Transcript

Of

William Vaughan [Obituary]

Trans. Devon. Assoc. vol. XXXV, (1903), p. 41.

by

J. Brooking-Rowe (Ed.)

Prepared by Michael Steer

The obituary was read at the Association’s July 1903 Sidmouth meeting. Glove making in North Devon developed during the thriving 17th century Westcountry wool industry and replaced wool as Torrington’s major employer in the 19th century.  By the 1830s, some 3,000 women in North Devon were employed  making kid, chamois, beaver and other sorts of gloves for the London and foreign markets.  ‘White’s Gazetteer’ of 1850 lists 13 glove makers in Torrington. One of the larger Glove factories was founded by William Vaughan Senior, who was a Bible Christian. The facade of his factory resembled a Methodist chapel. Mr Vaughan Junior eventually became Mayor of Torrington on several occasions and lived in the biggest house in the town. His residence, Sydney House, was enormous, built of local cream-coloured Marland brick and Ham stone in the Modern English Renaissance style with turrets, pinnacles and gabling. The Vaughan family moved into the house, then called Enderley, in 1889.  After Mr Vaughan collapsed and died in 1903 on his way to the factory, his family moved away. His obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

William Vaughan. Mr. William Vaughan, of Torrington, joined the Association in 1899, when the Society paid its second visit to that town. He was born in 1837, and succeeded to the business of a glove-maker established by his father. This he greatly improved and extended, and it is now a large concern, formed into a limited liability company, employing a considerable number of workmen and women. For many years Mr. Vaughan was a member of the Torrington Town Council, as councillor, alderman, and mayor, serving the latter office four times, and he led an active public life. He was justice of the peace for the borough and county, a member of the Devon County Council, chairman of the Torrington School Board, and member of the Taw and Torridge Fishery Board. He was a supporter of philanthropic and charitable objects in the neighbourhood in which he lived, and his efforts to establish a cottage hospital were successful. He died 7th May, 1903, aged sixty-five.