John Hope Shaw 1792 - 1864
John Hope Shaw , Solicitor (1841,61). Attorney (1851). Solicitor in Leeds, Yorks. Twice Mayor of the borough. Widower (1861). 1851 census records him visiting 14 Albion st, Leeds -the Beeston family (marr.) Leeds Town Hall: Laying the foundation stone On 17th August 1853, the foundation stone was laid by John Hope Shaw, the mayor of Leeds, in the presence of a vast crowd, and amid great ceremony and celebration. The members of the Town Council, Magistrates, the Vicar of Leeds, the architect, the town clerk and other officials and dignitaries walked in 'a procession of enormous length' from the Coloured Cloth Hall Yard to the site of the new Town Hall. Alderman Hepper, the chairman of the Town Hall Committee began by asking the Mayor to lay the foundation stone. He presented him with a silver trowel with an ivory handle, and with a mallett made of polished oak with inscribed silver mountings. The mayor assisted by the architect and contractor then laid the first stone at the south west corner of the building. Into a cavity in the foundation stone was placed a sealed bottle containing gold and silver coins, copies of the Leeds Mercury, the Leeds Intelligencer, and the Leeds Times, a list of council members and officials, and a copy on vellum of the inscription on the brass plate which covered the cavity in the stone. The contractor then laid mortar on the stone, the mayor spread the mortar with the silver trowel, and the upper stone was laid upon the foundation stone. The mayor squared and levelled the stone, struck it three times with the mallett, and said: 'Thus and thus and thus, I lay the foundation stone of the new Town Hall of Leeds; and may God prosper the undertaking.' There was applause and cheering from the crowd, and a choir of members of the Motet and Madrigal Society sang a chorus which began: 'A blessing we ask on the work now begun, May it prosper in doing – be useful when done: May the Hall whose foundations thus broadly are laid, Stand a trophy to Freedom – to Peace and to Trade.' There were speeches by the Mayor, Alderman Hepper, Dr. Hook (the vicar of Leeds), Edward Baines, and many others. The Mayor and his guests went on to a banquet at the Albion Street Music Hall. The bands and a crowd of more than 60,000 people joined in festivities on Woodhouse Moor, and the day ended with a display of fireworks. The inscription on the brass plate covering the cavity in the foundation stone read as follows: 'The Corner Stone of this Town Hall, erected by the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Leeds, was laid on the 17th August 1853, in the 16th year of the reign of Queen Victoria , by John Hope Shaw, Esq., Mayor. Building Committee:-Chairman, Alderman william Edward Hepper; Aldermen John Wilson, John Darnton Luccock, William Kelsall, Charles Gascoigne Maclea, Francis Carbutt; Councillors Richard Bissington, John Marshall, George Brook, John Ardill, David Newton, Joshua Garsed Heaps, Joseph Broadhead, John Croysdale, William Kettlewell, James Smith, Robert Wood, Robert Meek Carter, William Illingworth, John Lister, George Skirrow Beecroft, Robert White. Town Clerk:-John Arthur Ikin. Architect:- Cuthbert Brodrick.' ----------- http://www.threealbionplace.co.uk/history The decision to establish the Leeds Club was originally taken at a meeting in March 1849, chaired by Liberal Alderman John Hope Shaw, a solicitor and the then Mayor of the Borough. Interestingly, given the previous existence of the reservoir in Albion Place, it was Hope Shaw who had the original vision of developing holding reservoirs in the Washburn Valley to supply the citizens of Leeds with potable water. The Club originally took premises within the Stock Exchange building but soon took a lease on Mr Martin's houses and took up occupation of the properties in 1852. Interestingly, one of the tenants then displaced was the young George Corson, the architect of the Leeds Grand Theatre. Nine years later, in 1861, the Club bought the premises for £5,300 and began the lengthy task of considering how best to improve them. Numerous schemes were submitted by eminent Leeds architects including Cuthbert Broderick, who later designed the Leeds Town Hall. None of these schemes were adopted and there is a curious suggestion in the Club's minutes that the scheme submitted by the Club's steward was eventually accepted! Certainly a mortgage of £9,000 was raised on the security of the building - around £500,000 at today's prices - and the work was supervised by Thomas Ambler, the architect who designed St Paul's House in Park Square for Sir John Barran. Included in the work to unify the two houses was the remodelling of the frontage to create a single entrance. At the Club's AGM in January 1864 the alterations were reported complete to the general satisfaction of members. The minute adds: "the labours have been great and the result of them has provided one of the best Club houses in the country." That still remains the case. The entrance fee in the 1860s was 5 guineas and the annual subscription 20 guineas - some £300 and £1,200 respectively today! It was certainly an exclusive Club. -------------- Transcript of the entry of "professions and trades" Attorneys Shaw John Hope, 14 Albion st ------------- for LEEDS in Pigot's Directory of 1834.
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| Born: Otley, Yorkshire, England 1792 | Baptised: Otley, Yorkshire, England 10th Oct 1792
| | Died: 1864 | Buried:
| | Family: Shaw of Otley, Yorkshire |
Spouses
1. Dewsbury, Yorkshire, , 1840
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Timeline
| 1792 | Born (birth) Otley, Yorkshire, England | | 10th Oct 1792 | Baptised (baptism) Otley, Yorkshire, England | | 25th Mar 1832 | Became an heir of Dr. James Shaw
(Biggin ) 1763 - 1837 (will) | | 1840 | Married (marriage) Dewsbury, Yorkshire | | 1841 | Head of household in 1841 census (census) Headingley, Yorks., England | | 1861 | Head of household in 1861 census (census) Headingley, Yorks., England | | 1864 | Died (death) |
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