Sir Samuel Morton Peto

Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (August 4, 1809 – November 13, 1889) was an English entrepreneur in the 19th century. Initially he constructed prestigious buildings in London before becoming one of the major contractors for the growing railways of the time. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 417 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (893 × 1283 pixel, file size: 924 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photograph of Sir Samuel Morton Peto File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 417 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (893 × 1283 pixel, file size: 924 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photograph of Sir Samuel Morton Peto File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... Year 1809 (MDCCCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... For the computer game previously called Entrepreneur, see The Corporate Machine. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Early Life

He was born in Woking, Surrey, and was apprenticed as a brick-layer to his uncle who ran a building firm in London. When the uncle died in 1830, Peto and his cousin Thomas Grissell went into partnership. The firm of Peto & Grissell built many well-known London buildings, including the Reform Club, the Oxford & Cambridge Club, the Lyceum and St James's Theatre, as well as Nelson's column and the London brick sewer. Woking is a large town and local government district with borough status in the west of Surrey in South East England. ... Not to be confused with Surry. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Thomas Grissell (4 October 1801 - 26 May 1874) was an English public works contractor who was responsible for constructing a number of prestigious buildings in England. ... This 1840s drawing shows the corridors around the central saloon at first floor level The Reform Club in London viewed from Pall Mall, with the Travellers Club immediately to its left The Reform Club is a private gentlemens club situated on the south side of Pall Mall (at number... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Geography Status City (1951) Region East of England Admin. ... The Lyceum Theatre is a theatre located in London, on Wellington Street near Covent Garden in the West End. ... The St Jamess Theatre was in King Street, London opening in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. ... Lord Nelson at the top of the column that bears his name Nelsons Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square, London, England. ...

Railway Works

In 1834 Peto saw the potential of the newly developing railways, dissolved the connection with his uncle's building firm and became a railway contractor. The first railway work was to build two stations in Curzon Street, Birmingham. The first line built was the Hanwell and Langley section of the Great Western Railway which included the Wharncliffe viaduct^[1]. Grisell became increasingly nervous of the risks taken by Peto and so dissolved the partnership in 1846. Peto then entered into partnership with Edward Betts, who had married his sister, Ann^[2]. The front of the station Curzon Street Station was a railway station in Birmingham in the 19th century and is the worlds oldest surviving piece of monumental railway architecture. ... This article is about the city in England. ... Hanwell is a town situated in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, between Ealing and Southall. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Edward Ladd Betts (5 June 1815 - 21 January 1872) was an English civil engineering contractor who was mainly involved in the building of railways. ...

Between 1846 and 1855, the firm carried out many large railway contracts both at home and abroad, among them the South-Eastern Line and the London, Chatham & Dover lines, and in partnership with Thomas Brassey the London, Tilbury & Southend line and the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada^[3]. In the late 1850s he helped to build the first railway in Algeria and accompanied Napoleon III to the official opening of the line^[4]. 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Crest of the LCDR on the first Blackfriars Railway Bridge The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) was a railway company that operated in south-eastern England between 1859 and 1923 before grouping with three other companies to form the Southern Railway. ... Thomas Brassey (1805-1870) was an English railway contractor, born in Cheshire. ... The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) is a railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with East London and south Essex towns. ... 1885 map The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) was a historic railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. ... Napoléon III Emperor of the French (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 – 9 January 1873) was President of the French Republic from 1848 to 1851, then from 2 December 1851 to 2 December 1852 the ruler of a dictatorial government, then Emperor of the French under the...

In 1854 during the Crimean War Peto, Betts and Brassey constructed the Grand Crimean Central Railway between Balaklava and Sevastopol to transport supplies to the troops at the front line^[5]. He was made a Baronet for his services. 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire United Kingdom Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,050 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease 256,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1854–1856) was fought... The Grand Crimean Central Railway was built in 1855, during the Crimean War. ... Balaklava (Ukrainian: , Russian: , Crimean Tatar: ) is a town in the Crimea, Ukraine which has an official status of a district of the city of Sevastopol. ... now. ... A baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt), is the holder of an hereditary title awarded by the British Crown, known as a baronetcy. ...

Other Activities

Peto became a Liberal Member of Parliament for Norwich in 1847 to 1854, for Finsbury from 1859 to 1865, and for Bristol from 1865 to 1868. During this time he was one of the most prominent figures in public life. He helped to make a guarantee towards the financing of the Great Exhibition of 1851, backing Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace^[6]. This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Norwich was a parliamentary constituency which was represented in the British House of Commons. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. ... 1859 (MDCCCLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Bristol was a former two member constituency, used to elect members to the House of Commons in the Parliaments of England (to 1707), Great Britain (1707-1800) and the United Kingdom (from 1801). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The Great Exhibition: Paxtons Crystal Palace enclosed full-grown trees in Hyde Park. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Sir Joseph Paxton (1803–1865) was an English gardener and architect of The Crystal Palace. ... The 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park . ...

However, he became involved in the financial crisis of 1866, was declared bankrupt and in 1868 he had to give up his seat in Parliament, despite having the support of both Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. He exiled himself to Budapest and tried to promote railways in Russia and Hungary. When he returned to England he tried to launch a small mineral railway in Cornwall, which failed, and he died in obscurity in 1889^[7]. 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modelled after that of the United Kingdom. ... Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (December 21, 1804 - April 24, British Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and author. ... William Ewart Gladstone (December 29, 1809 - May 19, 1898) was a British Liberal politician and Prime Minister (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886 and 1892-1894). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow) is a county in South West England, United Kingdom, on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar. ...

Peto had bought Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk in 1843. He re-built the hall and constructed a school and more houses in the village, before turning his attention to Lowestoft. He built a railway to connect the town to the rest of the rail network, as well as a harbour for 1,000 ships and some luxury hotels for the burgeoning holiday trade. Somerleyton is a village by the River Waveney in north-eastern Suffolk, England within The Broads National Park. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in the East Anglia region of eastern England. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Statistics Population: 57,746 (2001 Census) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: TM548933 Administration District: Waveney Shire county: Suffolk Region: East of England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Suffolk Historic county: Suffolk Services Police force: Suffolk Constabulary Fire and rescue: Suffolk Ambulance: East of England Post...

Family

Sir Samuel's daughter Helen Agnes married a Magistrate of Somerset, Lawrence Ingham Baker, son of the former Liberal MP for Frome. They lived at Wayford Manor, near Crewkerne, Somerset. Helen's brother was Harold Ainsworth Peto, the celebrated Edwardian landscape gardener, renowned for turning Italian exotica into even more ornate Japanese gardens before the Great War. Sir Samuel's eldest eldest son, Sir Michael Peto inherited his title as 2nd baronet. (Sources: 107th edition of Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, published: London 2004. Mowl, T Historic Gardens of Wiltshire, Tempus publishing: London 2004.).

Notes

1. ^ Joby, p. 59.
2. ^ Faith, pp. 103-104.
3. ^ Helps. p. 109.
4. ^ Faith, p. 105.
5. ^ Cooke
6. ^ Faith, p. 105.
7. ^ Faith, p. 106.

References

• Cooke, Brian The Grand Crimean Central Railway, Cavalier House, Knutsford, 1990 ISBN 0-9515889-0-7
• Faith, Nicholas The world the railways made The Bodley Head, London, 1990 ISBN 0-370-31299-6
• Helps, Arthur The Life and Works of Mr Brassey, 1872 republished Nonsuch, 2006 ISBN 1845880110
• Joby, R S The Railway Builders: Lives and Works of the Victorian Railway Conctractors, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1983, ISBN 0-7153-7959-3
• Stacey, Tom Thomas Brassey: The Greatest Railway Builder in the World, Stacey International, London, 2005, ISBN 1905299095