A remarkable man

My namesake* and great-grandfather Ebenezer Prior was a most remarkable man. The Priors were woolstaplers as far back as the Middle Ages, when wool was the backbone of the country's economy. The late Mr Hollins, founder of The Wool Record, discovered that a Mr John Prior of Chichester represented the woolmen of the district  at a wool convocation held at York during the reign of Edward I  (who reigned from 1239-1307). During this convocation the Great Company of the Staple, an extremely powerful trade guild, was established. Chichester was one of the nine 'staple' towns of England at that time. (Wool Record, 29 December 1949).  Ebenezer Prior was born in 1848 and lived in Chichester for most of his life, where he made a huge impact. His grandfather Mr Reeves and his father J W Prior were woolstaplers. Ebenezer took over and re-established the business which became known as Ebenezer Prior Ltd, becoming one of the two most noteworthy businesses in Chichester (the other being Shippams, the well-known potted meat company. The Shippams became related by marriage to the Priors.)   The business is long gone, but is commemorated by a street and carpark named 'Woolstaplers'.

*see my entry of 17 September 2019 entitled 'Ebenezer'

 

 

 

 

Ebenezer Prior + family

 Back Row:             Mary,    Ebenezer Senior,     Hannah,              John

Middle row: Rhoda, Ebenezer,   Emily Senior,    Sydney,    Emily,             Jessie

Seated:                                            Gilbert, Mark,               Richard

 

 

 

Chichester in the 19^th Century had become an unpleasant environment, especially for the poor.  The streets were unpaved, filthy and only feebly lit by gas lighting at some street corners. It was barely safe to walk alone through the areas of St Pancras and Somerstown.

Ebenezer served as a member of the City Council from 1889 to 1896, and was elected mayor in 1895.   He was chairman of the Rural District Council of Chichester whilst it existed, and a JP for the County. He was also Chief Magistrate for many years, and was a member of the Board of Guardians (who were responsible for overseeing the workhouse), and was chairman for 13 consecutive years. 

Alcohol

Ebenezer Prior was a man of deep Christian conviction - the main motivation behind all his actions recounted in this essay - and had a great heart for the poor. As a young man, he would take port wine after his meals, but in his role as Chief Magistrate he saw at first hand the devastating effects of cheap alcohol, and the widespread drunkenness which led to criminal behaviour.  There were 102 public houses in Chichester, which he attacked as 'low in tone' and frequently 'houses of ill repute', 'dens of gambling and drunkennness.'   He did all he could to suspend licences and lessen the number of inns in the city. In 1889 Ebenezer achieved considerable unpopularity by challenging the quantity of drink served in the workhouse

     He became uncomfortable when passing sentence on people whose crimes were influenced by alcohol, so to ease his conscience he became an abstainer, and eventually became President of the Total Abstainers Society.  Inevitably his actions aroused the wrath and enmity of those whose livelihoods depended on selling alcohol.

 Ebenezer did his utmost to improve the lot of the inmates of the workhouse. He was instrumental in getting trained instead of pauper nurses in the workhouse. He was eventually successful in persuading the Board of Guardians to allow the inmates to wear ordinary clothing when visiting the outside world instead of their paupers' uniforms.

Chichester workhouse

    His office at work became a rendezvous for all who were distressed and he seemed to have a gift for understanding difficult situations, and to be willing, and able, effectively to deal with them. It was often said that his object in pursuing his role on the board of guardians was because it brought him directly into touch with the poor and gave him opportunities for entering their homes. 
   One one occasion he got deeply discouraged when a minister whom he respected, said that although his intentions were good, he was wasting his time and money on these people. But very shortly after that, he was walking through the town when the driver of a passing dray halted his horses, jumped down and hurried to Mr Prior and shook his hand fervently in gratitude for his past kindnesses. He said that Mr Prior had visited his home when his wife was ill and the family were in need, and had also visited his son in prison and given him a little book (St John's gospel). This had apparently led to his son's conversion, and the drayman said that the family now read the booklet daily and prayed for God's blessing on Mr Prior.  This small event completely lifted the depression from Mr Prior and restored his confidence.

Schooling

Ebenezer was a manager of the Lancastrian Voluntary Schools. (There is still a school in Chichester today called Lancastrian Infant School). Education was under review by the government at the time, and Ebenezer was keen for better use to be made of educational charities. One such was the Oliver Whitby School, a Bluecoat school founded as an Anglican charity for underprivileged boys many years earlier, but which had become isolated from city life by a policy of not allowing the boys to be 'contaminated' by the wicked outside world. True, they attended services at the cathedral, and were seen regularly on their supervised Sunday afternoon walk, but they were kept apart from other people and the charity benefitted only the 48 boys of the school.

Oliver Whitby School (Later to become a House of Fraser store)

Ebenezer determined to press for better use of the charity. He wanted the school to expand in order to provide secondary education for Chichester pupils, and imagined that the school could provide education for upwards of 200 scholars.  He was convinced that a larger number of able children could benefit greatly by the sort of education which the Oliver Whitby School could provide. He put huge efforts into his attempt to bring this about, and by the time he was mayor in 1895 he was able to chair a committee to pursue a general inquiry into all the existing charities in Chichester with a view to their being used for the public benefit. A new bishop had been appointed and Ebenezer outlined his plans for the Oliver Whitby School to him.  In essence, his proposal was that the school should provide free education for its 48 foundation scholars, and places for upwards of 200 fee payers, and a new school provided for 125 girls. Though not an anglican himself he was happy that religious instruction should be according to the doctrines of the Church of England. Many in Chichester were flabbergasted that any man should dare to propose tampering with the Whitby school. Least of all should schemes emanate from Prior who was notorious for his strict manner of life and still unpopular with a large faction because of his victorious campaigns against abuse at the workhouse and for main drainage (more of which below). A battle raged, and sentiment was stirred by a lawyer called Mr Bew, who was an old blue.  He shouted 'hands off the birthright of the poor' and 'beware attacks on the Church of England'. There was a public outcry against Prior, reported in the West Sussex Gazette of 25 February 1897, though the newspaper itself remained strongly supportive of him. Prior countered all arguments with reason and sanity. Chichester's battle received national coverage. The battle continued into the summer, and culminated in a meeting in July, attended by a commissioner from the Charity Commission.  Prior's supporters were interrupted and shouted down, and the meeting became 'one of the most disorderly and unmannerly I have attended for years' wrote the editor of the Gazette. 'Shouting, booing, hissing, yelling, interruptions, sensible and senseless, all the vocabulary of uncontrolled prejudice blossomed as a thistle for three hours and a half. '  (Sussex Daily News. 29/7/1897). Prior had to be accompanied by the Superintendent of Police and other policemen as he walked home to his house in Tower Street, followed by a yelling crowd, 'who treated him to the same sort of battery of missiles which they normally reserved for the Salvation Army'. Within days of the inquiry there were signs of a change of heart, and there were letters of apology to the Commissioners from all classes of people. Many of Chichester's best men were supportive of Prior, but progress at this juncture was impossible. The  trustees of the Oliver Whitby School celebrated by erecting iron fencing for the school playground, closing their minds completely to the extension of secondary education, which did not become a reality until 1928 when Chichester High School for boys opened.

Filthy water and the Drainage question.

Prior campaigned for better lighting in the city, but above all, he was agitated beyond measure by the unhygienic state of Chichester. As in so many industrial towns there was no drainage. Water was obtained from pumps or wells, and sewage was deposited in cesspits or buckets which people emptied into the river Lavant. There was therefore the great danger at all times of disease from contaminated water.  The street pumps provided water that was 'coffee coloured or 'stank', and 'cesspits overflowed into cellars'.   (all phrases expressed in the Chichester Observer around 1888).

Prior determined to do all in his power to ensure that Chichester installed a proper drainage system.  However, this meant that the cost would fall on the ratepayers, many of whom objected to this, as the main benefit would be to the poor who lived in the most deprived area, and who were not ratepayers.  Doctors would also lose income if  epidemics were checked, though doubtless this motive would not be openly admitted. It developed into a long-running battle between what became known as the Drainers Party and the Anti-drainers.  Prior was a champion of the Drainers and this caused him to be up against some bitter enemies, especially Dr Bostock, a doctor and mayor of Chichester for many years, who saw no reason for agitating for an improvement of Chichester's sanitation.

Defeat

In 1889 the anti-drainers (sometimes called the cesspool party) trounced Prior's drainers party, causing the Chichester Observer to comment that 'the majority of the inhabitants decided that the time for uniting cleanliness with godliness in a cathedral city had not yet arrived.'  (6 Nov 1889).  The whole issue gained national prominence, with critical reports of Chichester's decision in the Lancet and the British Medical Association. Prior continued to campaign almost daily for the drainage of the city, and in 1890 he won a seat on the city council. He began to win more and more support, for his drainage scheme, but it so infuriated his opponents that they ganged together to defeat his other objectives and it was a mortal blow against his scheme for the Oliver Whitby School.

Victory

(click to enlarge)

A majority of the citizens were won over to Prior's side, and in 1895 he was made mayor of Chichester.

Prior's mayoralty was very popular. During the year, he presided with ability at a luncheon which the Mayor and Corporation of Chichester  gave to Bishop Wilberforce at his enthronement and at which all the mayors of Sussex attended in their robes and chains of office.  It is noteworthy that he had the grace to do this - he was himself a non-conformist, being a member of Providence Chapel, where many other members of his family also worshipped.

Eventually Prior's proposals won the day, and a proper drainage system was built in Chichester. He also took steps to ensure that the waterworks was taken over by the city authorities.    However, all this was not in time to prevent an outbreak of disease…….

The end of  Ebenezer Prior's political career.

During his mayoralty he had to cope with a severe outbreak of typhoid fever. He threw himself with great energy into dealing with the crisis.  He visited every house where a case of sickness had been notified with the object of personally investigating the cause. In a short space of time most of the cases were isolated and an extra staff of efficient nurses engaged. Every Sunday he would visit the hospitals of the city, entering into conversation with the patients and speaking words of consolation to them.'   (The Wool Record, Jan 29^th 1928)  So successfully was this outbreak contained that with nearly 120 cases, only two deaths occurred.  However, he overtaxed his strength during this trying time and was compelled by medical advice to retire from the council and take a long rest. (The campaign to extend the scope of the Oliver Whitby School rumbled on though, and when he recovered, Ebenezer continued to press during 1896 and 1897 for the provision of more secondary education at the school - all to no avail though - see above)

Ebenezer Prior Ltd - the business continued

The business continued to run, with a staff of about 40 employees. An article in Chichester Views and Reviews in 1896 said 'Mr Prior is well known for the active interest he takes in the moral as well as the material welfare of the working classes generally, and this is shown especially in the care he takes for the interests of his own employees. Being a strong advocate of total abstinence he  shows a practical desire for keeping his men from the public house by providing on the premises the means for them to obtain beverages of a non-alcoholic character. To the rear of the large ground-floor sorting room is a special room equipped with a gas stove, and here the men have the privilege of refreshing themselves with a cup of excellent tea at any time they desire it. However exceptional this may appear, it is quite in keeping with Mr Prior's well known public and private character.'   These comments may seem a little quaint today, but at the time it must have indicated that the business was more progressive than most. 

Disaster is averted

In addition to the wool business, Prior also owned a chinaware shop in Southsea which was run by a manager.  During a period of several years, this manager and a relative of Prior's defrauded him and both businesses went bankrupt as a consequence. (Prior had lent a substantial sum of money to the relative. However he was a rogue who ran off and never repaid the loan. We don't know who the relative was because the family kept his identity secret to avoid shaming him.)

 

 In 1915, one of his sons Ebenezer F Prior (my grandfather) stepped in. He was in his early 30s at the time and owned a business selling agricultural equipment.  Although he had no legal responsibility for his father's debts, he sold his own business and used the money to pay of all his father's debts, which enabled the firm to survive.  All the creditors were most astonished at EFP's action  and made their gratitude and their astonishment clear in the letters they wrote in response.

Here are two examples from a collection of many such letters…

(click to enlarge)

'...It is refreshing these days to find existing such a high moral in business, and we may hope that your strict sense of honour will merit the recognition that such an action of yours so richly deserves.'

'....We appreciate very highly your resolve to pay off these debts, notwithstanding that you are not in the slightest degree responsible for them, and can only trust that the reward you may feel for so doing may commensurate with the self-denial involved in the transaction.  Such an action is unique in the long business experience of the writer. Never in the course of the history of this company has a son taken upon himself the responsibility of clearing his father's debts. We have of course several instances where a debtor himself after a lapse of years has refunded the deficiency, but such things are not uncommon although not frequent.......'

(Nb  The cheque for £13:11:10 would at 2022 values be worth about £1600, and the cheque for £50:14:1 would be worth nearly £6000)

Finally, a letter from father to son - Eb to Eb, dated 3 September 1918.

In it he says 'I dare not attempt to express what I feel of the wonderful unselfishness of your suggestions - I can only say that it is just as I have found you - all your business life this - thinking of others rather than yourself - I praise God for you my boy, & for all of the rest of your brothers, but you have of course been so close with me, thro' the darkest shadows of my life - It is impossible for me to say in language what this has meant to me and your mother …….'

The business continued successfully in Chichester, Bradford, Taunton and Wellington for many more years. Eventually my father E J W Prior (Jack Prior) took over the business, but as time went on, the expansion of man-made fibres brought about the end of the business. Jack had had a hobby of painting  ever since he was a child. He closed the family business down and went on to pursue a  very successful and contented career as a water-colour artist in the North of England.