Ruined Abbeys and Rural Churches
This is an interesting category because it allows a comparison between one of Lydon's finest portfolios and one of Fawcett's rare collaborations with another artist. The Ruined Abbeys of Britain (1882) by Frederick Ross displays the work of Lydon in one of his last and most accomplished works for Fawcett. Rural Churches (1869) was written and illustrated by Sidney Corner. Though the illustrations in both were printed by Fawcett they are significantly different in appearance. This shows Fawcett's ability to reproduce the work of artists other than Lydon, dispelling any opinion to the contrary. Corner's illustrations, though, are not in the same league as Lydon's.
This also presents an opportunity to provide a brief but very interesting biography of Frederick Ross even though I don't think I can forgive him for not including Fawcett in his Contributions towards a History of Driffield.
Frederick Ross was born in Beverley, 12 miles south of Driffield, in 1816. He was the son of Charles Ross, a wine merchant, and his wife Anne. At the age of 15 he was apprenticed to a linen draper. Ten years later, in 1840, the ambitious Ross left Beverley for London to seek his fortune. Things did not go quite according to plan. He obtained a position as a Draper's Assistant with Messrs. Sewell and Cross in a large West End House on Old Compton Street, Soho. West End Houses were the centre of the drapery trade, and other similar trades. They were large, imposing, Georgian houses with four or five floors plus attic rooms and a basement. These "Houses", shops in reality, were notorious for their long hours - up to fifteen hours a day or more, six days a week - with the workers sleeping on the premises. This would have left Ross with little time for his intellectual pursuits. He was instrumental in the foundation of the Early Closing Association which sought to make Saturday a half-day holiday. He was elected to the first Board of Management of the Association, a position that he retained for most of his life. He wrote a novel Edward Charlton; or Life behind the Counter to highlight the problems of long hours in the drapery trade. It was published in 1852 by his brother-in-law, Thomas Holderness of Middle Street, Driffield. It went through several editions and was also published in the USA (illegally and in breach of copyright).
A little further research at this point revealed the enormity of the divisions in society and harsh working conditions during the Victorian period. This also caused me to re-evaluate my opinion of Frederick Ross and to credit him with the utmost respect. E. S. Turner in his 1950 Roads to Ruin, the Shocking History of Social Reform, referring to working conditions and Ross' book, says "The story of Edward Charlton was designed to show how strong was this peril in the drapery trade, notorious even in those days for its long hours. Pallid assistants, grossly abused and underpaid, saw the daylight only when a customer demanded to see some piece of material at the door; the rest of the endless day they spent in gaslight. They were let out, if they were lucky, for one hour after closing time, then returned to sleep in comfortless dormitories on the premises." Reviews of Edward Charlton highlight the political and social polarisation of the period, something that, arguably, continues to this day. The Morning Advertiser 23 January 1852: "This is a cleverly written tale, illustrative of the generally-degraded condition of the young men of the drapery trade... the book will be highly valuable, as an aid to every institution." The York Herald 27 March 1852: "This volume purports to be illustrative of the drapery trade... it is, therefore, a libel upon the master drapers of London."
The 1841 Census shows that 25 year old Frederick Ross was a Draper's Assistant at 44 Old Compton Street where he was also a resident along with 74 other drapery workers! Ross subsequently moved on to 46 South Street where the 1851 census shows that he was a 34 year old Shopman and resident along with 71 others. Ross was now a carpet salesman, a position in which he remained until 1873, 33 years after his arrival in London.
When he could, Ross travelled extensively in Britain and Europe. He gave lectures on his travels as well as on the work of the Association and on science and literature. One of his lectures "The Progress of Civilization" was widely presented. Such was the demand that the text of the lecture was published by Holderness in Driffield. It seems rather contradictory but many drapery houses had extensive libraries on the upper floors for the use of the staff. For 30 years Ross was the manager and secretary of the library at Sewell and Cross and was responsible for the selection and acquisition of books.
Sewell and Cross closed down in 1873 after which Ross became a debt collector. He worked for about four hours a day spending the rest of his time on research at the British Library and the Public Record Office. In 1881 the census shows that 64 year old Ross is an Author and Journalist living in Tottenham. An article about Ross from 1890 states that he was still a debt collector at that time, obviously supplementing his income to allow him to pursue his research and literary ambitions.
Ross was a leading antiquarian, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a member of numerous other societies. He produced a wide range of books but was particularly renowned for his works on the history of Yorkshire. At the time of his death he had an unpublished manuscript entitled A Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary of Yorkshire. Ross had worked on this for over thirty years and the manuscript was said to be the size of a small library. I can find no record of it ever being published.
Ross must have been aware of his mortality. He travelled to Driffield in his beloved Yorkshire in the winter of 1892 and died within days of both Benjamin Fawcett and Francis Orpen Morris early in 1893.
This also presents an opportunity to provide a brief but very interesting biography of Frederick Ross even though I don't think I can forgive him for not including Fawcett in his Contributions towards a History of Driffield.
Frederick Ross was born in Beverley, 12 miles south of Driffield, in 1816. He was the son of Charles Ross, a wine merchant, and his wife Anne. At the age of 15 he was apprenticed to a linen draper. Ten years later, in 1840, the ambitious Ross left Beverley for London to seek his fortune. Things did not go quite according to plan. He obtained a position as a Draper's Assistant with Messrs. Sewell and Cross in a large West End House on Old Compton Street, Soho. West End Houses were the centre of the drapery trade, and other similar trades. They were large, imposing, Georgian houses with four or five floors plus attic rooms and a basement. These "Houses", shops in reality, were notorious for their long hours - up to fifteen hours a day or more, six days a week - with the workers sleeping on the premises. This would have left Ross with little time for his intellectual pursuits. He was instrumental in the foundation of the Early Closing Association which sought to make Saturday a half-day holiday. He was elected to the first Board of Management of the Association, a position that he retained for most of his life. He wrote a novel Edward Charlton; or Life behind the Counter to highlight the problems of long hours in the drapery trade. It was published in 1852 by his brother-in-law, Thomas Holderness of Middle Street, Driffield. It went through several editions and was also published in the USA (illegally and in breach of copyright).
A little further research at this point revealed the enormity of the divisions in society and harsh working conditions during the Victorian period. This also caused me to re-evaluate my opinion of Frederick Ross and to credit him with the utmost respect. E. S. Turner in his 1950 Roads to Ruin, the Shocking History of Social Reform, referring to working conditions and Ross' book, says "The story of Edward Charlton was designed to show how strong was this peril in the drapery trade, notorious even in those days for its long hours. Pallid assistants, grossly abused and underpaid, saw the daylight only when a customer demanded to see some piece of material at the door; the rest of the endless day they spent in gaslight. They were let out, if they were lucky, for one hour after closing time, then returned to sleep in comfortless dormitories on the premises." Reviews of Edward Charlton highlight the political and social polarisation of the period, something that, arguably, continues to this day. The Morning Advertiser 23 January 1852: "This is a cleverly written tale, illustrative of the generally-degraded condition of the young men of the drapery trade... the book will be highly valuable, as an aid to every institution." The York Herald 27 March 1852: "This volume purports to be illustrative of the drapery trade... it is, therefore, a libel upon the master drapers of London."
The 1841 Census shows that 25 year old Frederick Ross was a Draper's Assistant at 44 Old Compton Street where he was also a resident along with 74 other drapery workers! Ross subsequently moved on to 46 South Street where the 1851 census shows that he was a 34 year old Shopman and resident along with 71 others. Ross was now a carpet salesman, a position in which he remained until 1873, 33 years after his arrival in London.
When he could, Ross travelled extensively in Britain and Europe. He gave lectures on his travels as well as on the work of the Association and on science and literature. One of his lectures "The Progress of Civilization" was widely presented. Such was the demand that the text of the lecture was published by Holderness in Driffield. It seems rather contradictory but many drapery houses had extensive libraries on the upper floors for the use of the staff. For 30 years Ross was the manager and secretary of the library at Sewell and Cross and was responsible for the selection and acquisition of books.
Sewell and Cross closed down in 1873 after which Ross became a debt collector. He worked for about four hours a day spending the rest of his time on research at the British Library and the Public Record Office. In 1881 the census shows that 64 year old Ross is an Author and Journalist living in Tottenham. An article about Ross from 1890 states that he was still a debt collector at that time, obviously supplementing his income to allow him to pursue his research and literary ambitions.
Ross was a leading antiquarian, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a member of numerous other societies. He produced a wide range of books but was particularly renowned for his works on the history of Yorkshire. At the time of his death he had an unpublished manuscript entitled A Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary of Yorkshire. Ross had worked on this for over thirty years and the manuscript was said to be the size of a small library. I can find no record of it ever being published.
Ross must have been aware of his mortality. He travelled to Driffield in his beloved Yorkshire in the winter of 1892 and died within days of both Benjamin Fawcett and Francis Orpen Morris early in 1893.
