Thomas Tobin
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Tobin was a British merchant. He moved to Ballincollig
in 1863 to become managing director of Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills
. He played an active part in the social and industrial life of Ballincollig and Cork
until his death in 1881.
After the emancipation many of these slaves came to England, and it was not uncommon to see coloured people in Liverpool who bore a mark identifying them as having once been on the servitude of the Tobins. John became Mayor
of Liverpool in 1819 and was knighted on the ascension of George IV
to the throne. On 19 July 1821, George IV’s Coronation Day, Prince’s Dock was opened, and the Tobins ship, May, was the first ship which entered and in honour of the occasion she was exempted from paying Town or Dock Dues.
s at the back. About half-way up the street Thomas Tobin, senior, lived in a fine house with a counting house behind. Thomas Tobin, senior, had a large family-six boys and six girls. The eldest of these were also called Thomas after his father and he was born on 22 March 1807, and was baptised in St. Peter’s Church, Church Street, on 26 June 1807. Very little is known about the young Thomas upbringing, except, as the oldest son, he naturally became involved in his fathers business.
Board of Ordnance
. Thomas junior was involved in inspecting the buildings before the purchase was concluded for £15,00.
With the renovation and the opening of the mills, Thomas junior was sent to Ballincollig by his father to become managing director of the mills. It seems unusual that Thomas, as the oldest son, was not kept in Liverpool to inherit the family in the business. But in the mid 1830s Thomas was the only son available to go to Ballincollig. One son had died at six months, a second was in the Army, a third was not yet twenty, while the fourth, James Aspinall, who later took over to Liverpool business, was only seventeen.
It is clear Thomas took an active interest in the running of the mills, which grew rapidly. He is credited with making Ballincollig "almost a model village". In March 1806, on his retirement from his position as managing director, he was presented with "'a magnificent piece of plate' by the supervisors and workmen, a small token of their deep regret…. And of their gratitude for the kindness and humanity with which he always exercised his authority".
They had one child, a son, Arthur Lionel, who was born in Ballincollig on 7 August 1837. Arthur became a lieutenant in the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers with whom he served in the Crimean War and in the Indian Mutiny. He was wounded in the thigh while fighting at the capture of Kaiserbogh, Lucknow (16 March 1858) and died on 12 October 1858. He was buried near Lucknow.
Thomas and Catherine were very saddened by the death of their only son and child at 21 years of age. Thomas presented a stained glass window to St. Peter’s Church, Carrigohane, to commemorate his son. He also presented a memorial to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Thomas also endowed a boat in his son’s name with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of which Thomas himself was the local representative.
, Ballincollig, from 1835. But in the early 1850s he rented the castle
in Ballincollig and intended to have it 'repaired and protected from further decay'. He also intended to have the grounds around it "tastefully planted". Instead, in the mid 1850s he seemed to live for a while in Bridepark, Ovens. However, after that he lived in the Oriel House until his death in 1881.
(1853), and a member of the Royal Irish Academy
(1869).
Thomas and Catherine travelled to North Africa, the Levant and Palestine. In February 1856, he lectured in the Athenium (Opera House) on 'Egypt, Past and Present', an account of a visit Cairo and a journey along the Nile. He concluded that the Turkish empire was doomed and speculated on Egypt’s future.
George Kelleher has suggested, however, that while Thomas Tobin was an 'antiquarian and curio collector in the spirit of the Victorian age', his wife Catherine, 'was a far more considerable cultural figure'. Her interest in antiquaries led her to write two books, "Shadows of the East" (Longmans, 1855) and "The Land of Inheritance" (Quaritch, London, 1863), and to translate a third "Illustration of Discovries at Ninevth" (Longmans, 1859) by P.E Botta.
He had greatest influence during the 1850s when he was "one of the most active members" of the Executive Committee which organised the Cork Exhibition of 1852. He was also Secretary of the Police Committee, which organised security for the Exhibition. His carriage was one of the fifty which rode in the parade at the opening of the Exhibition
Knighthood.
The profits of the Cork Exhibition were used to build the Atheneum (Opera House). Thomas was President of the Atheneum and at its opening on 22 May 1855, he was knighted by the Lord Lieutenant. His Excellency, the Earl of Carlisle, said "In recognition of the services he has rendered for the institution, of the great esteem in which he was held by the citizens of Cork but particularly in reference for the vast goods and great benefits he has dispensed to the public in the conduct of the large manufactory at Ballincollig and especially for his kindness and humanity to the numerous workers over whom he has charge."
Hospitals
Thomas took an active interest in the management of a number of the city hospitals. Two of these were the Erinville Hospital and the Eglinton District Lunatic Asylum along the Lee Road. In 1874, he presided over a public meeting, which was called to organise a new hospital for Cork. This was "The County and City of Cork Hospital for Women and Children" which later became the Victoria Hospital. Thomas was elected to the permanent Committee of Management in 1877. He was appointed Honorary Treasurer and Secretary in 1878 and served in this capacity until his death in 1881. His wife, Lady Catherine, was a patroness of the Hospital for many years.
Death
The Cork Examiner said on his death: "Much regret was felt at the announcement of the death of the courteous and popular gentleman, Sir Thomas Tobin. He was not a native of this city but for a long time had identified himself with it. By political conviction he was a Conservative but his opinions were always maintained in the courteous and least obtrusive manner and they detracted nothing from the esteem which his urbane manners and general kindness of disposition had won for him." (In his will he left effects in Ireland valued at £5,305.7s.2d.)
After his death his wife, Lady Catherine, moved back to England, first to London and then to Eastham in Cheshire where James Aspinall lived. She died there on 23 April 1903, and was buried in Eastham.
Conclusion
The memory of Sir Thomas Tobin is largely forgotten in Ballincollig today. Yet he played a very important part in the development of the town in the middle of the last century. He was for many years the managing director of one of the largest manufactories in the south of Ireland. He also played a very important part in the cultural life of Cork City at that time. But as a mark of our recognition of that part, his grave lies hidden and in decay at the end of Inniscarra Graveyard.
Ballincollig
Ballincollig is a satellite town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately 9 km west of Cork city. It is located beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2006 the population of Ballincollig DED was 16,308. The nearest towns include: Ballinora, Ovens, Killumney, Inniscarra, Blarney ,...
in 1863 to become managing director of Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills
Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills
Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills was one of three Royal gunpowder mills that manufactured gunpowder for the British Government. Located in Ballincollig near Cork city in Ireland, the powder mills were originally opened in 1794 as a private enterprise, before being taken over by the British...
. He played an active part in the social and industrial life of Ballincollig and Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
until his death in 1881.
Tobins of Liverpool
The Tobins were an important merchant family in Liverpool at a time when the city was rapidly expanding at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Thomas's grandfather, Patrick, was a native of Ireland and lived in the Isle of Man. Two of Patrick’s sons, John and Thomas, became apprentice seamen and later master mariners. They both built their prosperity on the African trade, especially palm oil and ivory, but also slavery. They had estates in Africa which employed many black people.After the emancipation many of these slaves came to England, and it was not uncommon to see coloured people in Liverpool who bore a mark identifying them as having once been on the servitude of the Tobins. John became Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Liverpool in 1819 and was knighted on the ascension of George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
to the throne. On 19 July 1821, George IV’s Coronation Day, Prince’s Dock was opened, and the Tobins ship, May, was the first ship which entered and in honour of the occasion she was exempted from paying Town or Dock Dues.
Thomas' father and family
On 6 June 1806, John’s brother, Thomas, married Esther Watson, daughter of Richard Watson of Preston in Preston Church. They took up residence in Bold Street in Liverpool. At that time Bold Street had not become a shopping street but consisted of dwelling houses of well-to-do merchants, many of whom had their counting houseCounting house
A counting house, or compting house, literally is the building, room, office or suite in which a business firm carries on operations, particularly accounting. By a synecdoche, it has come to mean the accounting operations of a firm, however housed...
s at the back. About half-way up the street Thomas Tobin, senior, lived in a fine house with a counting house behind. Thomas Tobin, senior, had a large family-six boys and six girls. The eldest of these were also called Thomas after his father and he was born on 22 March 1807, and was baptised in St. Peter’s Church, Church Street, on 26 June 1807. Very little is known about the young Thomas upbringing, except, as the oldest son, he naturally became involved in his fathers business.
Powder mills
In 1833–34, Tobin and company of Liverpool purchased the dilapidated powder mills in Ballincollig from the BritishUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
Board of Ordnance
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...
. Thomas junior was involved in inspecting the buildings before the purchase was concluded for £15,00.
With the renovation and the opening of the mills, Thomas junior was sent to Ballincollig by his father to become managing director of the mills. It seems unusual that Thomas, as the oldest son, was not kept in Liverpool to inherit the family in the business. But in the mid 1830s Thomas was the only son available to go to Ballincollig. One son had died at six months, a second was in the Army, a third was not yet twenty, while the fourth, James Aspinall, who later took over to Liverpool business, was only seventeen.
It is clear Thomas took an active interest in the running of the mills, which grew rapidly. He is credited with making Ballincollig "almost a model village". In March 1806, on his retirement from his position as managing director, he was presented with "'a magnificent piece of plate' by the supervisors and workmen, a small token of their deep regret…. And of their gratitude for the kindness and humanity with which he always exercised his authority".
Family
Shortly after taking up his position as managing director in 1835, Thomas married Catherine Ellis, daughter of Lister Ellis of Crofthead, Cumberland, on 12 September 1835.They had one child, a son, Arthur Lionel, who was born in Ballincollig on 7 August 1837. Arthur became a lieutenant in the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers with whom he served in the Crimean War and in the Indian Mutiny. He was wounded in the thigh while fighting at the capture of Kaiserbogh, Lucknow (16 March 1858) and died on 12 October 1858. He was buried near Lucknow.
Thomas and Catherine were very saddened by the death of their only son and child at 21 years of age. Thomas presented a stained glass window to St. Peter’s Church, Carrigohane, to commemorate his son. He also presented a memorial to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Thomas also endowed a boat in his son’s name with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of which Thomas himself was the local representative.
Oriel House
Thomas and Catherine lived in Oriel HouseOriel House
Oriel House is a hotel in the west end of the town of Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland. It was built shortly after the Ballincollig Gunpowder Mills which was built in 1794 by Charles Henry Leslie. In 1983 it was officially opened as a hotel by William and Angela Shanahan...
, Ballincollig, from 1835. But in the early 1850s he rented the castle
Ballincollig Castle
Ballincollig Castle is a Norman castle to the south of the town of Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland built after the Norman invasion of Ireland. In its prime, the castle was inhabited by the Barretts, who had control of the local area. The castle still stands today, albeit heavily damaged...
in Ballincollig and intended to have it 'repaired and protected from further decay'. He also intended to have the grounds around it "tastefully planted". Instead, in the mid 1850s he seemed to live for a while in Bridepark, Ovens. However, after that he lived in the Oriel House until his death in 1881.
Travel and antiquities
Thomas and Catherine had a common interest in travel and in the antiquities of the middle and Near East. Thomas was elected member of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, Copenhagen (1849), a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of LondonSociety of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
(1853), and a member of the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
(1869).
Thomas and Catherine travelled to North Africa, the Levant and Palestine. In February 1856, he lectured in the Athenium (Opera House) on 'Egypt, Past and Present', an account of a visit Cairo and a journey along the Nile. He concluded that the Turkish empire was doomed and speculated on Egypt’s future.
George Kelleher has suggested, however, that while Thomas Tobin was an 'antiquarian and curio collector in the spirit of the Victorian age', his wife Catherine, 'was a far more considerable cultural figure'. Her interest in antiquaries led her to write two books, "Shadows of the East" (Longmans, 1855) and "The Land of Inheritance" (Quaritch, London, 1863), and to translate a third "Illustration of Discovries at Ninevth" (Longmans, 1859) by P.E Botta.
Social and commercial
Thomas was very involved in many aspects of the social and commercial life of the Cork area. He was patron of Carrigrohane Church of Ireland Primary School. He was also a Justice of the Peace as well as being Deputy Lieutenant of the county of the City of Cork. Like his father, who was a member of the Dock Committee in Liverpool, Thomas was a member of Cork Harbour Board.He had greatest influence during the 1850s when he was "one of the most active members" of the Executive Committee which organised the Cork Exhibition of 1852. He was also Secretary of the Police Committee, which organised security for the Exhibition. His carriage was one of the fifty which rode in the parade at the opening of the Exhibition
Knighthood.
The profits of the Cork Exhibition were used to build the Atheneum (Opera House). Thomas was President of the Atheneum and at its opening on 22 May 1855, he was knighted by the Lord Lieutenant. His Excellency, the Earl of Carlisle, said "In recognition of the services he has rendered for the institution, of the great esteem in which he was held by the citizens of Cork but particularly in reference for the vast goods and great benefits he has dispensed to the public in the conduct of the large manufactory at Ballincollig and especially for his kindness and humanity to the numerous workers over whom he has charge."
Hospitals
Thomas took an active interest in the management of a number of the city hospitals. Two of these were the Erinville Hospital and the Eglinton District Lunatic Asylum along the Lee Road. In 1874, he presided over a public meeting, which was called to organise a new hospital for Cork. This was "The County and City of Cork Hospital for Women and Children" which later became the Victoria Hospital. Thomas was elected to the permanent Committee of Management in 1877. He was appointed Honorary Treasurer and Secretary in 1878 and served in this capacity until his death in 1881. His wife, Lady Catherine, was a patroness of the Hospital for many years.
Death
Death
Thomas died on 9 January 1881. He had been sick for ten weeks with a gastric ulcer and his brother, James Aspinall, was present at his death. He was buried at Inniscarra Cemetery on 11 January.The Cork Examiner said on his death: "Much regret was felt at the announcement of the death of the courteous and popular gentleman, Sir Thomas Tobin. He was not a native of this city but for a long time had identified himself with it. By political conviction he was a Conservative but his opinions were always maintained in the courteous and least obtrusive manner and they detracted nothing from the esteem which his urbane manners and general kindness of disposition had won for him." (In his will he left effects in Ireland valued at £5,305.7s.2d.)
After his death his wife, Lady Catherine, moved back to England, first to London and then to Eastham in Cheshire where James Aspinall lived. She died there on 23 April 1903, and was buried in Eastham.
Conclusion
The memory of Sir Thomas Tobin is largely forgotten in Ballincollig today. Yet he played a very important part in the development of the town in the middle of the last century. He was for many years the managing director of one of the largest manufactories in the south of Ireland. He also played a very important part in the cultural life of Cork City at that time. But as a mark of our recognition of that part, his grave lies hidden and in decay at the end of Inniscarra Graveyard.