TY - JOUR TI - Philanthropy, industry and the city of Manchester: the impact of Sir Joseph Whitworth’s philanthropy on Manchester’s built environment AU -Abi Wilson PY - 2022 VL - IS - Autumn 2021 KW - built environment KW - industry KW - legacy KW - Manchester KW - philanthropy KW - urban KW - Whitworth AB - Sir Joseph Whitworth was one of the most successful industrialists of nineteenth-century Manchester and made significant contributions to the development of engineering through improving precision and standardisation in machine tools. He also had an important and hitherto largely neglected impact on Manchester’s built environment through his posthumous philanthropy. This paper studies the interventions in the cityscape funded by Whitworth’s substantial legacy to assess how they influenced its development. Through the use of spatial analysis, I highlight the pivotal role of Whitworth and his legatees in the establishment of the Oxford Road educational corridor. Bringing together the history of philanthropy and the history of the built environment enables a reassessment of Whitworth’s ideological intentions and provides the means to expand the scholarly discourse on the development of the built environment to encompass the influence of individuals. N1 - This figure has been adjusted using the retail price index. The figure is adjusted to its 2019 worth as this is the most recent data set available. The total residuary estate was £1,277,781 9s 1d according to Robert Darbishire’s report in the Manchester Guardian, 30 July 1908, p 4. This number was rounded down for simplicity. N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 FJW/1/25/3, B R Faunthorpe Papers relating to Sir Joseph Whitworth, Note’s on Whitworth’s will and the 1921 lawsuit relating to it, c. 1960s N1 - Robert Dukinfield Darbishire was Whitworth’s lawyer, friend and a fellow philanthropist. Richard Copley Christie was also Whitworth’s friend and a prominent member of the community in Manchester as a professor at Owens College, the Chancellor of the diocese of Manchester, a leading lawyer and a philanthropist. N1 - Evidence of Whitworth’s funding of these interventions in the built environment was found in the following sources – Whitworth engineering laboratories: University of Manchester Library, n.d., Description of 'University of Manchester, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 1868–2004, University of Manchester, Department of Mechanical Engineering Archive, 1875–1991. University of Manchester Library. GB 133 DME' on the Archives Hub website, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb133-dme, (accessed 4 September 2020); Whitworth Hall: University of Manchester Library, GB 133 OCA/9/1/8 Owens College Archive, Records of the Council, Minutes of Council committees 12-6-1896 – 25-10-1899, p 156 24/9/1897 and p 186 26/11/1897; Manchester Municipal Technical School: University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Draft VI – Draft Outlines of a Scheme for Consideration – Manchester Institute of Art and Industry, 26/1/1888; Openshaw Free Library: Credland, William Robert, 1899. The Manchester public free libraries; a history and description, and guide to their contents and use. Manchester: T. Sowler and Sons Ltd.; Darley Dale Whitworth Institute, Whitworth Cottage Hospital, Manchester Museum: Darbishire, Robert Dukinfield, 1908. Whitworth Institute: The Legatees’ Administration: The Benefactor’s Estate. The Manchester Guardian, 30 July, p 4; The Firs: University of Manchester, n.d. Chancellors Hotel, https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/history-heritage/history/buildings/chancellors/ (accessed 4 September 2020); Manchester Royal Infirmary: University of Manchester Library, n.d., Description of 'The Manchester Royal Infirmary (M.R.I.), [1752]-2002. The Manchester Medical Collection: Sections 3-16. University of Manchester Library. GB 133 MMC/9/6' on the Archives Hub website, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb133-mmc3-16/mmc/9/6, (accessed 4 September 2020); Cancer Pavilion and Home: Anon, 1891. The proposed Cancer Pavilion and Home. The Manchester Guardian, 17 January, p 9; Whitworth Baths: Anon, 1889. Public baths for Openshaw. The Manchester Guardian, 13 May, p 8; Whitworth Institute, Whitworth Park: University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Original signed letter, Lady Whitworth, Christie and Darbishire to J Harwood, Sir Joseph Lee, Thomas Ashton, Oliver Heywood, Harry Rawson, Edward Donner, William Agnew, James Murgatroyd, C P Scott, Herbert Philips, W Mather[?], 21/11/1887; Darley Dale Whitworth Park: Kilburn, Terence, 1987. Joseph Whitworth Toolmaker. Cromford: Scarthin Books, p 48 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Original signed letter, Lady Whitworth, Christie and Darbishire to JJ Harwood, Sir Joseph Lee, Thomas Ashton, Oliver Heywood, Harry Rawson, Edward Donner, William Agnew, James Murgatroyd, C P Scott, Herbert Philips, W Mather[?], 21/11/1887 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Draft VI – Draft Outlines of a Scheme for Consideration – Manchester Institute of Art and Industry, 26/1/1888 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Copy charter of incorporation of the Manchester Whitworth Institute, 2/10/1889? N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/4, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, Pamphlet: Hughes, Charles (1891) ‘The Whitworth Legatees and The Whitworth Institute’ (Manchester: Examiner Printing Works, Pall Mall) N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Letter, 16/2/1888, from Joseph Lee enclosing copy of letter from Christie to Lee N1 - The change of name on ‘Draft outlines of the scheme’ from the ‘Manchester Institute of Art and Industry’ on 26/1/1888 to the ‘Whitworth Institute of Art and Industry in Manchester’ in February 1888 provides further evidence that the Institute was not originally to be named for Whitworth and supports the argument against commemoration as the primary objective of the founding of the Institute. Both ‘Draft Outlines’ are found in University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee. N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Draft VII – Draft Outlines of a Scheme – Whitworth Institute of Art and Industry in Manchester, February 1888 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Galleries and Museums sub-committee report, 17/10/1888 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Draft VI – Draft Outlines of a Scheme for Consideration – Manchester Institute of Art and Industry, 26/1/1888 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Original signed letter, Lady Whitworth, Christie and Darbishire to J Harwood, Sir Joseph Lee, Thomas Ashton, Oliver Heywood, Harry Rawson, Edward Donner, William Agnew, James Murgatroyd, C P Scott, Herbert Philips, W Mather[?], 21/11/1887; Draft VII – Draft Outlines of a Scheme – Whitworth Institute of Art and Industry in Manchester, February 1888 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 OCA/9/1/4 Owens College Archive, Records of the Council, Minute book of proceedings of the council 20/7/1883 – 3/12/1886, p 77–78 4/4/1884 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 FJW/1/8, B R Faunthorpe Papers relating to Sir Joseph Whitworth, Copy of letter from Joseph Whitworth to Disraeli 18/3/1868, c1960s; University of Manchester Library, GB 133 FJW/1/25/3, B.R. Faunthorpe Papers relating to Sir Joseph Whitworth, Note’s on Whitworth’s will and the 1921 lawsuit relating to it, c1960s N1 - University of Manchester Library, Map of the City of Manchester Exhibiting the Premises Devoted Exclusively to Commercial Purposes or to Ecclesiastical and other Public Uses, from Report on the Health of the City of Manchester, 1876, Image number JRL18043963, https://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/maps002~1~1~415031~220730:%3Ca-rel=-license--href=-http---creat?sort=reference_number%2Ctitle&qvq=q:%3Dmanchester%20AND%20%3Dcommercial%20AND%20date_created%3D1876...%20;sort:reference_number%2Ctitle;lc:maps002~1~1&mi=0&trs=1 (accessed 25 August 2020) N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Original signed letter, Lady Whitworth, Christie and Darbishire to J Harwood, Sir Joseph Lee, Thomas Ashton, Oliver Heywood, Harry Rawson, Edward Donner, William Agnew, James Murgatroyd, C P Scott, Herbert Philips, W Mather[?], 21/11/1887 N1 - For example, see Chas. Hughes, ‘Correspondence: The Whitworth Legatees’ Scheme’, in The Manchester Guardian, 1/12/1887, p 6; W.H., ‘Correspondence: The Whitworth Scheme’, in The Manchester Guardian, 8/12/1887, p 6; Oxoniensis, ‘Correspondence: The Whitworth Scheme’, in The Manchester Guardian, 9/12/1887, p 7; A Student, ‘Correspondence: The Whitworth Scheme’, in The Manchester Guardian, 9/12/1887, p 7 N1 - University of Manchester Library, GB 133 WAG/1/1/1/1, Records of the Whitworth Institute: Establishment and Incorporation, First ledger of records of the Whitworth Committee, Letter from Joseph Lee to “Mr Chancellor” [R C Christie], 8/2/1888 PB - The Science Museum Group SN - 2054-5770 LA - eng DO - 10.15180/211608 UR - https://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/article/philanthropy-industry-and-the-city-of-manchester-the-impact-of-sir-joseph-whitworths-philanthropy-on-manchesters-built-environment/ T2 - Science Museum Group Journal