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Her Majesty Queen Victoria's Visit to Birmingham for The Opening of Aston People's Hall and Park Tuesday 15 June 1858 A transcription from the "Illustrated London News" dated 19 June 1858 Best viewed in 1024x768 resolution with Lucida Calligraphy font installed.
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The visits of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria do not result in mere formal official recognition and frigid courtesies between the Monarch and the local authorities; the Sovereign and the people are brought into direct communion, thus strengthening the old ties and forming new and stronger ones of loyalty and mutual attachment. The throne of our Queen is based, if ever a throne was, upon the affections of her subjects; Her Majesty not only rules over a great nation, she reigns in the hearts of her people and this proud privilege is owing to her ready acquiescence in their desires and her gracious affability in the discharge of her self-imposed duties.
Departure of the Royal cortege from London Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Prince Consort left Buckingham Palace on Monday afternoon. The Queen and Prince were attended by the Duchess of Atholl, Lady in Waiting; the Hon. Horatia Stepford, Maid of Honour in Waiting; Earl Dalawarr, Lord Chamberlain; the Marquis of Abercorn, Groom of the Stole to His Royal Highness; Colonel the Hon. Sir Charles Phipps; Major-General Bouverie and Colonel F. H. Seymour. Her Majesty and His Royal Highness were conducted to their carriage by the Marquis of Exeter, Duke of Beaufort; Viscount Newport, Lord Byron, Lord George Lennox, Mr. R. Ormsby-Gore and Major-General Wylde. The Royal Party quitted the palace at twenty minutes before three o’clock in three of the Queen’s carriages and were escorted by a detachment of the Light Dragoons to the Euston Square terminus of the London and North-Western Railway. Mr. Secretary Walpole met the Queen at the railway station and attended Her Majesty on the journey.
Arrival at Coventry The Royal train, consisting of seven carriages, left the station at Euston Square at three o’clock and, stopping only at Bletchley for a few minutes, arrived at Coventry at half past five, the hour indicated in the time-table. There, an immense concourse of the citizens had stood for hours, exposed to the glare of a burning sun, to catch a sight of the Queen. The station was profusely decorated with banners and evergreens and the platform spread with crimson cloth. As the cortége entered the station, a Royal salute was fired from a battery expressly sent from Weedon for the occasion; the city bells were rung and the crowd raised an enthusiastic cheer. Lord Leigh and Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith , in command of the Midland District, received Her Majesty as she alighted from the carriage. The Marquis of Chandos, Chairman, and Captain Huish, General Manager of the London and North-Western Railway, with several of the directors, accompanied the train conveying the Royal party, which was driven by Mr J. E. M’Connell, superintendent of the locomotive department; Lord Alfred Paget and the Marquis of Stafford occupying places on the engine.
A guard of honour, composed of a hundred men of the 22nd Foot, under the command of Major Sir George Robinson, Captain Monk, Lieutenant Robin and Lieutenant Winthropp, was posted along the front of the platform. A squadron of the 15th Hussars, at present quartered in Coventry, under the command of Captain Stuart, lined the ground leading from the station to the Stoneleigh Road.
The Mayor and Town Council of Coventry were in attendance to present an address to the Queen, accompanied by their sword and mace-bearers who wore their ancient civic costume, which was at once quaint and picturesque. The hat of the swordbearer, which was of crimson velvet, with a most umbrageous brim and profusely ornamented with gold, created quite a sensation among the strangers on the platform previous to the arrival of the Queen. As the Queen was about to enter the station, the Mayor, in the name of the Corporation, presented an address in which they stated that all the female Sovereigns of England had honoured the City of Coventry with their presence.
Visit to Stoneleigh Abbey The ceremony over, the Royal party entered their carriages and proceeded at ordinary travelling pace to Stoneleigh Abbey, between six and seven miles distant, taking the road through Stichall and Bagington; the Stoneleigh troop of Warwickshire Yeomanry Cavalry, under the command of the Hon. Captain C. Leigh, forming the escort. As Her Majesty was leaving the station a large choir, accompanied by some 900 school children, sang the National Anthem and people cheered her vociferously. Stoneleigh Abbey is situated in a spot of peculiar beauty, about three miles from Kenilworth, on a sloping bank of the Avon. The more ancient part of this stately pile, forming three sides of a square, was built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, upon the site of the old abbey but, of the original edifice, little now remains except the groined arches below the present building and the venerable gatehouse, dating as far back as the fourteenth century. It is surrounded by an extensive park adorned with a profusion of venerable oaks and abounding with deer.
On arrival at Stoneleigh, the Royal party were conducted to a magnificent suite of apartments appropriated to their use, upon the arrangement and embellishment of which Lord Leigh had called into requisition all the resources of decorative art. In our last week’s impression, we gave the details of these tasteful decorations, which were devised and executed by Messrs. Moxon of Brook Street, decorators to Her Majesty. In the evening, the front of the old abbey and the portico of the mansion-house beyond, were illuminated and a grand banquet was given at which, in addition to Her Majesty and the Prince Consort and members of her suite, several of the neighbouring nobility and gentry were present. The band of the 2nd Life Guards was stationed in the park and played at intervals during the evening.
Her Majesty’s reception at Birmingham
Her Majesty left the Kenilworth station on Tuesday morning shortly after eleven. The train was signalled at Birmingham a few minutes before twelve and, in two minutes after that hour, the august party were landed upon the platform of the Birmingham station. Her Majesty’s suite consisted chiefly of the personages who had accompanied her to Coventry and Stoneleigh. The guard of honour at this station consisted of a detachment of the 36th Regiment of Foot. A number of Metropolitan and Birmingham police, under the direction of Chief Commissioner Mayne and Mr Stevens, the chief of the Birmingham force, rendered efficient service in preserving the strictest order. For months past, the visit of the Queen has been looked to by all classes of the people at Birmingham with absorbing interest and the most elaborate and costly preparations were made to give it éclat. The whole attendant circumstances throughout the day were auspicious. The weather was delightful. Manufacturing operations in the town and neighbourhood were, for the most part, suspended. The forests of tall chimneys emitted no smoke and, in that respect, her Majesty enjoyed the advantage of seeing the great Industrial capital of the Midland counties under a rather exceptional state of things. For miles around – from the whole of “the black country”, from various parts of Staffordshire, Warwick, Coventry, Manchester, Lichfield, Tamworth and even from the metropolis itself – people came pouring into the town in thousands by excursion trains and it is estimated that a crowd of not less than 500,000 lined the route traversed by the Royal cortége.
On the platform to receive Her Majesty were Lord Hatherton, Mr John Ratcliff, the Lord Mayor and several of the Borough and County magistrates. Among the military officers present were Colonel Hort of the 36th Regiment; Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith, Commandant of the Midland District; Lieutenant-Colonel Shadwell; Colonel Kennedy of the Royal Artillery Company; Colonel Chaytor, Commander of the Royal Engineers; and Captain Swinny. The Mayor of Birmingham appeared for the first time in official robes and was attended by Mr Standbridge the Town Clerk and the Rev J. Spooner, his Chaplain. A Royal salute, fired by the Royal Artillery under the command of Colonel Kennedy, from the waste ground near to the old station of the London and North-Western Company in Curzon Street, announced the arrival of Her Majesty. The distance from the station to Aston Hall is about three miles and the prescribed route lay through many of the best as well as some of the poorest streets. The Queen and the Prince Consort, having entered their carriage and the Royal cortége having been formed, it’s first destination was the Town Hall where Her Majesty was to receive an address from the Corporation. Before leaving the platform, Her Majesty was presented with a beautiful bouquet by the wife of the Mayor. On emerging from the station, under an escort of the 10th Hussars, the cortége entered Queen Street, a half-finished thoroughfare where, the ground being unfavourable for a good view of the pageant, little preparation had been made to give Her Majesty a suitable reception. Matters, however, speedily changed and, as the Queen approached the Market Hall, she was greeted with vehement cheering from the crowd. Proceeding then at a slow pace along Worcester Street, High Street, Bull Street and Colmore Row, all of which were tastefully festooned with flowers and evergreens and where Her Majesty received a most enthusiastic welcome from the crowds assembled along the footpaths and at the open windows, the cortége arrived at the Town Hall; conspicuous above every other subject of note along the route for the costly splendour of it’s interior and exterior decoration, it’s imposing architectural proportions and as being the point at which the interest of the ceremonial may be said to have culminated. Ordinarily a subject of pride to the resident population and of admiration to strangers, art had been called in to aid on this occasion in enhancing it’s intrinsic effect.
In the centre of an arcade in Paradise Street, the spot at which the Queen alighted, an elegant canopy of purple velvet had been erected, surrounded by regal insignia and a profusion of banners. Vases of natural flowers, tastefully arranged; elegant devices in evergreens and words of welcome challenged admiration and sympathy at every point of entrance to the building. On one side of the vestibule, after entering the edifice, a reception-room furnished with consummate taste was specially set apart for Her Majesty and a similar apartment was devoted to the accommodation of the Prince Consort at the opposite side. Passing into the interior of the hall, the first object that caught the eye was a magnificent dais immediately beneath the organ gallery, approached by steps with an elliptical front, over which was a canopy of purple velvet. Three chairs stood upon the dais, the one intended for Her Majesty being covered in gold embroidery on a rich crimson ground. The floor of the hall was laid with a carpet identical in pattern and colour with that of the House of Lords and, above this, up the centre and extending over the dais, was a rich velvet-pile carpet of a crimson and maroon colour. A profusion of exotic plants of great beauty extended from the floor to the orchestra and, from the panels of the enamelled walls, groups of flowers were suspended at intervals. On the floor and in the galleries, upwards of three thousand of the principal inhabitants were present, most of them ladies. Before Her Majesty entered the hall, the official personages present took up the several positions assigned to them. The Aldermen and Town Council arranged themselves on the floor immediately in front of the throne and on each side. In their immediate vicinity were the Earl of Dartmouth, Lord Ward , Lord Calthorpe, Mr Scholefield, MP and Mr Newdegate, MP. At half-past twelve o’clock the Queen entered the hall and, accompanied by the Prince Consort, ascended the dais, attended by the Duchess of Atholl, the Duchess of Sutherland, the Hon Horatio Stopford, Mr Secretary Walpole (who wore the ministerial uniform); the Earl Delawarr, Lord Chamberlain; General Bouverie, the Marquis of Abercorn, Colonel Phipps and Colonel Seymour. Her Majesty wore a grey silk dress with checked flounces, a white bonnet and lace scarf. Lord Leigh, the Lord Lieutenant of Wawickshire, occupied a position immediately on the right of the dais. As Her Majesty entered the building, the assembly rose in a body and the choir, stationed in the gallery, sang the National Anthem. This over, Mr Standbridge, the Town Clerk, presented the address of the Corporation to Her Majesty. The Queen made the following gracious reply:- “I have received, with pleasure, your loyal and dutiful address, expressing your sincere and devoted affection to my person and my throne. It is most gratifying to me to have the opportunity of visiting this ancient and enterprising town, the centre of so much of our manufacturing industry. I trust you may long remain in the full enjoyment of that liberty and security, without which even industry itself must fail to reap it’s appropriate reward. I desire that you will convey to the vast community which you represent, my sincere thanks for theirs cordial welcome, assuring them at the same time of the pleasure I have derived from witnessing the great and increasing prosperity of Birmingham and its neighbourhood.” The Town Clerk then read the address of the Corporation to the Prince Consort and his Royal Highness replied, thanking “the Corporation for their kind and flattering address.” Her Majesty was then pleased to confer the honour of knighthood on Mr Ratcliff, the Mayor.
The Royal Progress To Aston Hall Her Majesty left the hall with the Prince Consort, attended as before and the Royal party started on it’s way to Aston Park, a distance of about two miles and a half, under a cavalry escort composed of a detachment of the 10th Hussars. As the cortége entered New Street, which is by far the finest in the town, the spectacle was extremely animated and picturesque. Crowds of well-dressed people were congregated at all the windows, on the terraces, balconies and on platforms erected for the occasion. From beginning to end, one moving mass of bright-coloured banners fluttered in the breeze. Evergreens and festoons of natural flowers were suspended across the thoroughfare with the most striking effect. Thousands of people were penned in densely-compacted masses behind the street barriers and, as the cavalcade moved along slowly, Her Majesty was greeted with one continued and enthusiastic ovation. Passing on it’s way through Dale End, Stafford Street and Aston Street, the same enthusiasm being everywhere shown, the Royal cortége arrived at Gosta Green, the centre of the locality in which the gun-trade is carried on. There, the operative gunmakers had erected a stately triumphal arch nearly fifty feet in height and as many in width, embodying an artistic display of small arms consisting of groups of swords, sabres, pistols, bayonets and bright ramrods, formed in stars and other devices. The arch was surmounted by the brilliantly painted Royal arms and a grand military trophy composed of the flags of all nations. The words ‘Welcome to our Queen’ were displayed high over all and, from the centre of the arch, a magnificent star descended, some fifteen feet in diameter, composed of muskets and fixed bayonets. The total value of the arms used in this device was estimated at £6000 and the sum expended upon it in decorating other parts of that particular locality was about £600, the greater part of which was subscribed by the operative gunmakers. This arch, designed by Mr W. Scott jun. of Bath Street, was erected under the management of Mr W. Creke of Caroline Street, Birmingham.
On leaving Gosta Green and entering the Aston Road, a very touching spectacle attracted Her Majesty’s notice. Some 40,000 little children of both sexes, belonging to the schools of all denominations of Christians and also to those of the Jews, lined the road for some distance on both sides and, as Her Majesty passed, they sang, in a low, gentle manner:--- ‘Now pray we for our country That England may well be The holy and the happy And the gloriously free'
The Royal cavalcade proceeded along the Aston Road to the boundary of the borough and, from that point, was conducted by the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Warwickshire, attended by a numerous body of county magistrates, to Aston, taking a route along the Lichfield Road. From the Lichfield Road the procession moved along the Park Road to a triumphal arch erected at the entrance to the Grand Avenue. This length of ground - about three-quarters of a mile – was one continuous line of platforms, most of which were decorated with flags and evergreens.
At every point Her Majesty was enthusiastically welcomed. Entering through this arch, the Royal party had, at one glance, a full view of Aston Hall, built upon rising ground, approached by an avenue of elms and Spanish chestnuts, scarcely surpassed in England and surrounded by a landscape at once picturesque and extensive.
The approaches to the old mansion have recently been considerably improved, new roads have been made, galleries capable of holding 4800 persons erected in the Grand Avenue and apparently every imaginable means adopted for securing the comfort and safety of spectators and doing honour to Her Majesty. The view of the hall from the south side is very beautiful. The most prominent feature is the projection in the centre, containing the windows of the chapel and the large ones in the great drawing-room. The garden was formerly laid out in serpentine walks. This arrangement has now given way to straight alleys, the shrubs having been superseded by a verdant lawn and the larger trees thus brought into the prominence for which they were originally designed. These trees comprise a magnificent specimen of the everlasting oak, some hollies and a row of solemn yews. Beyond the garden there is a noble avenue of sycamore trees, rather more than 300 yards in extent. In the centre of the west front is the glass edifice erected by the Park Company, intended for the exhibition of Birmingham manufactures, which already contains some of the choicest specimens of Birmingham productions, both in art and manufacture. Inauguration of the Hall and Park On arriving at the entrance to Aston Hall, Her Majesty was received by Sir Francis Scott, Bart, chairman of the interim managers of the park and conducted, with the Prince Consort, to the dining-room, attended by their suite, where luncheon was served. Subsequently, the Royal party inspected some of the more interesting objects of art and antiquity contained within the building; then repaired to the great gallery, where Sir Francis Scott presented an address to Her Majesty, to which she read the following gracious reply:-- “I sincerely thank you for your loyal assurances of devoted attachment to my throne and person. The improvement of the moral, intellectual and social condition of my people will always command my earnest attention. In opening this hall and park today, I rejoice to have another opportunity of promoting their comfort and innocent recreation.”
The interim managers were severally presented. The presentation over, Her Majesty was conducted to a newly-erected balcony from which was afforded a grand and picturesque view of the park and surrounding country. Upon Her Majesty’s appearance, the band of the Grenadier Guards, together with that of the 2nd Life Guards, which moved from the front, struck up the National Anthem, which was taken up by the various other bands and the united voices of the people.
Here took place the grand and interesting ceremony to perform which Her Majesty condescended to visit the midland metropolis, to inaugurate a splendid park for the people and afford the inhabitants of Birmingham – the Heart of England – an opportunity of testifying their unbounded affection and loyalty towards her throne and person. Standing at the front of the elegantly-decorated balcony, surrounded by her suite and nobility and greeted by the acclamation of the multitude, the Queen was graciously pleased to inaugurate the park, directing Sir Francis Scott, in her name, to declare Aston Hall open to the people. The Royal party were then re-conducted through the gallery and afterwards visited a suite of rooms devoted to the exhibition of works of art. Returning to the hall, the Queen and the Prince Consort, attended as before, took their departure from the hall at half-past three o’clock for Stoneleigh Abbey.
The Royal party travelled by a special train, which they entered from a temporary station at Aston, on the London and North-Western Railway, erected especially for Her Majesty’s accommodation, to save her the necessity of returning through the town of Birmingham. The Mayor of Birmingham – now Sir John Ratcliff – entertained about 500 of the principal inhabitants at a banquet at the Town Hall in the evening. Return of the Royal Cortége to Stoneleigh Abbey On Tuesday evening, after Her Majesty left Aston Hall, she made a détour from the railway station at Kenilworth, on her way to Stoneleigh, through the picturesque ruins of the castle of Kenilworth – a glimpse of which she caught long years since, whilst yet a child.
The dinner party at Stoneleigh consisted of the Earl of Warwick, Lady Mary Fielding and Captain Fielding, the Hon and Rev H. Cholmondeley, the Marquis of Chandos and Viscount Hood. In addition to these were the nobility and gentry staying in the house. A large party of the nobility and gentry resident in the neighbourhood, received invitations for the evening. Portions of the abbey and domain were brilliantly illuminated. On Wednesday morning Her Majesty went over the grounds at Stoneleigh, remarkable for their many natural beauties.
Arrival at Leamington At one o’clock, the Queen took leave of her noble host and hostess and departed for Warwick Castle. Through what a fairytale-like land she passed between Stoneleigh and Leamington! – a fine, undulating country, richly timbered and highly cultivated land fattening into a harvest. At forty-five minutes past one o’clock, the Royal cortége reached the outskirts of Leamington – the Royal Spa, as the inhabitants delight to call it. The inhabitants of Leamington had prepared themselves to give to Her Majesty a hearty reception; a large sum of money was subscribed for suitable decorations and the members of the ruling body corporate, the ‘local board of commissioners’, formed a squadron of horse, as a bodyguard to the Sovereign, from one end to the other of the parish boundary. The people of Leamington were not less zealous in this respect than their rulers. There were house decorations on an extensive scale. These mostly took a floral turn and pretty wreaths and garlands, with thousands of bright flowers interspersed, met the eye. Those who are familiar with the Parade at Leamington may form an idea how picturesque and beautiful it would look with such a form of decoration, the floral display being interspersed with hundreds of flags and banners; and clusters of female beauty at every window, forming one grand parterre of exceeding loveliness. Beneath a well-executed and elaborately-decorated arch at Kenilworth New Road, Her Majesty’s carriage passed and thence proceeded amidst the heartiest of demonstrations, down the Parade. “God bless your Majesty!” shouted the people all along the line as she rode on. The Queen, looking well and greatly pleased, smiled and acknowledged the salutations of her subjects frequently. Through the town and on the road to Warwick Castle, there were exuberant and genuine demonstrations of enthusiasm. Visit to Warwick Castle Along the pleasant and neatly-trimmed old road leading from Leamington to Warwick Castle, the Royal carriage went on its way, accompanied by a military escort composed of Lord Leigh’s troop of yeomanry. The Queen was manifestly much delighted with the superb view of Warwick Castle, obtained from the bridge that spans the Avon, whose pellucid stream rolls at the base of the grand old pile – the habitable apartments of which are more than 200 feet above the river bed. Next to a view of the castle from the bridge by moonlight, nothing could have been finer than the view Her Majesty obtained of the castle on Wednesday. The sun shone forth in midsummer brilliancy, without a cloud so large as a man’s hand in view and, amidst the cheers of her faithful subjects, Queen Victoria drew up in front of the venerable pile. The founder of the original structure, upon the site on which it stands, being the great Alfred’s daughter.
Shortly after two o’clock, the castle gates were swung open and the Queen’s carriage entered; at the moment the Sovereign entered, the Royal standard floated from the far-famed Caesar’s Tower. The preparations made by the Earl of Warwick for the reception were on an extensive scale. In the superb fabric itself, however, centres all interest. In the inspection of the colossal grandeurs of a bygone day contained within the castle walls, Her Majesty must have found many features of special interest and much for contemplation as well as observation. The Queen lunched at the castle; a select party of the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood being invited. Her Majesty left the castle at a quarter before five o’clock and passed through the town of Warwick (handsomely decorated) , receiving another ovation. A large concourse of persons was assembled at the Warwick station. As Her Majesty’s carriage drew up to the platform, she was greeted with many rounds of cheers. As Her Majesty was alighting, the Mayor stepped forward and handed to her the Corporation address, which was graciously received. The gentlemen who compose the Corporation of Warwick appeared before their Sovereign attired in the costume of private gentlemen, a dark blue scarf being the only badge to mark them out as the elect of their fellow citizens. The Queen entered the Royal saloon immediately; but before doing so she shook hands with Lord Warwick and Lord and Lady Leigh. To both she expressed her great pleasure with the reception she had experienced. Her Majesty’s Return to London At fifteen minutes past five, the Queen left for London, amidst enthusiastic cheering as the train ran out of the station. On Her Majesty’s arrival at the Paddington terminus, the Royal party proceeded to Buckingham Palace, escorted by a detachment of the Royal Hussars. The Queen and Prince arrived at the Palace at twenty minutes before eight o’clock. Thus terminated our Sovereign's visit to Warwickshire. Her three-days tour was one grand pageant, of a character to be noteworthy in the historic annals of her glorious reign. 00000000000000000
Home WardoniaWorld Next Page This report was transcribed from the ‘London Illustrated News’ dated 19 June 1858. Best viewed in 1024x768 resolution with Lucida Calligraphy font installed. All Materials on this site are Copyright © 2004 Wardonia Archives Word count: 4526
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