William Armstrong the Elder

Some observances on the life of the father of the famous industrialist, William Armstrong, also called William, taken from The Early History of Elswick by Alfred Cochrane, being a transcript of a lecture given by him in 1909:

"He was the son of a Cumberland man, William Armstrong, who migrated from a village near Carlisle at the end of the eighteenth century, and established himself as a corn merchant in Cowgate, in Newcastle. Mr William Armstrong, the elder, seems to have enjoyed a moderately successful business career. I have seen it stated that he became very rich, but I find it difficult to establish this, and I do not make out that when his son started these works [the famous Elswick works] he succeeded in inducing his father to put any money into the enterprise. In fact, the son does not appear to have inherited his inventive powers from the father, for the elder Mr Armstrong was not at all receptive to new ideas. Like many of his contemporaries he regarded the changes and novelties of the age with dislike and apprehension. In 1824, when a question arose of making a railway to Carlisle, he spoke at a public meeting in opposition to the proposal, and made a long speech, ably and argumentatively showing the advantages a canal would possess over a railway. Fortunately his persuasiveness was ineffectual, for it would hardly suit us today to be pulled in barges from Newcastle to Carlisle. He stood and was defeated for the Mayoralty for 1850, the year when Queen Victoria opened the Central Station, but was elected for 1851. He died, aged 79, in June 1857, when his son and his son's works were already famous.

"Socially, Mr Armstrong, senior, who was a man of some culture and learning, was much liked, and had a considerable circle of friends .... Mr Armstrong's family consisted of a daughter, born in 1800, and a son, William George, born in December 1810. The son was a rather delicate child, who early displayed an enquiring and ingenious turn of mind. He is said to have been anxious to know how his toys were made, and to have devised small and simple mechanical contrivances ...."

[It should be pointed out that William Armstrong Snr married his wife, Ann Potter, of Walbottle Hall, in 1801, and their daughter, also called Ann, was born in 1802, and not as stated above]