, K. F. G. & Shrimpton, G. J., ed. (1964). "Patrons and presidents". Present Views of Some Aspects of the Geology of Cornwall and Devon. Penzance: Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. p. iii.
  3. ↑ Peter Mandler, 'Smith, Augustus John (1804–1872)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 15 Nov 2007

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Ennis Vivian and
Sir Henry Vivian		 Member of Parliament for Truro
1857–1865
With: Edward Brydges Willyams, to 1859;
Montague Edward Smith, 1859–1863;
Sir Frederick Martin Williams, from 1853		 Succeeded by
John Cranch Walker and
Sir Frederick Martin Williams