John Howson began his career as a Penrith coach builder with a hiccup, and ended it in misfortune. Here is his story.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s not surprising, when researching the Victorian past of a town the size of Penrith, that \u2018the same names\u2019 crop up quite a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For I\u2019d \u2018seen\u2019 John Howson twice before this post.<\/p>\n In 1871, John, aged 14, was a groom. He was living in Little Dockray, with his father William Howson the bellman. <\/a>mother Elizabeth, sister Eliza, and brother Pearson Howson<\/a>.<\/p>\n There was also an adult boarder, and Frederick Hodgson, aged one, \u2018boarder\u2019 \u2013 likely the child of a widow or unmarried mother, paying Mrs Howson to look after him. Sadly, Frederick died the following year, so it would mean paying for his birth certificate to find out more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John\u2019s brother Pearson Howson was a saddler. Maybe Pearson was working for Robert Graham Pears, who had a saddlery and a coach building business. Maybe it just looked a good opportunity on the family\u2019s doorstep. But at some point between 1871 and 1874, John Howson signed an apprenticeship agreement with Robert Graham Pears, and a new career was born.<\/p>\n One that nearly derailed!<\/p>\n A newspaper article of May 26, 1874 tells us:<\/p>\n ‘John Howson was charged with leaving the service of his master, Mr. R. G. Pears, coachbuilder, to whom he was apprenticed, without just cause.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, John Howson had a counter-claim: that his employer\u2019s second son, Robert junior, had assaulted him.<\/p>\n The facts, as detailed by the several witnesses, were that on the above morning the younger Pears went to the work-room for the purpose of taking the men’s time, when an altercation took place between him and Howson<\/p>\n ‘It was alleged on the part of Pears that in consequence of the insolent language of Howson, young Pears. hit the boy over the head with a memorandum book.<\/p>\n ‘Howson’s case was that young Pears struck at the lad over the head with his hand, and used such violence as justified him in leaving.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Both cases were dismissed, and the Bench ordered Howson to return to his employment. John would have been 17, \u2018young Robert\u2019 20, which may account for the former\u2019s lack of respect. John Howson may have found it hard to go back, but it spared his family the expense of a breach of his contract. And it ensured his future.<\/p>\n In 1881, John was still living at 12 Little Dockray, with his now widowed mother, a married sister Mary Ann Jackson, her daughter Elizabeth Jackson, and another (to John) niece, Amy Bell, aged just nine months. A year later, he married Mary Hullock. And, his apprenticeship complete, he took the brave step of starting out in business \u2013 in partnership with a man called William Robinson.<\/p>\n Sept 1882.\u00a0 <\/span>Victoria Coach Works. TRANSFER OF BUSINESS. ROBINSON AND HOWSON (From the firms of Sisson and Pears) beg to announce that they have taken the above works, lately carried on by Benjamin Sisson, and hope by strict personal attention to all orders entrusted to them to merit a continuance and extension of that patronage bestowed upon their predecessor. Repairs neatly and promptly executed.\u00a04, VICTORIA PLACE, CARLISLE,\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n By 1883, Messrs Robinson and Howson were exhibiting dogcarts, whitechapels etc at Penrith Agricultural Show. The various census returns show William Robinson was born about 1861 (at Unthank) and described himself mostly as a coach painter.<\/p>\n 1887 April. 26. ROBINSON AND HOWSON, COACHBUILDERS, VICTORIA COACH WORKS, VICTORIA ROAD, PENRITH, In thanking their Customers for past favours during the five years they have been in business, take this opportunity of informing them that owing to increase of business they have been compelled to build a spacious SHOW ROOM, where they intend keeping a STOCK OF CARRIAGES, itc., with the latest improvement& SPECIAL DESIGNS MADE TO ORDER.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Victoria Road works had been a coachworks for several decades: first occupied by a Thomas Bland, till his death in 1853; then for a few years by Robert Graham Pears, until he moved to the town centre.<\/p>\n In October 1897, John Howson\u2019s (four-bedroom, rented) house in Victoria Road was advertised for sale by auction,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018along with the extensive business premises adjoining, now in the occupation of Messrs ; Robinson and Howson. Coachbuilders, comprising yard. with a carriage Loft over, Blacksmith’s Shop, with Storage Loft, Show Room and Office and 2 W.Cs.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Whoever bought the premises, R&H stayed on: they were reported in February 1898 for causing obstructions of the roadway and pathway, leaving traps there while being repaired or waiting to be repaired. John Howson refused to move them, telling the council surveyor they had permission for them to be there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In March 1899, the partnership between William Robinson and John Howson came to an end, after 27 years. It was dissolved by mutual consent, with John Howson informing the public he would carry on the business \u2018without interruption\u2019.<\/p>\n That didn\u2019t work out entirely smoothly from the start. In November that year, John Howson went to court to claim money from a long-standing customer. The judge \u2018could not make head nor tail\u2019 of the accounts and despaired over how to arrive at the correct figure for the judgement. The accounts books, according to John Howson, had been kept by William Robinson.<\/p>\n In March 1903, John Howson was nominated as a candidate for Penrith Urban Council. A month later, he was in trouble for late payment of his rates!<\/p>\n A year later, he was advertising a list of carts for sale\u2026 a month before:<\/p>\n Coachbuilder\u2019s business for sale, for the purpose of winding up an estate<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The business was to be sold as a going concern \u2013 but a few weeks later, another advertisement said the conveyances and stock-in-trade were to be sold, \u2018under deed of assignment\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And in July 1904, it all became sadly clear:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In bankruptcy no 11 of 1904, John Howson of Victoria Road, Penrith, receiving order made July 6.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It seems those messy account books hid the fact the business was already in trouble, before John Howson paid William Robinson \u00a3100 for his share of the partnership. By the time of the bankruptcy, he owed five years\u2019 rent on the premises. And \u2018there was no trade from November 1903 to March 1904.\u2019<\/p>\n In hindsight, he thought he\u2019d have been better to call it quits in 1899, as the business was probably then already insolvent.<\/p>\n John Howson looks to have died towards the end of 1908. For sure, he had died by 1911: his wife and children William, George, Jane and Helena are living at 25 Great Dockray. Mary is a seamstress, and has lost two of seven children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As for former partner William Robinson\u2026 the 1901 and 1911 censuses show him back to painting coaches as a worker, rather than employer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John Howson began his career as a Penrith coach builder with a hiccup, and ended it in misfortune. Here is his story. Who was John Howson? Perhaps it\u2019s not surprising, when researching the Victorian past of a town the size of Penrith, that \u2018the same names\u2019 crop up quite a lot.\u00a0 For I\u2019d \u2018seen\u2019 John […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[406,405,186,407,217,409,408],"class_list":["post-2016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cumbria-history","tag-coach-builder","tag-little-dockray","tag-penrith","tag-rg-pears","tag-robert-graham-pears","tag-victoria-coach-works","tag-william-robinson"],"yoast_head":"\nJohn Howson\u2019s apprenticeship<\/h2>\n
Master and apprentice, and vice versa<\/h2>\n
Starting out for himself<\/h2>\n
Victoria Coach Works<\/h2>\n
All was going well\u2026<\/h2>\n
\u2026Or not<\/h2>\n
The end of the business<\/h2>\n