Richard Powdrell Hobson

  General Notes:

Little is known of his early life, but since his father died when he was 15, the family were probably not that well off. Richard determined to go into the cotton trade and went to New Orleans in 1863 to learn the business. He was present at the last slave auction held at Savannah, where an old negro couple were put up for auction together. They protested bitterly as they wanted to be separated. Because of the American Civil War (1863-5) he went to Egypt.

Returning to Liverpool, he set up business with a partner called Welsby. This partner died young leaving a wife and two small children and little money. Richard collected about £3,000 on the cotton exchange for the widow, giving a sum himself, which was the start o the Welsby Trust for which Gerald Walton Hobson was a Trustee, continuing to distribute money to the Welsby descendants.

Richard probably met his future wife through John Chadwick coming to Liverpool to buy cotton. Richard went to stay with the Chadwicks at Woodville, near Stockport, fell in love with Eleanor and they married in 1868. Eleanor however considered that hers was an arranged marriage, presumably by her father who recognised a promising son-in-law with business acumen. She had passed these thoughts on to her eldest daughter. (Told to Caroline Meynell by Sarah Sankey-Barker). Richard and Eleanor first lived at Huyton, near Liverpool. As a cotton broker he was no doubt helped by his father in law in supplying Chadwicks Tameside Mills with cotton, but he 'never made more than £2500 a year out of his business'. It was no mean income, but did not compare to the riches of the Chadwick family.

Richard and Eleanor moved to Brooklands, a 'small' house on the road from Liverpool to Manchester, with an acre of garden and stabling for four. Gertrude, Gerald, Chris and Clare were born in this house, Arthur having been born in their first house.

In spite of working hard at his business, Richard found time to paint, and the Sankey-Barkers have a competent watercolour by him dated 1857.

Around 1879 Richard inherited about £80,000 from his uncle as well as his house Greenhall, near Wilmslow. The house was later sold. In 1881, the family moved to the Wirral to live at The Marfords, Bromborough. This was a substantial Victorian house, stabling for eight, and a large garden with up to ten gardeners and a farm. The ground fell steeply to the River Dibben.

In 1896 a second inheritance came to the family, this time to Eleanor from her uncle James Kershaw. He was the only brother of Eleanor's mother, Hannah Kershaw. He left £5000,000, a quarter of which came to Eleanor. Richard and Eleanor were by now well off. Marfords was expanded with additions to the house and land. It could have been from this time that he started collecting antiques and a considerable collection of Chinese ceramics. Much of his collection was sold at Christies after his death. (Tuesday 29 March 1909 'Catalogue of the collection of Old Nankin and old Chinese Enamelled Porcelain and European carvings in Ivory of Richard Hobson, deceased'). The catalogue tantalisingly refers to object after object up to auction but there is no detailed description, and there remains no explaination of why they were sold. Caroline Meynell has one large Chinese dish that came via Num Hobson, originally most probably from The Marfords. The Sankey-Barkers have photographs of The Marfords, showing well laid out borders, large trees and expansive grounds. There are a few interior views, one of a hall or drawing room, with the wall densely hung with gilt-framed paintings, carved oak furniture set off against panelled walls, many pieces of Chinese blue and white ware on display. All familiar Hobson style furniture that could have been found at Wappenham but no actual recognisable piece.

The Marfords later became a Dr.Barnado'ls home, but has now (2002) been pulled down with only a few remaining high walls amongst a new housing estate. Bromborough had a Memorial Hall given in memor of Eleanor Hobson (Chadwick).

In 1888 Richard was appointed High Sheriff of Cheshire, retiring from business as a cotton broker, and in 1898 Deputy Lieutenant. By now he held various directorships, among them Lloyds Bank and the Liverpool Philharmonic Society and Vice Chairman of Liverpool Overhead Railway. He was also involved with insurance businesses. He had become a well-established and respected figure, such as his father-in-law predicted.

Richard still owned and used a coach in 1902, although his daily journey to work was always by train under the Mersey tunnel from the Wirral to Liverpool. He was a regular visitor to prisons, taking his daughter Eleanor with him when she was still a young girl. She remembered seeing prisoners working the treadmill. She was also taken to Dresden by her father when she was 18 where she stayed for a year.

  Research Notes:

The Times 22 Jan 1909


Mr Richard Hobson, one of the best known Liverpool commercial men died yesterday morning at his residence, Bromborough, Cheshire aged 72.

In early life Mr Hobson carried on business as a cotton broker in Alexandria and New Orleans, and later, for many years in Liverpool, where he was a member of the Cotton Exchange, He was largely interested in the Lancashire cotton-spinning firms of James Kershaw and Co (Limited) and J. Chadwick and Co (Limited) and held the chairmanship of both companies. For some time he was chairman of the British and Foreign Marine Insurance Company, and was on the directorates of Lloyds Bank and the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company.He retired some time ago from the deputy-chairmanship of the Liverpool Overhead Railway. Mr Hobson was also a Justice of the Peace for Cheshire, of which county he had been High Sheriff and, subsequently, a deputy-lieutenant, and was a past chairman of the Liverpool Philharmonic Society. ²

  Noted events in his life were:

• Address: 1841, Bispham, Lancashire.

• Went to New Orleans: 1863. Wanted to enter the cotton trade so went to the US; when the civil war broke out he left for Egypt. Supposedly he was at the last slave auction held at Savannah and that an old couple were put up for sale together but protested bitterly as they wanted to be seperated.

• Occupation/Address: Cotton broker, 1871, Seel Road Villa, Huyton, Lancashire.

• Occupation/Address: Cotton Broker, 1881, 12 Beach Lawn, Great Crosby, Lancashire.

• Occupation/Address: Cotton merchant, county magistrate for Cheshire, 1891, The Marfords, 25 Dibbinsdale Road, Bromborough, Lancashire.

• Appointment: 1898. High Sheriff of Cheshire

• Occupation/Address: Retired cotton broker, 1901, The Marfords, 25 Dibbinsdale Road, Bromborough, Lancashire. The Marfords was later a Barnados home and then a Borstal.

Richard married (Mary) Eleanor Chadwick, daughter of John Chadwick JP, DL and Hannah Kershaw, on 22 Apr 1868. ((Mary) Eleanor Chadwick was born on 5 Mar 1847 in Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire ⁵ and died on 24 Mar 1907.)