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Edward Vivian, M.A. [Obituary].

Trans. Devon. Assoc., 1893, Vol XXV, pp.163-169.

by

Rev. W. Harpley

Prepared by Michael Steer

The obituary was read at the Association’s July 1893 Torquay meeting. Edward Vivian (1808–1893) was the joint proprietor of the Torquay Bank, a hotelier, magistrate, writer and public speaker, member of the Local Board and editor of the Torquay Directory. Together with William Pengelly, Vivian played a leading role in the exploration of Kent’s Cavern. He was also a founder member and first treasurer of the Torquay Natural History Society. A portrait is available at ArtUK. The article, 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.

Edward Vivian, M.A., was born April 2nd, 1808, at Bushey, in Hertfordshire. In 1779 his father was presented to the living of Bushey, which was in the gift of Exeter College, Oxford, and he held it from that period to his death in 1825. Edward was then seventeen years of age. He has often been heard to say to his friends in a humorous way that he never went to school in his life, and that he never knew what it was to feel the ferule. His father was a man of high literary attainments; and he educated his three sons at home; and a finer example of home training and the influences of home life cannot be given than that of Mr Edward Vivian, who cherished the memory of his father with profound veneration, and was never better pleased when reading or quoting the many articles written by him on Political Economy, the Poor Laws, and other similar subjects. Indeed, many of these papers have been reprinted by Mr. Vivian during the last few years. Soon after the decease of his father he went to Oxford University, and in due course obtained the degrees of B.A. and M.A. Mr Vivian was at Oxford as a young man a personal friend of the present Prime Minister, Mr. Gladstone, a friendship which, notwithstanding some alteration of views of later years, continued through life.

The choice of Torquay as a residence was determined by pure accident. Mr. Vivian, Mr. 6. Godwin-Austen, and Mr Mr. John Divett became members of the Royal Yacht Club and purchased the cutter Paul Pry. In this vessel, in 182_ they visited the coasts of Wales and North and South Devon. Their adventures have been narrated in verse by Mr. Vivian in "Chips from an Old Log," published a few years ago in the Torquay Directory, Mr. Vivian was very much pleased with Torquay - then in the condition of emerging from a fishing village into a watering-place - that he determined upon paying it a second visit, which led to his selecting it as his permanent residence. At first he lived at Hampton House, St. Marychurch, the residence of his brother-in-law, Mr. C. K. Sievewright. It was at a time when there was great distress among the agricultural class and when much ill-feeling was caused amongst the labourers by the introduction of machinery. Mr. Vivian and his brother-in-law, who were members of the Newton Board of Guardians, endeavoured to meet the altered circumstances of the times by transferring many of the unemployed population to the manufacturing districts, where there was a larger demand for labour, at wages considerably in excess of what could be obtained at farm work. Arrangements were made with several Manchester firms, who were willing to take whole families from St. Marychurch; but unfortunately many labourers refused to make any change in their mode of life and preferred, if matters came to the worst, to fall behind upon the union workhouse at Newton. The farmers at this time were glad to get rid of their surplus hands. Now the state of things has been exactly reversed. The rural population flock into the towns, and the farmers are at a loss for labour. The migration of country folk into the towns is now greater than the farmers can counteract by the wider application of machinery.

On the 4th of October, 1832, Mr. Vivian's brother, Captain W. Vivian, and Mr. William Kitson established the Torquay Bank, which Mr. Vivian afterwards joined. A bank had been opened as early as 1811, under the name of the "Torquay Bank," but it did not continue for any great length of time.

Mr. Vivian was elected a member of the old Town Commissioners in 1840, and served for three years. He was re-elected in 1846; and in September, 1850, when the Town Commissioners gave place to the Local Board of Health, on the adoption of the Public Health Act, he was elected on the new Board, and was named in the Act of Parliament as the Vice-President. With the other Commissioners, he signed an address of welcome to the Queen on her visit to Torbay in 1862. Her Majesty was graciously pleased on that occasion to accept from Mr. Vivian a present of Devonshire cream and flowers. Connected with this event Mr. Vivian used to relate an amusing story. He sent his then young son on board the Queen's yacht with the cream from his own dairy. The bowl was of silver, and very old. The lad returned in some consternation, and said, '* They nabbed the cream, basin, and all!"

During the O'Connell agitation in Ireland in 1843 Mr. Vivian and his brother visited the disturbed districts, with the view of ascertaining personally the condition of the country. He had an interview with Daniel O'Connell, who offered him a seat in his car, that he might accompany him to the great meeting on the Hill of Tara, when the Irish Agitator pledged himself to that defiance of the Government which ended in his prosecution. Mr. Vivian declined the honour. Shooting from behind hedges is no new thing in Ireland. It was as common in O'Connell's time as it was a few years ago. Mr. Vivian was fired at by some unseen miscreant, who mistook him for a Government emissary.

In 1842, Mr. Vivian commenced the erection of his charm-residence, Woodfield, in a well-sheltered piece of ground about six acres in extent. In the grounds he possessed at the time one of the finest collections of sub-tropical plants be found in the neighbourhood.

Mr. Vivian was a strong advocate of Teetotalism. When be went to Torquay he was sufiering from illness. On that occasion he was told by his medical adviser, the late Dr Lucas, who practised in the town, that unless be complied with his instructions, and took white brandy, his case was a forlorn one. But going to London, Mr. Vivian saw the surgeon who founded the United Kingdom Temperance & The General Provident Association, and afterwards the Tempeance Hospital, who told him that his belief was that the white brandy was doing all the harm. Acting upon this advice Mr. Vivian gave up the alcohol, and rapidly became better. With the aid of Dr. Lucas and a clergyman, he founded the Torquay Temperance Society in 1843. Although a total abstainer, he was not bigoted or intolerant. He eloquently advocated total abstinence on the platform, and showed his consistence therewith by his mode of life.

The Torbay Horticultural Society, now known as the Torquay Horticultural Society, was formed and largely promoted by Mr. Vivian. It was formed in 1843, and its first public exhibition was held in May, 1846. He was also one of the founders of the Torquay Natural History Society and held the office of Treasurer of the Society from its foundation.

Mr. Vivian became connected with the Torquay Directory in 1846, and up to a few years ago the Directory was edited, by him. In 1841 Mr. Vivian was appointed Justice of the Peace, and since the death of Mr. Marsh Phillips in 1880 he was the senior Justice for the Petty Sessional Division of Paignton. With two exceptions he was the oldest magistrate in Devon.

The name of Mr. Vivian, together with that of Mr. Pengelly, will ever be associated with Kent's Cavern, and the remarkable facts there brought to light with regard to the existence of the human race in pre-historic times. The Rev. John McEnery had visited the Cavern on several occasions, and brought to light fragments of bones of extinct animals, pieces of pottery, arrow heads, &c. - Accordingly the Torquay Natural History Society appointed a committer of which Mr. Vivian was a member, to make an examination of the Cavern. Mr. Vivian read his report to the Geological Society in London in 1847, and confirmed all that had been advanced by previous examinations. In 1864 the British Association appointed a committee, consisting of Sir Charles Lyell, Professor Phillips, Sir John Lubbock, Mr. John Evans, Mr. Pengelly, and Mr. Vivian, to undertake a careful, scientific and exhaustive exploration. The work was carried on for many years by means of grants from the British Association. The reports, presented by Mr. Pengelly, were, perhaps, more startling than the original report of Mr. Vivian, and the discoveries made in the Cavern added many pages to our knowledge of man in pre-historic times.

In 1847-8 the Chartists were creating disturbance. The agitation reached Torquay. Mr. Vivian endeavoured to allay the excited feelings of the people, and offered an allotment of a quarter of an acre to anyone who wished it. In addition to the private grounds at Woodfield, Mr. Vivian rented, for agricultural purposes, the northern slope of the Lincombes, now covered with villas, terraces, and roads. He agreed to set apart eight acres of this land in quarter acre lots, on the understanding that the occupiers should pay rent at an agricultural value, and that each tenant should year by year render an account of his crops, the value of the time expended, the cost of seeds and manures, and also what had been realized by the sale of the produce. In a paper published in 1852 Mr. Vivian said: "I let the lower field, in 1848, to sixteen members of the Chartist Association, nominally in quarter acre lots, but with the understanding that they might arrange amongst themselves for one or two of the number to cultivate the whole. They nearly all abandoned it within a short time, having assured me that they scarcely made their rent; the two who still retained their allotments having made no returns. They were principally operatives employed in sedentary trades, and unable to bear exposure to rough weather or hard work. Such a garden allotment was peculiarly beneficial for affording healthful recreation and a supply of vegetables for their families, but it was clear that, as a sole resource, agricultural labour could never afford the same high wages which would be obtained in trade and manufactures."

No inconsiderable aid was given by Mr. Vivian to the Volunteer movement, which was commenced in Torquay and Exeter in 1853 - about six years before it became general throughout the kingdom. Mr. Vivian himself raised two companies of Artillery Volunteers, the command of which was placed in his hands, and later the rank of Major was conferred upon him. In 1861 his battery presented to him a sword.

As an amateur artist Mr. Vivian excelled. The sketches of Torquay and the North Devon coast, which he took more than forty years ago, and which were lithographed and published by Ackerman, of London, are very interesting, as showing Torquay in its early days. His residence contained a large number of portfolios and albums filled with charming pictures in pencil, in pen and ink, in chalk, and in watercolours. Few art exhibitions have been held at Torquay during the last thirty years without a contribution from Mr. Vivian, whose productions were welcomed and admired. But it is very remarkable that, although so admirable an artist, he was colour blind. Reds and greens were alike to him, and this is why most of his water-colours are in neutral tint. He heartily encouraged the proposal to establish a School of Art in Torquay, and when this became an accomplished fact in 1864 he was made President, and held the office till his death. He also instituted, in connection therewith, an Art Club. In 1878 the inhabitants of Torquay, in recognition of his many public services, raised a testimonial fund for the purpose of purchasing the premises, which was invested in the names of trustees, on the understanding that it was to be known as the " Vivian Institute." Mr. Vivian was also an expert photographer, and there are extant in his collection many pleasing examples of his skill. He was to his death President of the Torquay Photographic Association and presided at the opening of its first exhibition on February 14th, 1893.

Mr. Vivian was a man of large knowledge and versatile talents. He possessed an acquaintance, more or less deep, with many branches of science, and his conversations on these matters were full of ripe experience. Many years ago he delivered lectures on Science at the Torquay Mechanics' Institute, and also to the members of the Torquay Natural History Society. He was ready in speech, and possessed the happy faculty of presenting his subject clearly to his audience. He had considerable botanical and horticultural knowledge, was a first-rate rifle shot, an accomplished yachtsman, and also rode well and straight in the hunting field. He once made a balloon ascent for scientific purposes.

Mr. Vivian wrote several papers on the climate of Torquay, meteorology, and other subjects. He was a member of this Association from the commencement, filled the office of President for the year 1864-5, and in the following year, in succession to Mr. W. Vicary, he was made General Treasurer of the Association, which office he held up to death. He contributed many papers to the Transactions of the Association, including "The Pile Dwellings in the Lakes of Switzerland" and "The Climate of Torquay and South Devon" (1864) ; " On the Poor Laws, with the result of Union Rating in Devon " (1866) ; " Prison Discipline," and " On St. John's Church Struck by Lightning" (1867); "The Evidences of Glacial Action in South Devon," and "On Vagrancy " (1868); “On Science and Art as a Branch of National Education" (1869); "On Astigmatism and Colour Blindness," and " Vital Statistics from the Experience of the United Kingdomn. Temperance and General Provident Institute" (1872); "On Self-registering Meteorological Instruments" (1874).

In politics Mr. Vivian was a Liberal of the Palmerston and Russell schooL During the general election in 1865 he consented to become a candidate, in the Liberal interest, for the representation of St. Ives, in Cornwall, but was defeated in the contest.

For some months before his decease it was seen that Mr. Vivian's strength was failing. His eyesight became dim, and he was troubled with neuralgia. He bore these trials, however, with equanimity, and when he met his friends his manner did not indicate a murmuring spirit He was ever ready to converse on subjects in which he had taken an interest through his long life, and down to its close he bore as full a share as he was able in all that promoted the welfare of Torquay. Though a Churchman, he was a warm supporter of The British Schools, of which he was long a manager. His broad-mindedness was further evident when he took the side of the Salvation Army in their prosecutions by the Local Board in 1887 for persisting in Sunday musical processions.

He died at his residence, at Wood field, on the evening of Thursday, March 30th, 1893, in his 85th year.