William Paxton (businessman)
Encyclopedia
Sir William Paxton was a Scottish
-born sailor, businessman and later Welsh
Member of Parliament
for Carmarthen
, who helped in the early Victorian age to develop the seaside resort of Tenby
.
near to Paxton
, Berwickshire
. He was the son of John Paxton, chief clerk to Scottish wine merchant Archibald Stewart
, who had become Lord Provost
of Edinburgh.
In 1745, when Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie"
, marched down from Caledonian with his army of Highlanders to make his bid for the throne, Stewart feably opposed him. Arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London
from where, after six weeks, he was released on a bail of £15,000. Two years later, he was found "not guilty" but Stewart found his name sullied in the eyes of the Edinburgh public and decided to transfer home and business to London. Stewart resultantly moved his business and his trusted agent John Paxton to No.11 Buckingham Street, just off the Strand
, where the Paxton family lived in a flat on the upper floor.
His elder brother Archibald helped his father run the Stewart wine business. Stewart's son John had made his fortune in the East India Company
, before becoming an MP. On his death, the John and Archibald Paxton took over the Stewart wine business. His middle brother John became a painter and artist, whose works were displayed at the Royal Academy
.
as Captain William Gordon's captains boy in November 1755, aboard HMS St Albans
. This allowed the quiet but arithmetically skilled boy to be schooled further, and his ship saw action with the bombardment and capture of Louisburg (French Canada) in July 1757. In 1760 he joined the new HMS Thunderer
as Midshipman
officer, under Captain Charles Proby.
, like many military men, Paxton was technically made redundant from the Royal Navy. On 1 June 1764, Paxton walked from his families London apartment to the Berkeley Square
home of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
. Carrying a letter of recommendation written by John Stewart
, he became a free mariner on an in-country privateer ship for the East India Company, plying trade between different ports on the east of the Cape of Good Hope
and across Asia
. After a period he was assigned to Calcutta, where he worked with Charles Cockerell
, brother of the architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell.
, and was working with and had befriended Sir George Colebrooke, 2nd Baronet
. The pair had speculated on shares in London, which Paxton had facilitated through his connections to allow them to undertake riskier trades, for which he took a small percentage on the sums placed. Unfortunately, Colebrooke's speculation had over stretched his finances, which would eventually bankrupt him, and Stewart was equally in financial trouble.
To enable him to repair his wealth, Stewart offered to sponsored Paxton to join the Bengal Presidency. As a result, Paxton returned to London and trained with Francis Spilsbury in Westminster. After seven months training, he apssed his assay exams over four days in the Tower of London
. Sponsored by Sir James Cockburn, former EIC Director and John Stewart's cousin, and William Brightwell Sumner, formerly a member of the Bengal Council; on 4 March 1774 Paxton became Assay Master to the Bengal Presidency
under the govenorship of Warren Hastings
.
as Master of the Mint of Bengal
.
This placed him in a very important position, as the official issuer of the Sicca "Silver" (freshly minted and assayed) rupee
. British expatriates had come to India to make money to enable them to live a secure and ideally wealthy retirment back in the United Kingdom. But to do so they needed to make sure that their money was easily transferable back to London. Paxton could both assure them through the process of assay that their money was good, and then transfer the fresh Sicca rupees to bank accounts in London securely. For this private service, Paxton charged both an official fee for assay, and a percentage fee for transfer to London.
However, the EIC restricted the amount of money that could be transferred, by limiting the number and scale of the Bills of exchange. Further, there was far more money required to be repatriated to London, than was requested to be expatriated to India. However, Paxton developed other methods of money transfer which were not controlled by the EIC. Non-Brtish companies trading into India needed to either transfer cash out with their goods, risking either loss through shipwreck or piracy; or arrange payment through assayed currency in country. Paxton developed relationships with these companies, particularly the Dutch
in Chinsura, the French
in Chandernagore, and the Danish
in Serampore
. This allowed them to ship goods into India, receive additional Sicca Rupees in payment in return for European Bills of Exchange, and then buy returned trade in an assured local currency. This allowed them to decrease or even stop their bullion imports from Europe, reducing risk and increasing profits.
With Dutch Bills of Exchnage easily tradeable in London, Paxton developed his closest relationships with them. From 1777 he began depositing large sums of Sicca Rupees in the Dutch treasury at Chinsura in exchange for Bills of Exchange on Amsterdam
. This trade developed quickly, and in 1781 he agreed to supply one million Sicca Rupees, half of the Dutch company's Bengal investment in that trading season. These tradees were a reflection of the trust he had developed with both the Dutch, his British expatriate clients with whose fortunes he was dealing, and the EIC.
Paxton had the ability to create this new business, which became termed an Agency House:
At each stage of the process, Paxton would charge a fee of between 1% and 5%, allowing him to amass a huge fortune. After he gained the contract to supply saltpetre (Potassium Nitrate)
to the Danish, the EIC were so impressed and assured of his skills, they would themselves place orders for cotton
and saltpetre with Paxton.
in 1780, resulted in Governor General Hastings ordering that the Dutch settlement at Chinsura be taken in 1781. Once the British Army
was in control, Paxton calculated that his clients had invested some 629,391 Sicca Rupees, which he had to recover.
As it was illegal and against company rules for administrators to trade with foreign powers, Paxton was in a weak position, even though he had key sponsors whom he had traded, across the company and up to board level. Although Hastings and his board recommended to London that Paxton and his clients be paid out of the liquidation of the Dutch colony's assets, which would take 12months to realise, the London board were not enthused to openly approve an illegal operation. They advised Hastings that any administrators who were found to be undertaking such activity in the future would be instantly dismissed without any access to compensation.
Paxton moved to both protect his interests and distance himself from his Agency House business, while not giving up his interests or ability to conduct business. He formed a partnership with Charles Cockerell, with whom he would have a lifetime business relationship, into which he placed all assets and operations of his Indian businesses.
He advertisied his personal assets in India for sale in the Calcutta Gazette that day, including three houses and eight horses; the normal level for a rich British expatriate in India at that time would have been one house and two horses.
Departing the Hughli in February 1785, he made the six month journey with his six year old daughter, whose mother knew the relationship would only survive in India. Also travelling with Paxton was Welshman
David Williams, a retiring Captain of the East India Company's military service. Paxton had arranged for Williams monies to be transferred to London via Bills of Exchange and diamond
s, which Archibald had then encashed, placing some in an account to allow William's father to buy him a small estate in Henllys, Carmarthenshire. On landing in London, Williams and Paxton agreed that they would meet again soon in Wales.
However, Paxton immediately continued his voyage alone to Amsterdam. There with Dutch bankers Hope & Co.
, he encashed Bills of Exchnage to the value of 470,241 Sicca Rupees, given him by the Dutch treasurer at Chinsura in 1781. Having already recovered 159,150, he returned to London to clear his client accounts and hence preserve his business.
While the simple business of Paxton & Co. was to encash their clients monies being repatriated from India, Paxton's reputation allowed the company to quickly expand its services. While some simply wanted their monies placed into current accounts, or exchanged into other currencies; others trusted Paxton to trade and invest their funds in commodities, bonds, and the stock market. Making small fee's on each transaction, Paxton & Co. quickly consolidated Paxton's personal fortune.
By the 1790s, the business had expanded again, with new partners joining in India under Cockerell. Cockerell hence came to London to introduce Paxton to their new fellow partners, the outcome of which was the establishment of the business formally as a merchant bank
under the name Paxton, Cockerell, Trail & Co.
to design him a new home, which was built between 1793 and 1795.
Paxton employed engineer James Grier as estate manager, and surveyor Samuel Lapidge, who had worked with Lancelot "Capability" Brown, to design and landscape the gardens. The pair created an ingenious water park, with water floweing around the estate via a system of interconnecting lake
s, pond
s and stream
s, linked by a network of dams, water sluices, bridges and cascades. Spring water was stored in elevated reservoir
s that fed into a lead cistern on the mansion’s roof, allowing Paxton’s residence to enjoy piped running water and the very latest luxury, water closets. Middleton Estate was described in a 19th century sale catalogue as "richly ornamented by nature, and greatly improved by art."
In 1806, Saxton engaged Pepys Cockerell again to design and then over see the construction of Paxton's Tower
, which was completed in 1809. A Neo-Gothic folly
erected in honour of Lord Nelson, it is situated on a hilltop near Llanarthney
in the Towy Valley, Carmarthenshire.
By the time of his death in 1824, Middleton Hall estate covered some 2650 acres (1,072.4 ha). After the estate fell into decline in the early 20th century, the main house burnt down in 1931. Today, the Middleton Hall estate is the site of the National Botanic Garden of Wales
. The tower is under care of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
.
constituency
, to become junior to the Duke of Portland. Winning by 72 votes, his opponents contested the result, and finding that Paxton had spent far too prodigiously, he was dismissed.
Six years later he stood for the same constituency, but having arrived only 10 days before election day, withdrew on poll data obtained against his opponents Thomas Manners Sutton and Colonel Mark Wood
. Despite his efforts and renewed expenses, Paxton "declined giving further trouble" after hearing the results of the first day of the poll and withdrew.
, in the 1802 General Election he stood representing the Whig party in Carmarthenshire, against local Welsh Conservative
James Hamlyn Williams. Inexperienced in electioneering but with lots of money, Paxton's accounts show that he bought voters: 11,070 breakfasts; 36,901 dinners; 25,275 gallons of ale; 11,068 bottles of spirits; and spent £768 on blue ribbons. The total bill amounted to £15,690.
Two months after losing the election by 46 votes, on 4 October 1802 he was elected Mayor
of Carmarthen. Although he then returned to London at this point to deal with business matters, leaving daily operations to his Deputy Mayor, he took his duties seriously. Lobbying friends in Westmister, he enabled the Bill that ensured instalation to the town of pipes to distribute fresh water, and a second Bill that started the Loyal Carmarthen Volunteers militia brigade. As a result, he was knighted in 1803. It is during his period as Mayor that in 1802 he met Lord Nelson in person, and hence may have been inspired to build Paxton's Tower folly after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar
.
In 1803, standing MP John George Philipps resigned his seat in Parliament in favour of Paxton. At the 1806 General Election
, Paxton took the Carmarthenshire seat unopposed. But in the run-up to the 1807 General Election
, after much local opposition, he withdrew his candidacy, allowing Sir George Campbell
to take the seat.
. A once thriving medevil seaport that had trade routes all over Europe, the English Civil War
followed by a plague epidemic in 1650 had killed half its population. Resultantly bereft of trade, the town was abandoned by the merchants, and slid inexorably into decay and ruin. By the end of the eighteenth century, the visiting John Wesley
noted: "Two-thirds of the old town is in ruins or has entirely vanished. Pigs roam among the abandoned houses and Tenby presents a dismal spectacle."
With the Napoleonic wars
restricting rich tourists from accessing the spa
resorts in Europe, the need for home-based sea bathing grew. In 1802, Paxton bought his first property in the old town. From this point ownards he invested heavily in the town, with the full approval of the town council. Engaging the team who had built Middleton Hall, engineer Grier and architect Pepys Cockerell were briefed to ceate a "fashionable bathing establishment suitable for the highest society." His baths came into operation in July 1806, and after acquiring the Globe Inn transformed it into "a most lofty, elegant and convenient style" to lodge the more elegant visitors to his baths. Cottages were erected adjoining the baths, and livery stables with an adjoining coach house. In 1814 a road built on arches overlooking the harbour was built at Paxton's full expense. However, although he later got passed a Bill in Parliament to enable fresh water to be piped through the town, his 1809 theatre was closed in 1818 due to lack of patronage.
Paxton also took in "tour" developments in the area, as required by rich Victorian tourists. This included the discovery of a chalybeate spring at Middleton Hall, his Paxton's Tower
in memorial to Lord Nelson, and coaching inns developed from Swansea to Narbeth. Paxton's efforts to revive the town succeeded, and even when victory at the Battle of Trafalgar
reopened Europe, the growth of Victorian Tenby was inevitable. Through both the Georgian
and Victorian era
s, Tenby was renowned as a health resort and centre for botanical and geological study.
from Aylesbury
who died when she was only six years old, Ann was 20 years younger than her new husband. The first of their ten children was born a year later, with Ann providing a step-mother to Paxton's existing daughter, Eliza.
After his withdrawal from the 1807 election, Paxton built himself a new seaside home at Tenby House, and then organised the rebuilding of the town as a Victorian seaside resort.
Aged 80, Paxton died in 1824 whilst in London on business, at his Piccadilly
home. Paxton provided in an equal manner in his will for each of his five daughters and six sons, by instructing his executors to liquidate the major parts of his estate after his death; hence the Middleton Hall estate was immediately put up for sale. His wife Ann and eldest daughter Eliza were well provided for in a supplemental manner, and donations were made to several other members of the family and to a number of charitable institutions. He is buried in the catacombs at St Martin-in-the-Fields
, while a Blue Plaque
commemorates his residency on the side of Tenby House hotel. His wife Ann died in 1846.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
-born sailor, businessman and later Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Carmarthen
Carmarthen (UK Parliament constituency)
Carmarthen was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1542 and 1997...
, who helped in the early Victorian age to develop the seaside resort of Tenby
Tenby
Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay.Notable features of Tenby include of sandy beaches; the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse ; 15th century St...
.
Early life
Paxton's family originated from AuchencrowAuchencrow
Auchencrow is a small village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, by the Lammermuir range of hills, and near Reston.-Etymology:The modern name, Auchencrow, tends to obscure the question of origins. A Gaelic origin is accepted by Watson and Nicholaisen...
near to Paxton
Paxton, Scottish Borders
Paxton is a small village near the B6461 and the B6460, in the pre-1975 ancient county of Berwickshire, now an administrative area of the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. It lies 1 mile west of the border with Northumberland, near Berwick-upon-Tweed...
, Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
. He was the son of John Paxton, chief clerk to Scottish wine merchant Archibald Stewart
Archibald Stewart
Archibald Stewart was an Australian trade unionist and official.Stewart was born at Sebastopol to Scottish-born parents: miner John Stewart and Anne, née Erskine. His father worked as caretaker of the botanical gardens in Creswick and he took numerous jobs in his youth...
, who had become Lord Provost
Lord Provost
A Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities of Scotland. Four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have the right to appoint a Lord Provost instead of a provost...
of Edinburgh.
In 1745, when Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie"
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
, marched down from Caledonian with his army of Highlanders to make his bid for the throne, Stewart feably opposed him. Arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
from where, after six weeks, he was released on a bail of £15,000. Two years later, he was found "not guilty" but Stewart found his name sullied in the eyes of the Edinburgh public and decided to transfer home and business to London. Stewart resultantly moved his business and his trusted agent John Paxton to No.11 Buckingham Street, just off the Strand
Strand
A strand is a beach, a geological formation consisting of loose rock particles along the shoreline of a body of water.Strand or "the Strand" may also refer to:-Geography:British Isles...
, where the Paxton family lived in a flat on the upper floor.
His elder brother Archibald helped his father run the Stewart wine business. Stewart's son John had made his fortune in the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, before becoming an MP. On his death, the John and Archibald Paxton took over the Stewart wine business. His middle brother John became a painter and artist, whose works were displayed at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
.
Royal Navy career
John Stewart's connections into the EIC allowed William, aged 12, to join the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as Captain William Gordon's captains boy in November 1755, aboard HMS St Albans
HMS St Albans (1747)
HMS St Albans was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment, and launched on 23 February 1747.St Albans served until 1765, when she was sold out of the navy....
. This allowed the quiet but arithmetically skilled boy to be schooled further, and his ship saw action with the bombardment and capture of Louisburg (French Canada) in July 1757. In 1760 he joined the new HMS Thunderer
HMS Thunderer (1760)
HMS Thunderer was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 March 1760 at Woolwich. She was involved in a single-ship action with the French Achille in 1761....
as Midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
officer, under Captain Charles Proby.
East India Company
At the end of the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, like many military men, Paxton was technically made redundant from the Royal Navy. On 1 June 1764, Paxton walked from his families London apartment to the Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square is a town square in the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent...
home of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
. Carrying a letter of recommendation written by John Stewart
John Stewart
- Academia and literature :*John Stewart of Baldynneis , Scottish courtier and writer*John "Walking" Stewart , English traveller and philosopher*John Alexander Stewart , Scottish scholar of Burmese...
, he became a free mariner on an in-country privateer ship for the East India Company, plying trade between different ports on the east of the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
and across Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. After a period he was assigned to Calcutta, where he worked with Charles Cockerell
Sezincote House
Sezincote is a British estate, located in Gloucestershire, England. It was designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell in 1805, and is a notable example of Neo-Mughal architecture, a 19th-century reinterpretation of 16th and 17th-century Mughal architecture from the Mughal Empire.Sezincote is dominated by...
, brother of the architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell.
Bengal Presidency Assayer
By 1772, John Stewart had been appointed within the administration of the Bengal PresidencyBengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency originally comprising east and west Bengal, was a colonial region of the British Empire in South-Asia and beyond it. It comprised areas which are now within Bangladesh, and the present day Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tripura.Penang and...
, and was working with and had befriended Sir George Colebrooke, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Colebrooke, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Colebrooke, 2nd Baronet , of Gatton in Surrey, was an English merchant banker, chairman of the East India Company and Member of Parliament, who bankrupted himself through unwise speculations....
. The pair had speculated on shares in London, which Paxton had facilitated through his connections to allow them to undertake riskier trades, for which he took a small percentage on the sums placed. Unfortunately, Colebrooke's speculation had over stretched his finances, which would eventually bankrupt him, and Stewart was equally in financial trouble.
To enable him to repair his wealth, Stewart offered to sponsored Paxton to join the Bengal Presidency. As a result, Paxton returned to London and trained with Francis Spilsbury in Westminster. After seven months training, he apssed his assay exams over four days in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. Sponsored by Sir James Cockburn, former EIC Director and John Stewart's cousin, and William Brightwell Sumner, formerly a member of the Bengal Council; on 4 March 1774 Paxton became Assay Master to the Bengal Presidency
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency originally comprising east and west Bengal, was a colonial region of the British Empire in South-Asia and beyond it. It comprised areas which are now within Bangladesh, and the present day Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tripura.Penang and...
under the govenorship of Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
.
Master of the Mint, Bengal Presidency
Having been sounded out by Philip Francis on a plan of currency reform in 1776, in January 1778 he succeeded Charles LloydCharles Lloyd
Charles Lloyd is an American jazz musician. Though he primarily plays tenor saxophone and flute, he has also occasionally recorded on alto saxophone and more exotic reed instruments which include the Hungarian tárogató. Lloyd's saxophone playing is often characterized as an individualized,...
as Master of the Mint of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
.
This placed him in a very important position, as the official issuer of the Sicca "Silver" (freshly minted and assayed) rupee
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
. British expatriates had come to India to make money to enable them to live a secure and ideally wealthy retirment back in the United Kingdom. But to do so they needed to make sure that their money was easily transferable back to London. Paxton could both assure them through the process of assay that their money was good, and then transfer the fresh Sicca rupees to bank accounts in London securely. For this private service, Paxton charged both an official fee for assay, and a percentage fee for transfer to London.
However, the EIC restricted the amount of money that could be transferred, by limiting the number and scale of the Bills of exchange. Further, there was far more money required to be repatriated to London, than was requested to be expatriated to India. However, Paxton developed other methods of money transfer which were not controlled by the EIC. Non-Brtish companies trading into India needed to either transfer cash out with their goods, risking either loss through shipwreck or piracy; or arrange payment through assayed currency in country. Paxton developed relationships with these companies, particularly the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in Chinsura, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in Chandernagore, and the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
. This allowed them to ship goods into India, receive additional Sicca Rupees in payment in return for European Bills of Exchange, and then buy returned trade in an assured local currency. This allowed them to decrease or even stop their bullion imports from Europe, reducing risk and increasing profits.
With Dutch Bills of Exchnage easily tradeable in London, Paxton developed his closest relationships with them. From 1777 he began depositing large sums of Sicca Rupees in the Dutch treasury at Chinsura in exchange for Bills of Exchange on Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. This trade developed quickly, and in 1781 he agreed to supply one million Sicca Rupees, half of the Dutch company's Bengal investment in that trading season. These tradees were a reflection of the trust he had developed with both the Dutch, his British expatriate clients with whose fortunes he was dealing, and the EIC.
Calcutta Agency House
As the influence and geography of the Bengal Presidency extended, so did its trade problems. Calcutta became the centre of Bengal Presidency, but now inland trade routes became long, and with inland piracy a risk alongside degradation of goods, and return home with cash, traders needed a new solution.Paxton had the ability to create this new business, which became termed an Agency House:
- Paxton would take note from farmers and traders of what they had, which he would secure for them in Calcutta once the goods arrived; this enabled the trader to not have to travel the long distance to Calcutta
- Paxton would hold the goods until they market was at the highest point, or above a sum defined by the farmer. Once sold, these sums would be placed into the traders bank current account
- Paxton would often group separate traders goods and sell in bulk to the shipping companies. This enabled him to directly gain Bills of Exchange in return for the required goods, without the need or cost for exchange into local currency
- Paxton now had access to a stream of European sourced Bills of Exchange, which were not regulated or hence controlled by the EIC
At each stage of the process, Paxton would charge a fee of between 1% and 5%, allowing him to amass a huge fortune. After he gained the contract to supply saltpetre (Potassium Nitrate)
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
to the Danish, the EIC were so impressed and assured of his skills, they would themselves place orders for cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and saltpetre with Paxton.
Paxton and Cockerell
However, the business that Paxton had created was not without its problems. The start of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch WarFourth Anglo-Dutch War
The Fourth Anglo–Dutch War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, tangentially related to the American Revolutionary War, broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies in that...
in 1780, resulted in Governor General Hastings ordering that the Dutch settlement at Chinsura be taken in 1781. Once the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
was in control, Paxton calculated that his clients had invested some 629,391 Sicca Rupees, which he had to recover.
As it was illegal and against company rules for administrators to trade with foreign powers, Paxton was in a weak position, even though he had key sponsors whom he had traded, across the company and up to board level. Although Hastings and his board recommended to London that Paxton and his clients be paid out of the liquidation of the Dutch colony's assets, which would take 12months to realise, the London board were not enthused to openly approve an illegal operation. They advised Hastings that any administrators who were found to be undertaking such activity in the future would be instantly dismissed without any access to compensation.
Paxton moved to both protect his interests and distance himself from his Agency House business, while not giving up his interests or ability to conduct business. He formed a partnership with Charles Cockerell, with whom he would have a lifetime business relationship, into which he placed all assets and operations of his Indian businesses.
Voyage home
After the London EIC board agreed Hastings plan, on 27 January 1785, Paxton asked permission to resign from his office as Master of the Mint, and to proceed to Europe. Up until then, his brother Archibald had represented the business in London, but Paxton had been made aware of how large the companies trade had became, and therefore necessary to have direct representation.He advertisied his personal assets in India for sale in the Calcutta Gazette that day, including three houses and eight horses; the normal level for a rich British expatriate in India at that time would have been one house and two horses.
Departing the Hughli in February 1785, he made the six month journey with his six year old daughter, whose mother knew the relationship would only survive in India. Also travelling with Paxton was Welshman
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
David Williams, a retiring Captain of the East India Company's military service. Paxton had arranged for Williams monies to be transferred to London via Bills of Exchange and diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s, which Archibald had then encashed, placing some in an account to allow William's father to buy him a small estate in Henllys, Carmarthenshire. On landing in London, Williams and Paxton agreed that they would meet again soon in Wales.
However, Paxton immediately continued his voyage alone to Amsterdam. There with Dutch bankers Hope & Co.
Hope & Co.
Hope & Co. is the name of a famous Dutch bank that spanned two and a half centuries. Though the founders were Scotsmen, the bank was located in Amsterdam, and at the close of the 18th century it had offices in London as well.-Early days:...
, he encashed Bills of Exchnage to the value of 470,241 Sicca Rupees, given him by the Dutch treasurer at Chinsura in 1781. Having already recovered 159,150, he returned to London to clear his client accounts and hence preserve his business.
Paxton, Cockerell, Trail & Co.
Returning to his room in the family home in Buckingham Street, Paxton established Paxton & Co. as the London based agency for the Calcutta-based Agency House partnership. In the time he had taken to travel back to London, Charles Cockerell had added Philip Delisle to the partnership, renaming the agency Paxton, Cockerell & Delisle.While the simple business of Paxton & Co. was to encash their clients monies being repatriated from India, Paxton's reputation allowed the company to quickly expand its services. While some simply wanted their monies placed into current accounts, or exchanged into other currencies; others trusted Paxton to trade and invest their funds in commodities, bonds, and the stock market. Making small fee's on each transaction, Paxton & Co. quickly consolidated Paxton's personal fortune.
By the 1790s, the business had expanded again, with new partners joining in India under Cockerell. Cockerell hence came to London to introduce Paxton to their new fellow partners, the outcome of which was the establishment of the business formally as a merchant bank
Merchant bank
A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advisory on corporate matters to the firms they lend to....
under the name Paxton, Cockerell, Trail & Co.
Middleton Hall estate
In 1789 Paxton bought the Middleton Hall estate for about £40,000. Turning the original hall into Home Farm, he commissioned architect Samuel Pepys CockerellSamuel Pepys Cockerell
Samuel Pepys Cockerell was an English architect. He was the son of John Cockerell, of Bishop's Hull, Somerset, and the brother of Sir Charles Cockerell, 1st Baronet, for whom he designed the house he is best known for, Sezincote House, Gloucestershire, where the uniquely Orientalizing features...
to design him a new home, which was built between 1793 and 1795.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s, pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
s and stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s, linked by a network of dams, water sluices, bridges and cascades. Spring water was stored in elevated reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s that fed into a lead cistern on the mansion’s roof, allowing Paxton’s residence to enjoy piped running water and the very latest luxury, water closets. Middleton Estate was described in a 19th century sale catalogue as "richly ornamented by nature, and greatly improved by art."
In 1806, Saxton engaged Pepys Cockerell again to design and then over see the construction of Paxton's Tower
Paxton's Tower
Paxton's Tower is a Neo-Gothic folly erected in honour of Lord Nelson. It is situated on a hilltop near Llanarthney in the Towy Valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is a visitor attraction that can be combined with a visit to the nearby National Botanic Garden of Wales. Its hilltop location provides...
, which was completed in 1809. A Neo-Gothic folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
erected in honour of Lord Nelson, it is situated on a hilltop near Llanarthney
Llanarthney
Llanarthney is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, located 12 kilometres to the east of Carmarthen and 10 kilometres to the south-west of Llandeilo. It has a population of 738, of whom 61% are Welsh-speaking .- Amenities :...
in the Towy Valley, Carmarthenshire.
By the time of his death in 1824, Middleton Hall estate covered some 2650 acres (1,072.4 ha). After the estate fell into decline in the early 20th century, the main house burnt down in 1931. Today, the Middleton Hall estate is the site of the National Botanic Garden of Wales
National Botanic Garden of Wales
The National Botanic Garden of Wales is situated near Llanarthney in the Towy Valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The garden is both a visitor attraction and a centre for botanical research and conservation, and features the world's largest single-span glasshouse measuring long by wide.NBGW seeks...
. The tower is under care of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Newark-on-Trent
In the 1790, Paxton stood as a Whig party candidate in the Newark-on-TrentNewark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
constituency
Newark (UK Parliament constituency)
Newark is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885, it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, to become junior to the Duke of Portland. Winning by 72 votes, his opponents contested the result, and finding that Paxton had spent far too prodigiously, he was dismissed.
Six years later he stood for the same constituency, but having arrived only 10 days before election day, withdrew on poll data obtained against his opponents Thomas Manners Sutton and Colonel Mark Wood
Mark Wood
Mark Wood may refer to:*Mark Wood , electric violinist and former string master of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra*Stanley Mark Wood , Bishop of Matabeleland and Bishop of Ludlow...
. Despite his efforts and renewed expenses, Paxton "declined giving further trouble" after hearing the results of the first day of the poll and withdrew.
Carmarthen
In 1793 Paxton was admitted as a Burgess to Carmarthen Borough. Now resident in West WalesWest Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
, in the 1802 General Election he stood representing the Whig party in Carmarthenshire, against local Welsh Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
James Hamlyn Williams. Inexperienced in electioneering but with lots of money, Paxton's accounts show that he bought voters: 11,070 breakfasts; 36,901 dinners; 25,275 gallons of ale; 11,068 bottles of spirits; and spent £768 on blue ribbons. The total bill amounted to £15,690.
Two months after losing the election by 46 votes, on 4 October 1802 he was elected 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 Carmarthen. Although he then returned to London at this point to deal with business matters, leaving daily operations to his Deputy Mayor, he took his duties seriously. Lobbying friends in Westmister, he enabled the Bill that ensured instalation to the town of pipes to distribute fresh water, and a second Bill that started the Loyal Carmarthen Volunteers militia brigade. As a result, he was knighted in 1803. It is during his period as Mayor that in 1802 he met Lord Nelson in person, and hence may have been inspired to build Paxton's Tower folly after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
.
In 1803, standing MP John George Philipps resigned his seat in Parliament in favour of Paxton. At the 1806 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1806
The United Kingdom general election, 1806 was the election of members to the 3rd Parliament of the United Kingdom. This was the second general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland....
, Paxton took the Carmarthenshire seat unopposed. But in the run-up to the 1807 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1807
The election to the 4th Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1807 was the third general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland....
, after much local opposition, he withdrew his candidacy, allowing Sir George Campbell
George Campbell (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir George Campbell GCB was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.-Naval career:...
to take the seat.
Carmarthenshire developer
After his withdrawal defeat in 1807, many would not have been surprised at Paxton's complete withdrawal from public life in West Wales. However, he continued his good works by becoming a key investor in many schemes, including:- LlandeiloLlandeiloLlandeilo is a town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th century stone bridge. Its population is 1,731.The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.- Early history :...
to Carmarthen toll road, south of the River TywiRiver TywiWith a total length of the River Towy is the longest river flowing entirely within Wales, and is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing.The river rises within of the Teifi on the lower slopes of Crug Gynan in the Cambrian Mountains and, flowing through the Towy Forest, forms the border... - Improvements to the harbour at KidwellyKidwellyKidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...
, together with investments in the Kidwelly and Llanelly Canal that ran along the Gwendraeth valley, through PembreyPembreyPembrey is a village in Carmarthenshire Wales, situated between Burry Port and Kidwelly, overlooking Carmarthen Bay.-History:The name Pembrey is an Anglicisation of the Welsh, Pen-bre...
to LlanelliLlanelliLlanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
Tenby
But his largest investment was in reviving the town of TenbyTenby
Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay.Notable features of Tenby include of sandy beaches; the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse ; 15th century St...
. A once thriving medevil seaport that had trade routes all over Europe, the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
followed by a plague epidemic in 1650 had killed half its population. Resultantly bereft of trade, the town was abandoned by the merchants, and slid inexorably into decay and ruin. By the end of the eighteenth century, the visiting John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
noted: "Two-thirds of the old town is in ruins or has entirely vanished. Pigs roam among the abandoned houses and Tenby presents a dismal spectacle."
With the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
restricting rich tourists from accessing the spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
resorts in Europe, the need for home-based sea bathing grew. In 1802, Paxton bought his first property in the old town. From this point ownards he invested heavily in the town, with the full approval of the town council. Engaging the team who had built Middleton Hall, engineer Grier and architect Pepys Cockerell were briefed to ceate a "fashionable bathing establishment suitable for the highest society." His baths came into operation in July 1806, and after acquiring the Globe Inn transformed it into "a most lofty, elegant and convenient style" to lodge the more elegant visitors to his baths. Cottages were erected adjoining the baths, and livery stables with an adjoining coach house. In 1814 a road built on arches overlooking the harbour was built at Paxton's full expense. However, although he later got passed a Bill in Parliament to enable fresh water to be piped through the town, his 1809 theatre was closed in 1818 due to lack of patronage.
Paxton also took in "tour" developments in the area, as required by rich Victorian tourists. This included the discovery of a chalybeate spring at Middleton Hall, his Paxton's Tower
Paxton's Tower
Paxton's Tower is a Neo-Gothic folly erected in honour of Lord Nelson. It is situated on a hilltop near Llanarthney in the Towy Valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is a visitor attraction that can be combined with a visit to the nearby National Botanic Garden of Wales. Its hilltop location provides...
in memorial to Lord Nelson, and coaching inns developed from Swansea to Narbeth. Paxton's efforts to revive the town succeeded, and even when victory at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
reopened Europe, the growth of Victorian Tenby was inevitable. Through both the Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
and Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
s, Tenby was renowned as a health resort and centre for botanical and geological study.
Personal life
A year after returning from India, Paxton married Ann Dawney in 1786. The daughter of Thomas Dawney, a magistrateMagistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
from Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
who died when she was only six years old, Ann was 20 years younger than her new husband. The first of their ten children was born a year later, with Ann providing a step-mother to Paxton's existing daughter, Eliza.
After his withdrawal from the 1807 election, Paxton built himself a new seaside home at Tenby House, and then organised the rebuilding of the town as a Victorian seaside resort.
Aged 80, Paxton died in 1824 whilst in London on business, at his Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
home. Paxton provided in an equal manner in his will for each of his five daughters and six sons, by instructing his executors to liquidate the major parts of his estate after his death; hence the Middleton Hall estate was immediately put up for sale. His wife Ann and eldest daughter Eliza were well provided for in a supplemental manner, and donations were made to several other members of the family and to a number of charitable institutions. He is buried in the catacombs at St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Its patron is Saint Martin of Tours.-Roman era:Excavations at the site in 2006 led to the discovery of a grave dated about 410...
, while a Blue Plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
commemorates his residency on the side of Tenby House hotel. His wife Ann died in 1846.
External links
- Biography of Sir William Paxton at the National Botanic Garden of WalesNational Botanic Garden of WalesThe National Botanic Garden of Wales is situated near Llanarthney in the Towy Valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The garden is both a visitor attraction and a centre for botanical research and conservation, and features the world's largest single-span glasshouse measuring long by wide.NBGW seeks...