James Allanson Picton was born at Highfield Street in the centre of Liverpool on the 2nd of December 1805 to William Picton, a joiner and timber merchant and, following an elementary education at Richard Prior's School, Church Lane, St Peter's, entered his father's business at the age of 13. He later joined the office of Daniel Stewart, to pursue his ambition to become an architect and surveyor, before eventually taking over the business. James designed some important buildings in Liverpool, including the Corn Exchange and the now demolished Richmond Buildings.
He moved to Wavertree in 1848, having designed and built himself a house, Sandy Knowe, in Mill Lane where he became a member of the town council in 1849, and in 1851 a member, and later chairman, of the Wavertree local board. He took a particular interest in the establishment of public libraries and was the driving force behind the construction of Liverpool's first public library. He began the campaign for a public library for the borough which resulted in 1852 in an Act of Parliament being obtained to allow the raising of a penny rate for a public library and museum. It was William Brown who provided the buildings for the library and museum in 1860 on the proviso that the City Council furnished the interior. James was the first chairman of the library and museum committee, founded in 1851, and remained in this position until his death in 1889. Following William Brown's generous contribution, the City renamed the street (formerly Shaw's Brow) in his honour. In 1879 the corporation added to the library a reading room, which was called the Picton Reading Room, opened by Lord Derby who presided over the subsequent banquet held in St George's Hall in Mr Picton's honour. This was the first electrically lit library in the UK and was modelled on the British Museum Reading Room. James was knighted in 1881 by Queen Victoria in recognition of his public service.
 |
| Picton Clock Tower |
As well as being a linguist and seasoned traveller, James was a keen student of local history. His two-volume work entitled 'Memorials of Liverpool' remains one of the leading reference books on the city's buildings and personalities.
He had married Sarah Pooley in 1829 and in 1884 presented to the people of Wavertree the Picton Clock Tower having been designed by him as a memorial to his wife, who had died in 1879 after fifty years of happy marriage. The tower bears the inscription, "Time wasted is existence, used, is life". Sir James Picton deliberately chose this spot as the site for his gift, so that the clock could be seen by as many people as possible being in the very centre of the old village. Before the Clock Tower was built it was the site of the 'Big Lamp', marking the parting of the ways for travellers to Old Swan, Childwall and Gateacre. Their son also named James Allanson Picton eschewed his father's architectural practice and was eventually elected as MP for Leicester.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/11/a-liverpool-exemplar-josephine-butler.html
No comments:
Post a Comment