Matthew Towgood
Matthew Towgood IV | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date |
| Died | January 1, 1831 (aged 69) |
| Occupation(s) | Industrialist, banker, papermaker |
| Known for | Proprietor of paper mill near St Neots; financial backing of Fourdrinier paper-making machinery |
Matthew Towgood IV (17 December 1761 – 1 January 1831) was an English industrialist, banker, and papermaker. Around 1808, he became the proprietor of a paper mill located near St Neots in what was then Huntingdonshire.
Early years
Born on 17 December 1761, Matthew Towgood IV was the son of Matthew Towgood III.
Career in banking
Towgood provided financial backing to Henry Fourdrinier, lending capital to Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier for the advancement of paper-making machinery. Subsequently, he joined as a partner in Bloxham & Fourdrinier, likely following a loan from Langston, Towgood & Co. The Fourdrinier debts accumulated to between £50,000 and £60,000. In 1811, Langston, Towgood & Co. merged with the Rogers family bank, forming Rogers, Towgood & Co.
Overview of Bloxham & Fourdrinier
Bloxham & Fourdrinier operated chiefly as wholesale stationers on Lombard Street, London, co-founded by Matthew Bloxam, who later became an MP and received a knighthood. The Fourdrinier family descended from Paul Fourdrinier (d. 1758). Matthew Bloxam began his career as a stationer apprentice in 1759 and partnered with Sanderson, Harrison, and John Brenchley at the Southwark Bank starting in 1791. By 1794, the banking group Wilkinson, Polhill, Pinhorn and Bulcock joined the partnership. The bank relocated to Gracechurch Street in 1802.
William Bloxham (c.1780–1869), Matthew’s son, exited the stationery firm in 1803 and married Ann Burnett, daughter of distiller Sir Robert Burnett of Vauxhall. He made his home at Moditonham House in Cornwall. By 1805, the bank operated under the name Sir Matthew Bloxham, Wilkinson, Taylor and Bloxham. The institution was known for its poor management and ultimately collapsed in 1809.
Fate of Fourdrinier enterprises
Facing financial difficulties, the Fourdriniers transferred their interest in a paper mill at St Neots—purchased in 1807—to Towgood. Although John Gamble was nominally listed as owner of the mill, Towgood sought to challenge Gamble’s claim. Both Towgood and Matthew Towgood V entered into partnership; however, Matthew IV soon withdrew. In 1811, the partnership managing the stationery business on Sherborne Lane in the City of London—consisting of Henry and Charles Fourdrinier, Matthew Towgood V, J. B. Hunt, W. Abbott, and F. Morse—was dissolved. During this time, Matthew Bloxham kept some involvement through Bryan Donkin.
The partnership between Gamble and Matthew Towgood V ended in 1811. Gamble later blamed his financial losses related to one of the two existing paper machines on its omission from the partnership agreement and his insufficient liquidity to acquire a stake.
Development of paper mill
Towgood’s acquisition of the paper mill marked his departure from banking activities. The mill became both profitable and innovative; for instance, it incorporated the dandy roll for watermarking in 1827, supplied by John Marshall of London.
Death
Towgood passed away on 1 January 1831 at Little Paxton in Huntingdonshire and was interred at St James Church there.
Family
Towgood married twice and fathered twenty-four children. His first wife was Margaret Moore (m. 1784), who died in 1803. He remarried Ann Gibson in 1804. During this period, he engaged Humphry Repton to design landscaping for New Barnes estate. By 1823, he leased Riversfield near his paper mill at Little Paxton.
Prominent sons include:
- Matthew Towgood V wed Maria Frances Witherington in 1827; by the mid-1820s his Dartford paper mill had become a key supplier to Cambridge University Press.
- Joseph Towgood (1810–1858), educated at Elizabeth College in Guernsey, rose to lieutenant-colonel in the 35th Regiment Bengal Native Infantry; his daughter Emma Rosaline married her cousin Arthur Towgood.
- Edward Towgood married Sarah Bischoff in 1830; their daughter Marian later married Thomas Wolryche Stansfeld.
- Frederick Towgood (1807–1860), known as a writer and reform advocate promoting phrenology, temperance, and vegetarianism; he retired from the family paper business in 1856 and was succeeded by his brother Alfred.
Following Towgood’s death in 1831, Edward assumed control of the St Neots mill alongside Frederick; Alfred replaced Frederick later on and managed operations until lease expiration and his death in 1888 ended family ownership. Robert Louis Towgood (1865–1942), Alfred’s son, served as director of Towgood & Beckwith—a paper manufacturing company formed in 1902 through merging Robert’s Arborfield Mills (Helpston) with Arthur Beckwith’s Usk Paper Works (Crickhowell).
Daughters included:
- Ellen, who married Hamer Stansfeld, Mayor of Leeds (1843).
- Catherine, who became wife to Francis Wansey of Arborfield in 1850.