Robert Charleton
Encyclopedia
Robert Charleton was a Quaker
, Recorded Minister
and a prominent citizen of Bristol
. He was a philanthropist and ran a pin-making factory which was noted for its good employment practices. He was an advocate of total abstinence
and peaceful relations between nations.
, in 1847. After a business training under H. F. Cotterell, a land surveyor at Bath, became the proprietor of a pin manufactory at Kingswood
, near Bristol, in 1833, and continued that business until his retirement in 1852. He married, on 13 Dec. 1849, Catherine Brewster, the eldest daughter of Thomas Fox of Ipswich. He died at his residence, Ashley Down, near Bristol, on 5 Dec. 1872.
, at Two Mile Hill, Kingswood
, from 1831 to 1852. It was inspected by Elijah Waring
, the Sub-Commissioner for South Gloucestershire
, for the Childrens Employment Commission (1840). The report describes the working condition of the workers, and the outworkers.
In 1841 Robert Charleton employed about 110 women and girls and 50 men and boys in the factory. In addition, about 500 women and girl outworkers were employed at heading and sticking. Pin making is a good example of the survival of the pre-industrial system of outwork well into the Victorian
years of factory based industrial organisation.
He reported that the majority of employees in these two factories were young girls from 14–18 years old; no girls or boys under 12 were employed.
A few boys were employed in drawing and straightening the wire. The boys in Charleton’s factory were all sons of men working in the factory. Some were employed directly by Charleton, others were paid by their fathers.
The Victorians were concerned that working class single women should be respectable. Girls who went out to work were in moral danger and were not being trained in the skills that they would need to become good mothers. To the emerging middle class, pinmaking was seen as suitable occupation for the poor,and suitable for women. Waring describes approvingly Robert Charletons strict moral control and his disciplined work force.
Attendance at Sunday School
and the ability to read and write were taken as signs of moral respectability.
Robert Charleton was reported as believing that the women he employed were "respectable", and most of them were "virtuous girls".
Robert Charleton would fine his employees 3d for using foul language, they were permitted to sing but only hymn tune
s.
Robert Charleton built a school for the children of his employees. He was the only employer in the district to do this. There was already provision for the education of the poor in the South Gloucester area at national school
s, charity schools and Sunday Schools. Two thirds to three quarters of the working class was literate in the early 19th century..
Girls and boys paid 2d a week to attend the school and 1d extra for writing. Both boys and girls did reading, writing and grammar. Girls were taught sewing, and the boys geography and maths. The school rooms accommodated 120 boys and 80 girls. The schools at Kingswood and Oldland Common were mainly dependent on his support and superintendence, also the large British school in Redcross Street, Bristol
(1868). He was present in as a child at Congénies
in the 1820s. He was a member of the Peace Society
and was part of a peace delegation (1854) with Joseph Sturge
and Henry Pease
that went to St Petersburg to attempt to head off the Crimea War to present an address to the Emperor Nicholas at St. Petersburg against the war. This address was graciously received by the emperor on 10 Feb. (Illust. London News, 4 and 11 March 1854).
Again in 1858, in company with Robert Forster
, he presented to the northern powers of Europe the plea for liberty of conscience issued by the Society of Friends. At the commencement of 1860 he was unanimously recorded by the monthly meeting of Bristol »as an approved minister of the Gospel.«
Henceforth his time was chiefly occupied in lecturing throughout England and Ireland. He was an advocate of the Permissive Bill, and much averse to the Contagious Diseases Acts
.
believing in total abstinence
. He was one of the earliest of the advocates of total abstinence. He lectured on that subject in England in 1836, and in 1842 with his friend Samuel Capper in Ireland
. At the same time he advocated the doctrines of the Friends, and in 1849 accompanied Capper in his tent-meeting tour in Oxfordshire
and the neighbouring counties.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, Recorded Minister
Recorded Minister
A Recorded Minister was originally a male or female Quaker who was acknowledged to have a gift of spoken ministry.The practice of recording, in a Monthly Meeting Minute, the acknowledgement that a Friend had a gift of spoken ministry began in the 1730s in London Yearly Meeting, according to...
and a prominent citizen of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. He was a philanthropist and ran a pin-making factory which was noted for its good employment practices. He was an advocate of total abstinence
Abstinence
Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical...
and peaceful relations between nations.
Family
He was the son of James and Elizabeth Charleton of Bristol. James died at Ashley Hill, BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, in 1847. After a business training under H. F. Cotterell, a land surveyor at Bath, became the proprietor of a pin manufactory at Kingswood
Kingswood, South Gloucestershire
Kingswood is an urban area in South Gloucestershire, England, bordering the City of Bristol to the west. It is located on both sides of the A420 road, which connects Bristol and Chippenham and which forms the high street through the principal retail zone...
, near Bristol, in 1833, and continued that business until his retirement in 1852. He married, on 13 Dec. 1849, Catherine Brewster, the eldest daughter of Thomas Fox of Ipswich. He died at his residence, Ashley Down, near Bristol, on 5 Dec. 1872.
Pin making
Robert Charleton ran one of the largest factories in East BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, at Two Mile Hill, Kingswood
Kingswood, South Gloucestershire
Kingswood is an urban area in South Gloucestershire, England, bordering the City of Bristol to the west. It is located on both sides of the A420 road, which connects Bristol and Chippenham and which forms the high street through the principal retail zone...
, from 1831 to 1852. It was inspected by Elijah Waring
Elijah Waring
Elijah Waring , was an Anglo-Welsh writer.Born at Alton, Hampshire, Waring was the son of a Jeremiah Waring, and settled in South Wales in about 1810. He founded and English-language periodical, The Cambrian Visitor: a Monthly Miscellany, at Swansea in 1813, and moved to Neath in the following...
, the Sub-Commissioner for South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
, for the Childrens Employment Commission (1840). The report describes the working condition of the workers, and the outworkers.
In 1841 Robert Charleton employed about 110 women and girls and 50 men and boys in the factory. In addition, about 500 women and girl outworkers were employed at heading and sticking. Pin making is a good example of the survival of the pre-industrial system of outwork well into the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
years of factory based industrial organisation.
"Pin-making furnishes employment to a multitude of the poor population; the operation of fixing on the heads being carried on to a great extent by females, in private houses as well as in the manufactories".
He reported that the majority of employees in these two factories were young girls from 14–18 years old; no girls or boys under 12 were employed.
A few boys were employed in drawing and straightening the wire. The boys in Charleton’s factory were all sons of men working in the factory. Some were employed directly by Charleton, others were paid by their fathers.
The Victorians were concerned that working class single women should be respectable. Girls who went out to work were in moral danger and were not being trained in the skills that they would need to become good mothers. To the emerging middle class, pinmaking was seen as suitable occupation for the poor,and suitable for women. Waring describes approvingly Robert Charletons strict moral control and his disciplined work force.
"The girls employed in pin-heading, are accustomed to take a share in the domestic labours of home; and when they become wives and mothers, are considered to fulfill their relative duties very respectably. It is, nevertheless, hardly probable, that they can be, generally, so well qualified for the economy of housekeeping, as girls who have been either in service, or in constant household training".
Attendance at Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
and the ability to read and write were taken as signs of moral respectability.
"The separation between the male and female workpeople, in these pin-manufactories, is perfect; and the proprietors, in both instances, reject any candidates for employment, who cannot bring with them a fair moral character".
Robert Charleton was reported as believing that the women he employed were "respectable", and most of them were "virtuous girls".
Robert Charleton would fine his employees 3d for using foul language, they were permitted to sing but only hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
s.
Robert Charleton built a school for the children of his employees. He was the only employer in the district to do this. There was already provision for the education of the poor in the South Gloucester area at national school
National school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
s, charity schools and Sunday Schools. Two thirds to three quarters of the working class was literate in the early 19th century..
Girls and boys paid 2d a week to attend the school and 1d extra for writing. Both boys and girls did reading, writing and grammar. Girls were taught sewing, and the boys geography and maths. The school rooms accommodated 120 boys and 80 girls. The schools at Kingswood and Oldland Common were mainly dependent on his support and superintendence, also the large British school in Redcross Street, Bristol
Quaker belief and action
As a Quaker he wrote a critique of Barclay's ApologyRobert Barclay
Robert Barclay was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was also governor of the East Jersey colony in North America through most of the 1680s, although he himself never resided in the...
(1868). He was present in as a child at Congénies
Congénies
Congénies is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.It is situated between Nîmes, Montpellier, the Cevennes and the Camargue and has a strong Protestant Quaker history...
in the 1820s. He was a member of the Peace Society
Peace Society
The Peace Society, International Peace Society or London Peace Society originally known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, was a society founded on 14 June 1816 for the promotion of permanent and universal peace; it advocated a gradual, proportionate, and...
and was part of a peace delegation (1854) with Joseph Sturge
Joseph Sturge
Joseph Sturge , son of a farmer in Gloucestershire, was an English Quaker, abolitionist and activist. He founded the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society . He worked throughout his life in Radical political actions supporting pacifism, working-class rights, and the universal emancipation of...
and Henry Pease
Henry Pease
Henry Pease may refer to:* Henry R. Pease , U.S. Senator from Mississippi* Henry Pease , son of railway pioneer, Edward Pease* Henry Pease , Peruvian politician...
that went to St Petersburg to attempt to head off the Crimea War to present an address to the Emperor Nicholas at St. Petersburg against the war. This address was graciously received by the emperor on 10 Feb. (Illust. London News, 4 and 11 March 1854).
Again in 1858, in company with Robert Forster
Robert Forster
Robert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
, he presented to the northern powers of Europe the plea for liberty of conscience issued by the Society of Friends. At the commencement of 1860 he was unanimously recorded by the monthly meeting of Bristol »as an approved minister of the Gospel.«
Henceforth his time was chiefly occupied in lecturing throughout England and Ireland. He was an advocate of the Permissive Bill, and much averse to the Contagious Diseases Acts
Contagious Diseases Acts
The Contagious Diseases Acts were originally passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1864, with further alterations and editions made to it in 1866 and 1869. In 1862, a committee was established to inquire into venereal disease in the armed forces; on its recommendation the first...
.
Temperance
He was involved with the temperance movementTemperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
believing in total abstinence
Abstinence
Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical...
. He was one of the earliest of the advocates of total abstinence. He lectured on that subject in England in 1836, and in 1842 with his friend Samuel Capper in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. At the same time he advocated the doctrines of the Friends, and in 1849 accompanied Capper in his tent-meeting tour in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and the neighbouring counties.
Publications
- Opposition to the War an address, 1855
- A Lecture on the Protestant Reformation in England 1863
- A Brief Memoir of William Forster 1867
- Thoughts on Barclay's Apology 1868: Addressed to the Society of Friends : And Especially to the Members of the Meeting for Sufferings. Bristol [England] : Ackland & Son.
- Thoughts on the Atonement 1869