William And George Gummer - Rotherham District Civic Society

William and George Gummer
Gladstone Villa Gerard Road
In 1881 and 1891 William Henry Gummer, a brass manufacturer, was living here with a wife,
four children and a granddaughter. William was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in 1830, where
his father was a mason in 1851.
1851. He followed his elder brother, Richard, a plasterer,
p
to
Rotherham. In 1861 the Directory records William Henry living at 29 Crofts and Richard on
Forge Lane. In 1871 the brothers were living next to each other on Stanley Street. At that
time William had given up his craft of joinery and had become an auctioneer and valuer. It is
likely that Richard built a number of properties on Gerard Road. He was
was described as a
contractor in 1881.
twenty
years of
Born in Lyme Regis in 1829, he came to Rotherham when twenty-one
age, and after making a position for himself, entered into public life and
became a member of the Masbro’ Burial Board. When the town received
municipal status he was elected a councillor
councillor for the Masbro’ Ward. Losing his
seat owing to his opposition to differential rating, an advantage enjoyed by
Masbro’, he afterwards sought re-election
re election to the Council and fought a contest
in the East Ward, where he found opposition of the most unscrupulous
unscrupulo kind.
Accusations of compelling his tenants to frequent his opponent’s pawnshops to obtain money
to pay the rent were thrown at him. Charges of jerry building and of being an Atheist and
other even more personal remarks were made at every meeting. In spite of this abuse the
confidence of the electorate manifested itself in the majority of votes being recorded in his
favour. In the year 1880, having served the town as councillor for the East Ward for six
years, he put into words what he and other public men were thinking, and what many of us
think to-day. In his address to the burgesses he said; 'I have come to the conclusion that the
ratepayers are under obligations to their representatives, and not the representatives under
any obligations to the ratepayers as is generally supposed.' For thus speaking his mind he
was accused of insulting the burgesses, and his re-election was opposed by Mr. Alfred Cox, a
furniture dealer, in Wellgate.
A Retrospect of over 60 years, by Alderman George Gummer, J.P., 1927
Rotherham Advertiser 9th January 1909
He had commenced work at six years of age, had picked copper on the sea shore and carried
it back to the town, a distance of three miles - at fivepence per hundredweight. He had been
sailor, joiner, builder contractor, and he felt that newer and higher positions were to be had
for the working. He had opened up the Effingham Estate on the side near where the Grey
Horse now stands, despite the opinion of his neighbours that he was 'doing a mad sort of
thing', and he now sailed into this latest venture with all the old confidence and all the old
courage.
The business of brass manufacture was commenced by the father of the present partners,
William Henry Gummer, a gentleman who in his time held a considerable position as well in
the public as in the business life of the Borough. The commencement was made in the year
1871 in the old Effingham Works, Glasshouse Lane, on premises now in the occupation of
Messrs I & I Walker, charcoal manufacturers.
The founder of the concern had a partner in the first instance, and it began as Messrs
Gummer and Greenwood, being a very small baby, industrially speaking, only employing
seven or eight heads at the starting and never more than fourteen during the time it was
carried on in Glassshouse Lane.
Busy as Mr Gummer was with this new venture, he still found time in the same year to fight a
big battle, the result of which was his return to the first Rotherham Town Council. From
1871 to his death in 1898, a period of twenty seven years, he was absent only two years from
the Council Chamber (1872-74). He was fifteen years a town councillor, ten years alderman,
and twice mayor of the Borough.
Within 6 years the Glasshouse Lane site was found to be too small and in 1877 the firm
moved to a new site in Rawmarsh Road, a small part of which had been occupied by the
Myers Match Works. Mr Greenwood was bought out of the partnership at this time.
Rotherham Advertiser of 9th January 1909 described the firm's staple trade as water fittings supplying high class bath and lavatory fittings, for the domestic market, hospitals, Turkish
Baths, for the Ritz Hotel in London, and for the great Atlantic Liners.
The firm manufactured: Gummer's Patent
Patent Safety Bath Valve; Dual Patent Shower Fittings;
Thompson's Patent Non Scalding Valve; Automatic Sprinklers for factories; Fire Hose
H
couplings etc.
By 1890 they employed 130 people, and by 1909 over 300.
In 1890 William Henry passed the business over to his
his sons George and William Guest
Gummer, and the firm was turned into a private limited company, G & WG Gummer Ltd.
Wood Lea Moorgate
George Gummer
George Gummer remembered growing up in the Crofts:
We resided in one of the four houses above the Vestry Offices. Moorgate street was then
unknown. On this site stood a number of sheep pens, also a fold yard and the stables
belonging to the Crown Hotel, which could be approached either from the Crofts or High
Street. An archway with gates guarded the High Street entrance. On the right side of this
stood the door to the hotel, in about its present position. On the other side were the vault and
taproom adjoining the Crown stabling, whilst on the opposite side the back of the tallow
chandlery of Thomas Wigfield, formed a boundary as far as the High House.
We used to have some fine fun in the hay chambers and barns. Scores of eggs laid by truant
hens were to be found by those who looked for them. Unfortunately, when the soldiers were in
billet here during the Election Riots of 1865 our treasure-trove was discovered. Our next
door neighbour, R. M. Thompson, known amongst his familiars as Ready Money Thompson
occupied the position of managing clerk to Henry Badger, solicitor, afterwards known as
Badger and Rhodes, and now as Parker Rhodes and Co.
George Gummer was a critical influence in the development of the town at the beginning of
the twentieth century. In his ‘Reminiscences’ he first looked back at missed opportunities:
Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been' . What might
Rotherham have been today if our forefathers had given more thought to the future and
planned its lines of development with a broader outlook. As one passes along its busy,
crowded streets the mind dwells on what we see and hear. Though few of us can conjure up
what the town looked like sixty years ago, to the intelligent observer there are still many
objects that make a retrospective glance interesting. For instance, turning out of Bridgegate
into Corporation street, we are reminded of the days when this was a pleasant walk on the
banks of the river, and when a few old- fashioned cottages, picturesque in a way. stood on the
site now occupied by Enright’s garage. Situate in a part of the town that was fast growing in
importance, it needed no prophet to foresee that those and other properties in Millgate would
soon have to be wiped off the map. Interesting though such buildings were by reason of their
associations they had to retreat before the ever increasing demands for street room, and in
the early part of the present century the Corporation wisely took steps to acquire these and
other properties.
Looking back over the years, one sees the opportunities that offered themselves and were
missed - for effecting important street improvements at a comparatively small cost. For
instance, nearly the whole of the south side of High street has been rebuilt during the last
thirty years. When the Sheffield and Rotherham Banking Company (now Deacon’s) built their
present premises an opportunity presented itself for widening the thoroughfare and defining a
building line, which all other newly-erected premises would have been compelled to adhere
to. Had this been done, we should have now had a High street worthy of its name. One of the
objects in establishing the Improvement and Property Committee in 1900 was, if possible, to
avoid such errors in the future. When one thinks seriously, we see that it matters a great deal
to all of us if we have to put up with inferior buildings, which tend to deprave our general
taste in architecture. It is easy to get so accustomed to ugliness as to fail to notice it, and,
what is worse, even fail to notice beauty when a good building is erected. It seems to have
been nobody’s special business to look ahead. The borough surveyor of those days, worthy
man as he was, had no imagination, and was not sufficiently alive to Rotherham’s future.
Many thousands of pounds would have been saved had a longer view at our requirements
been taken. We are now paying dearly for this lack of civic foresight.
He took it on himself, as Mayor and Chair of the ‘Improvement and Property’ Committee, to
bring about the necessary changes.
The duties of the new committee included, amongst others, the passing of building plans, layouts of new streets, purchasing properties required for street improvements, etc. A few of the
improvements made may be mentioned here. The widening of the Broom ond Wickersley
roads has added importance to the southern entrance to the town, whilst a similar but much
more costly widening of Sheffield road and Westgate have effected the same result for the
West End. The Masbro’ side of the borough has derived benefits from the widening of
Masbro’ Street and the construction of Coronation Bridge. In the centre of the town the
opening up of Corporation Street and Howard Street (previously known as Pigeon lane)
brought about the removal of several slum areas. The widening of the top of High street, the
removal of the bottle neck, and the erection of the Imperial Buildings, were the means of
giving an impetus to private owners, besides increasing the assessable value of the borough.
The construction of Bow Bridge and the intended new bridge in place of Jail Bridge will,
although costly, add to the pride one feels in the town.
Previous to the erection of the Imperial Buildings, great inconvenience was caused to
vehicular and other traffic by the narrowness of that portion of High Street. The whole of the
property required for the improvement was scheduled and eventually purchased for £14500
which figure included compensation paid to tenants. The new buildings were designed by Mr.
Joseph Platts and cost £17283. To this must be added the value of the Shambles site, upon
which they were built, bringing the total cost up to £19,283. On completion they were
officially opened by Sir Charles Stoddart, during whose three years office as Mayor they
were erected. In a speech giving the history of the scheme, I predicted the committee would
be able to show a return of nine per cent on the outlay, and for this rosy view of the prospects
I was subjected to much ridicule, resulting in the structure being unofficially named
Gummer’s White Elephant. It is truly said the most successful men never succeed in getting
others to forgive them for succeeding. Since they were opened these buildings have yielded
an average income higher than that predicted, and at the present time are paying eleven per
cent. on the outlay. In addition, the old property had only a rateable value of £562 per
annum, whilst the rateable value of the new buildings amounts to £2354. The profits, after
deducting overhead charges, repairs, rates, etc., are round about £2000 per annum. Surely
the ratepayer could do with a few more White Elephants of this kind.
Gummer’s ‘White Elephant’
Other street improvements for which Parliamentary sanction has been obtained
obtai
include
Westgate from Main Street
treet to the Empire. The cost of this might have been saved had the CoCo
operative Stores premises (formerly Myers and Kay) been set back by agreement when built
by Mr. Richard Chrimes. Then there is the College Yard improvement, which includes the
demolition of St. George’s Hall and the old County buildings. These schemes, together with
the completion of Bridgegate widening, the removal of Barclay’s Bank, Feoffees’ Buildings
and White Hart, to form an open space for a town centre, etc., and the construction of the
new Chantry Bridge, will give the town a status it has long required.
In addition to his influence on the town centre improvements, George was also a strong
supporter of football in the town. He was a founder and first President of the Midland
Counties League. He was also in charge of Rotherham Town when they were elected to the
Football League in 1893 and as Mayor of Rotherham, successfully presented Rotherham
County’s case when they were similarly elected in 1919.
George retired from public life in 1929 and after a period of ill health, died in Bridlington in
1934. His widow, Laura, died in 1941.