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'
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Ebenezer Prior + family
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Back Row: Mary, Ebenezer Senior, Hannah, John
Middle row: Rhoda, Ebenezer, Emily Senior, Sydney, Emily, Jessie
Seated: Gilbert, Mark, Richard
Chichester in the 19th
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.
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| 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.
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| Oliver Whitby School (Later to become a House of Fraser store) |
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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 29th
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.
