Arthur Percival Heywood
Encyclopedia
Sir Arthur Percival Heywood, 3rd Baronet (25 December 1849 – 19 April 1916) was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Percival Heywood. He grew up in the family home of Dove Leys at Denstone
in Staffordshire
.
from Rocester
to Ashbourne
ran. The family travelled by train to their relatives in Manchester
and on holiday to Inveran
in the Highland
region of Scotland
. Heywood developed a passion for the railway from an early age.
He assisted his father in his hobby of ornamental metalwork
, with a Holtzapffel
lathe, and in his late teenage, built a 4 in gauge model railway with a steam locomotive
. Wanting something on which his younger siblings could ride, he went on to build a 9 in gauge locomotive and train, which gave him the experience for his later ventures.
Initially schooled at Eton
, in 1868, he went on to Trinity College, Cambridge
, where he made friends with the local railway people, cadging lifts on the footplates of locos. He graduated in 1872 with a degree in Applied Science. As a landed gentleman, however, convention frowned on him developing an engineering career.
in Hampshire
and set up home at Duffield Bank, near Duffield, Derbyshire near Derby
, the headquarters of the Midland Railway
. Since many of the directors lived in Duffield, he soon developed an interest in Derby Works
. He became aware of experiments by the Royal Engineers
in building railways in warfare.
These first experiments had been distinctly unsuccessful, as had previous attempts dating back several decades to build "portable railways" for agricultural use. Thus, at what was known as the Duffield Bank Railway
, Heywood developed what he called the "minimum gauge railway
". He settled on as the optimum, his previous 9 in line having proved to be too small to carry people in a stable manner. Built on a steep hillside, the line was an ideal testing ground and, to gain the adhesion for steep gradients and the ability to negotiate small radius curves, he built six-coupled locomotives with what he called his "radiating axle."
Though the line remained in use for many years and was visited by many potential buyers, the only interest came from the Duke of Westminster
for whom he built the Eaton Hall Railway
.
Sir Arthur also had a keen interest in campanology
(bell ringing) and he founded the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. He was often to be seen a Duffield's St. Alkmunds Church and in the years up to 1887, augmented its peal from six to ten..
Sir Arthur's father died in 1897 and he inherited Dove Leys, where he began to build another railway between the road, where there was a coal store, and the house. His intention was to extend to Norbury
railway goods yard, but Colonel Clowes who owned the land in between refused to give him wayleave. Sir Arthur then extended the line southwards to nearby Dove Cliff farm, which was part of his estate, and thence to Rocester
station. However he was again unable to obtain wayleave from his other neighbour, Colonel Dawson.
When World War I
began in 1914, all three of his sons went on active service, as did many of his staff. Sir Arthur carried on, particularly with work on the Eaton Hall Railway. However he was unwell in the early part of 1916 and took a turn for the worse on the 19 April during a visit to Duffield Bank and died in the afternoon.
He was appointed high Sheriff of Derbyshire
for 1899.
Denstone
Denstone is a village and civil parish situated between the towns of Uttoxeter in East Staffordshire and Ashbourne in Derbyshire. It is located next to the River Churnet. The All Saints village church, vicarage and school were built by Sir Thomas Percival Heywood, 2nd Baronet in the mid nineteenth...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
Early life
Dove Leys looked over the valley where the North Staffordshire RailwayNorth Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
from Rocester
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt Rowcestre in the Domesday Book.-Geography:...
to Ashbourne
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Ashbourne is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 10,302.The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.- Local customs :...
ran. The family travelled by train to their relatives in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and on holiday to Inveran
Inveran
Inveran is a small village in the Sutherland region of the Highland Council area of Scotland.It is situated on the A837 at the head of the Dornoch Firth and the site of the Shin Hydro-electric Power Station....
in the Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
region of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Heywood developed a passion for the railway from an early age.
He assisted his father in his hobby of ornamental metalwork
Ornamental turning
Ornamental turning is a type of turning, a craft that involves cutting of a work mounted in a lathe. The work can be made of any material that is suitable for being cut in this way, such as wood, bone, ivory or metal. Plain turning is work executed on a lathe where a transverse section through any...
, with a Holtzapffel
Holtzapffel
Holtzapffel & Co. was a tool and lathe making company in London, founded by German immigrant, John Jacob Holtzapffel in 1793. The firm specialized in lathes for ornamental turning, something that was a popular leisure occupation for gentlemen at that time. Many ornamental lathes were bought by the...
lathe, and in his late teenage, built a 4 in gauge model railway with a steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
. Wanting something on which his younger siblings could ride, he went on to build a 9 in gauge locomotive and train, which gave him the experience for his later ventures.
Initially schooled at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, in 1868, he went on to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, where he made friends with the local railway people, cadging lifts on the footplates of locos. He graduated in 1872 with a degree in Applied Science. As a landed gentleman, however, convention frowned on him developing an engineering career.
Later life
In 1872 he married his cousin, Margaret Effie, daughter of the Reverend George Sumner, Rector of AlresfordOld Alresford
Old Alresford is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated some 1 km north of the town of New Alresford, 12 km north-east of the city of Winchester, and 20 km south-west of the town of Alton....
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and set up home at Duffield Bank, near Duffield, Derbyshire near Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, the headquarters of the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
. Since many of the directors lived in Duffield, he soon developed an interest in Derby Works
Derby Works
The Midland Railway Locomotive Works, known locally as "the loco" comprised a number of British manufacturing facilities in Derby building locomotives and, initially, rolling stock in Derby, UK.-Early days:...
. He became aware of experiments by the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in building railways in warfare.
These first experiments had been distinctly unsuccessful, as had previous attempts dating back several decades to build "portable railways" for agricultural use. Thus, at what was known as the Duffield Bank Railway
Duffield Bank Railway
The Duffield Bank Railway was built by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood in the grounds of his house on the hillside overlooking Duffield, Derbyshire in 1874. Although the Ordnance Survey map circa 1880 does not show the railway itself, it does show two tunnels and two signal posts.-Overview:It was more...
, Heywood developed what he called the "minimum gauge railway
Minimum gauge railway
Minimum gauge railways have a gauge of less than or , most commonly , , or . The notion of minimum gauge railways was originally developed by estate railways and by the French company of Decauville for industrial railways....
". He settled on as the optimum, his previous 9 in line having proved to be too small to carry people in a stable manner. Built on a steep hillside, the line was an ideal testing ground and, to gain the adhesion for steep gradients and the ability to negotiate small radius curves, he built six-coupled locomotives with what he called his "radiating axle."
Though the line remained in use for many years and was visited by many potential buyers, the only interest came from the Duke of Westminster
Duke of Westminster
The title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. The current holder of the title is Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster....
for whom he built the Eaton Hall Railway
Eaton Hall Railway
The Eaton Hall Railway was an early gauge narrow gauge estate railway built in 1896 at Eaton Hall in Cheshire.It was built for the Duke of Westminster by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood, who had pioneered the fifteen inch gauge with his Duffield Bank Railway, and connected the hall to the GWR...
.
Sir Arthur also had a keen interest in campanology
Campanology
Campanology is the study of bells. It encompasses the physical realities of bells — how they are cast, tuned and sounded — as well as the various methods devised to perform bell-ringing....
(bell ringing) and he founded the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. He was often to be seen a Duffield's St. Alkmunds Church and in the years up to 1887, augmented its peal from six to ten..
Sir Arthur's father died in 1897 and he inherited Dove Leys, where he began to build another railway between the road, where there was a coal store, and the house. His intention was to extend to Norbury
Norbury, Staffordshire
Norbury is a village in the Borough of Stafford, in south-west Staffordshire, England.It is situated approximately north-east of Newport, just south of the A519 Newport to Newcastle-under-Lyme road, and two miles south-east of Woodseaves....
railway goods yard, but Colonel Clowes who owned the land in between refused to give him wayleave. Sir Arthur then extended the line southwards to nearby Dove Cliff farm, which was part of his estate, and thence to Rocester
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt Rowcestre in the Domesday Book.-Geography:...
station. However he was again unable to obtain wayleave from his other neighbour, Colonel Dawson.
When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began in 1914, all three of his sons went on active service, as did many of his staff. Sir Arthur carried on, particularly with work on the Eaton Hall Railway. However he was unwell in the early part of 1916 and took a turn for the worse on the 19 April during a visit to Duffield Bank and died in the afternoon.
He was appointed high Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
for 1899.