The rise and rise of Kelley and Sons, part two.
The legacy of Fairfax Kelley, continued
Part one
In part two I’m going to follow the fortunes of some of Fairfax’s grandchildren to see if or how his wealth conferred advantage to them and changed their lives. How could it not? Fairfax’s children were growing up with him as he grew the business and became more successful. By the time they had children, Kelley and Sons was a hugely successful business employing hundreds of people in Heckmondwike.
There’s not much out there about the impact of the decision to sell Kelley and Sons, but I found this mention in the Batley Reporter and Guardian from 27th December 1890:
A shock was given to workpeople generally by the voluntary stoppage of Crystal and Union Mills, the works of Messrs. Fairfax Kelley and Sons. Some of those thrown out of employment found work in Heckmondwike, Liversedge, and Dewsbury, but the bulk of them had to seek their bread in other places and at other trades, and there was much suffering, which is greatly to be regretted.
In order for the Kelley sons to enjoy their retirement, there were lots of ordinary people who lost out. There were fewer protections for working people back then in terms of a welfare state, or transferring employment to a new employer or pensions or anything like that.
Fairfax Kelley and Frances Crawshaw had six children. Between them, those six children gave Fairfax and Frances 23 grandchildren. I’m going to follow just one child from each family in this post. Rawson Kelley is the only one of Fairfax’s children to have not had children himself.
Sarah Kelley 1829-1894
It’s fairly clear that the “& Sons” of Fairfax Kelley & Sons were able to capitalise on their father’s business success, but it’s not clear how his daughters benefited.
They were able to do the thing that middle class Victorian ladies are supposed to do and that is to marry well. Sarah Kelley, Fairfax and Frances's eldest child, married Joshua Whitworth, a tea merchant. They went on to have three daughters. Joshua Whitworth was also a Yorkshire man and they both settled in Huddersfield where their three girls were born. By the census of 1881, the family are living in Grove Park, now in the borough of Lewisham in London.
Sarah and Joshua's daughter Fanny Whitworth (named after Frances) married Edward Prest in the parish church of Bromley, Kent. Edward Prest was born in 1839 in Birmingham, making him 15 years older than Fanny. He had been married before to Mary Bainbridge in 1867 but she unfortunately died just a few months after giving birth to their twin sons. By 1871, he was living in Lee on the Burnt Ash Road with his sons. His occupation was given as oil merchant in the census. He employed a nurse to help look after his young sons and when they were older, they were sent away to school. They both eventually attended Dulwich College (which is an extremely posh school in south-east London). He didn’t marry again until he married Fanny Whitworth in 1882. By 1891, they were living in Carshalton, Surrey. Fanny and Edward don’t seem to have had children themselves. As you follow them through the census, they always have at least two servants living in. In 1921, Edward is 81 and there are two nurses as well as the regular staff.
Fanny’s younger sister Emily ended up marrying one of Edward Prest’s sons, Charles Arthur Bainbridge Prest, which makes for a confusing family tree.
Fanny lived until February 1939, she left around £8000 to her step sons Charles and Edward.
The advantage that Fanny had was having had a similar upbringing and moving in the same social circles as Edward Prest and his sons. This would only have been possible thanks to the privilege via her grandfather's wealth and I’m sure through the success of her father’s work as well. Any other natural advantages of beauty or personality would only have helped with making what would be considered a highly advantageous marriage.
George Kelley 1832 - 1903
George Kelley was one of the sons of Kelley & Sons. He lived in Prospect House, and you’ll know this by how often it’s mentioned in almost any article about him, in his obituary, on his gravestone. George Kelley, of Prospect House.
It’s worth noting a very sad incident when George Kelley and his wife were away on a “world tour” in December 1883, a storm damaged the house and his aunt Mary Goodall (83) who was staying at house was killed. She was sleeping in the best bedroom along with a servant. The servant luckily escaped with minor injuries.
The house was built of stone, the style being Gothic, and it commanded a magnificent view across the valley. Though upon the hill, yet there are to be found much more exposed building than Prospect House, and it is this thought which has suggested to many minds the defective state of the masonry as wherein lies the cause of the disaster. The gale, of course, was of unparalleled violence, but when it is remembered that its force was withstood by numerous long chimneys in the district, whose condition for years has been regarded as shakey, and by hundreds of building less pretentious than Prospect House, though equally if not more exposed, the opinion is not altogether an astonishing one. Be that as it may, the structure yielded to the pressure of the storm early on Wednesday morning, the north-west position now lying one mass of ruins. It may be stated that the rooms destroyed comprised attic, best bedroom, best dining room, and cellar underneath, whilst the inner walls of the other apartments, the entrance hall, and corridors sustained severe damage.
There follows a long description of the destruction of the house, furniture all over the place, that sort of thing.
It seemed that the disaster was not discovered until 7 o’clock, the poor woman being entombed all the while in the ruins. Mr Kelley, jun., states that about four o’clock he heard a loud crash accompanied by a vivid flash of lightning, but believing it to be nothing but a thunder peal, remained in bed till the usual hour - about seven o’clock - when, on going to knock the servant up he was horrified at finding the north-east side of the house in ruins.
Batley Reporter and Guardian 15 December 1883
The junior Mr Kelley who manages to sleep through half the house falling down was probably George Henry Kelley, their youngest son. He got married in 1884, so was still single at this time. Fairfax Kelley, their oldest son was already married and in the 1881 census is living in Millbridge, Liversedge with his wife and son. He describes himself as a carpet manufacturer, so I guess he is carrying on the family business. Millbridge was the home town of his grandfather Fairfax Kelley.
By 1891, Fairfax’s wife Achsah is dead and I can’t find him on the 1891 census. Their son Rawson is living with Fairfax’s parents, and their daughter Frances is living with Achsah’s parents.
When George Kelley died in 1903, he bequeathed £4025 to his daughter Ann and the rest of his estate between Fairfax, George Henry, Mary Ellen, Fanny Louise. Total net was £26,858 which is £5708 each. To give you an idea of how much money that is, £26,858 is roughly equivalent £2,100,000.
In 1901, Fairfax Kelley is living in Goole "on his own means". He remarries in 1903 to Louisa Sophia Cawthorn, she was 45 and he was 47. Fairfax dies in 1909 when he was only in his 50s.
I'm not sure what he did for a living - maybe nothing much? He didn't seem to live with his children again after his first wife dies. I found notice of Kelley's and United Carpet and Rug Works Limited, a syndicate formed to take over the former premises of Kelley and Sons to revive the business. One of the partners is "FA Kelley" though whether this is Fairfax or his cousin Frederick Kelley, I don't know.
Ralph Kelley 1835 - 1884
Ralph Kelley left the business in 1880 (presumably due to ill health, he died in 1884). He may have been bought out by his father and brothers. Ralph Kelley had five children with his wife Sarah Ann Whitworth. One of their children was Frederick Kelley who went on to become a Conservative MP. He built a rather spectacular, height of fashion Victorian house. The gardens were known to be beautiful and they were regularly opened up to visitors. You can find images of this house on the Historic England website. He was in business as a brewer before he went into politics. He attained the rank of Major during the First World War.
Pictures of Holly Court from the Historic England website. If you do a search for Holly Court, you'll find lots more images of the house. The house no longer exists now.
Of the articles following his death, I’d like to highlight this one from The Mexborough Swinton Times 4th June 1926, which describes him and his brother in their younger days as “poor lads with their way to make in the world” which is a lovely bit of mythologizing. I don’t think you could have described this generation of Kelleys as “poor” by any stretch of the imagination.
Major Sir Frederick Arthur Kelley had filed for bankruptcy just before he died. He was survived by his wife and they didn’t seem to have had any children.
Emma Kelley 1839 - 1906
Emma Kelley married Richard Holdsworth who was an oil merchant. There’s not much I could find out about these two. They settled in Burnley, Lancashire and had nine children. One of their sons was named Fairfax, unfortunately he died in infancy. I picked their son Richard to highlight for this post. He married Eliza Winskill and they ended up living in Blackpool. They only had one son who died at two years old. The descendants of the Holdsworths seem to be keen on family history and I found photos of Richard and Eliza online.
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| Richard Holdsworth and Eliza Winskill, 1913 |
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| Richard Holdsworth and Eliza Winskill, 1890 |
John Kelley 1845 - 1910
John Kelley’s only daughter with his wife Jane Greenwood was Helena Kelley. Helena was born in Heckmondwike in 1868. In the 1891 census, the family are living at Claremont Road, Heckmondwike with two servants and John Kelley’s occupation is given as “living on his own means”. Helena was 23 at the time. There’s not a lot I can find out about Helena. She’s clearly having a privelged upbringing. In 1900, she married Dyson Mallinson, a cotton broker who was divorced with two children. They had something in common being children of successful family firms. In Dyson Mallinson’s case, his grandfather founded George Mallinson and Sons in the woollen industry. They went on to have two children, John Kelley Mallinson and Kathleen Jane Mallinson. In 1901, the family are living in Ormskirk. The Mallinsons would live in Ormskirk or Southport for the rest of their lives. Dyson Mallinson was knighted in 1921. Helena would describe herself as Lady or Dame Helena Mallinson for the rest of her life.
Out of this sample of the grandchildren of Fairfax Kelley, we have people living a range of middle class lives. They grew up with servants - while having servants is not necessarily an indicator of really high status, it does indicate to me that they are middle class at least. Major Sir FA Kelley and Dame Helena Mallinson end up with titles. Others end up with fairly nice lives as far as I can tell.
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