VIVIAN, Henry Hussey (1821-1894), of Park Wern, Swansea, Glamorgan and 5 Upper Belgrave Street, London.

‘Dark of complexion, robust and good looking’ with ‘a chivalrous carriage and a distingué air’, Vivian was a prominent Swansea industrialist who followed in his father’s footsteps as a long-serving Liberal MP.1‘Extracts from the diary of Benjamin Moran, 1860-1868’, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society (1915), xlviii. 439; Western Mail, 18 May 1882. Although he was first returned in 1852, it was in the 1860s that he found his feet in Parliament, where he was an increasingly well-respected contributor to debate, particularly on his pet topics of coal mining and army ordnance. Vivian’s grandfather, John (1750-1826), from a well-established Cornish family, was a leading Cornish copper mine owner, agent and financier who had come to Swansea in 1800 as managing partner at the Penclawdd copper works, where Vivian’s father, John Henry (1785-1855) became manager in 1806. In 1809 Vivian’s grandfather, father and uncle, Richard Hussey Vivian (1775-1842), founded the Hafod copper works near Swansea, and Vivian and Sons became one of Europe’s leading copper smelters, largely due to the efforts of Vivian’s father.2A. Stewart, Family tapestry (1961), 116; E. Newell, ‘Vivian, John Henry’, Oxf. DNB [www.oxforddnb.com]; B. Morris, The houses of Singleton (1995), 14. Richard Hussey Vivian was occupied with his military and subsequently his political career: he served as MP for Truro 1820-6, 1832-5, Windsor 1826-31, East Cornwall 1837-41. In the 1830s the firm purchased additional copper works at Margam, and diversified into zinc smelting, shipping and collieries, supplying coal to their works and elsewhere.3Newell, ‘Vivian, John Henry’. For a detailed business history, see R. Toomey, Vivian and Sons, 1809-1924. A study of the firm in the copper and related industries (1985). Born at Singleton, near Swansea, and educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he was an early photography enthusiast,4Venn, Alum. Cantab., vi. 296. Vivian studied metallurgy in Germany and France. He entered the family firm in 1842, managing its Liverpool branch, and was manager of the Hafod works from 1845.5W.R. Williams, rev. E. Newell, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’, Oxf. DNB [www.oxforddnb.com]. In France he shared lodgings with Friedrich Engels for a time. He also played a key part in the development of Morfa colliery.6Toomey, Vivian and Sons, 241.

Vivian married in 1847, but his wife died the following year, shortly after their son’s birth, and the Vivians erected St. Paul’s Church, Sketty, in her memory.7Morris, Houses of Singleton, 66, 77. Vivian was patron of the living of this church, which was consecrated in 1850: The private patronage of the Church of England (1855), 125. On his first marriage, Vivian’s father had given him Veranda, near Swansea, which cost £5,000, but he did not wish to live there after his wife’s death. They were also generous benefactors to local schools.8Stewart, Family tapestry, 127. Vivian remarried in 1853, and moved to Park Wern, near Swansea, which his father purchased for him for £6,000.9Park Wern was extensively remodelled by the Guildford architect Henry Woodyer, and Vivian lived there until 1886, when he moved to Singleton Abbey following his mother’s death: Morris, Houses of Singleton, 69, 76-7, 82. When his father died in 1855, Vivian assumed control of the business, with two of his brothers taking lesser roles.10Toomey, Vivian and Sons, 246. A ‘great and successful practical metallurgist’11The Times, 26 June 1866., Vivian played a leading role in Swansea’s continued industrial growth, and was also involved with other local projects such as the Briton Ferry Floating Dock Company.12The Times, 5 Mar. 1858. He took out several patents, expanded the business to include the extraction of gold (1850) and silver (1856) from copper ores, and was a pioneer in nickel and cobalt smelting (1856).13Williams, rev. Newell, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’; The Biograph and Review (1881), v. 133. His installation of Gerstenhofer furnaces from 1864 allowed sulphurous fumes to be removed from copper smoke, diminishing pollution and generating a by-product which could be used to manufacture fertiliser, and his efforts ‘in abating the nuisance of the copper smoke’ were praised.14R. Rees, King Copper: South Wales and the copper trade 1584-1895 (2000), 130; The Times, 13 Sept. 1865. In 1865 the firm’s capital assets were calculated at just over £1,000,000, and its diversification into other metals helped it ‘to ride out the depression in the copper trade in the early 1870s’.15Toomey, Vivian and Sons, 189, 422.

Vivian had meanwhile joined his father, member for Swansea, 1832-55, in the Commons in 1852. He had considered contesting Glamorgan’s second seat that year, but analysis of the registers suggested that his chances were ‘almost hopeless’.16J. Evans to Sir J. Guest, 8 Apr. 1852; D.W. James to Lady C. Guest, 9 Apr. 1852, M. Elsas (ed.), Iron in the making. Dowlais iron company letters 1782-1860 (1960), 229. He turned instead to Cornwall, where the Vivians carried out £500,000 of trade annually with the copper mines, initially accepting a requisition to stand at St. Ives.17Royal Cornwall Gazette, 14 May 1852; Morning Chronicle, 7 June 1852, 10 July 1852. His election address emphasised his local family and business connections, and advocated free trade, franchise extension, the ballot and relief of religious grievances, although he was himself an Anglican.18Royal Cornwall Gazette, 18 June 1852. However, after visiting Truro, where his uncle, Richard Hussey Vivian, had sat from 1820-6 and 1832-5, he offered instead for the second seat there on a similar platform, securing the endorsement of the outgoing Liberal member, Humphrey Williams.19Royal Cornwall Gazette, 18 June 1852, 25 June 1852, 16 July 1852; Morning Chronicle, 10 July 1852. Returned at the head of the poll, he declared that ‘he owed the honour of his election to his grandfather, and not to any merit of his own’.20Royal Cornwall Gazette, 16 July 1852.

When present at Westminster Vivian divided routinely with the Liberals, and backed free trade, the ballot, the Maynooth grant, removal of Jewish disabilities and abolition of church rates. He supported Palmerston on Cobden’s motion of censure on Canton, 3 Mar. 1857. He was not a particularly assiduous attender, however, voting in 50 out of 257 divisions in the 1853 session, and 62 out of 198 in 1856.21Daily News, 21 Sept. 1853; J.P. Gassiott, Third letter to J.A. Roebuck: with a full analysis of the divisions in the House of Commons during the last session of Parliament (1857), 3. His technical expertise – he had testified regarding his experiments on colliery ventilation before an 1849 Lords committee22PP 1849 (613), vii. 12. – proved useful when he sat on the 1853 and 1854 Commons’ inquiries into colliery accidents, and he also served on the 1856 committee on the rating of mines.23PP 1852-53 (691), xx. 1; PP 1852-53 (740), xx. 179; PP 1852-53 (820), xx. 279; PP 1854 (258), ix. 63; PP 1854 (325), ix. 219; PP 1856 (346), xvi. 1. On the hustings, Vivian had hoped that he would overcome ‘his natural shyness’ to speak at Westminster in support of the ballot, but his contributions to debate in this Parliament were limited.24Royal Cornwall Gazette, 16 July 1852. He spoke on Disraeli’s budget, 10 Dec. 1852, welcoming remission of tea duty and concessions to the shipping interest, but opposing extension of the house and income taxes.25Vivian divided against the budget, 16 Dec. 1852. He supported proposals to extend jurisdiction of the Stannaries Courts to Devon, 7 Feb. 1854, but withdrew an amendment to the partnership amendment bill, 9 July 1855.

Liberal registration gains made Glamorgan a more attractive prospect in 1857, and Vivian began his bid for the second seat when the sitting Conservative announced his intention to retire at the dissolution. His address advocated abolition of church rates, and of all legislative distinctions on religious grounds. He reiterated his support for the ballot and free trade, and supported promotion by merit in the civil service and reform of military administration, believing that many of the army’s problems in the Crimea could ‘be traced to a servile adherence to effete routine’.26The Times, 16 Aug. 1856. Campaigning alongside the long-serving Liberal incumbent, Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, with whom he shared a passion for yachting, Vivian secured second place, defeating the lone Conservative.27Hunt’s yachting magazine (1857), vi. 389. He again divided consistently with the Liberals. He supported abolition of the property qualification, 10 June 1857, and extension of the county franchise, 10 June 1858, and opposed the Derby ministry’s reform bill, 31 Mar. 1859. He sat once more on the committee on rating of mines, which recommended that if rating were applied to collieries, other mines should also be rated.28PP 1857 sess. 2 (241), xi. 533. He also served on the Rochdale election petition committee.29PP 1857 sess. 2 (185), viii. 333. In a rare contribution to debate at this stage in his career, he unsuccessfully supported a motion for separate places of registry for Glamorgan and Monmouth under the probates and letters of administration bill, 10 July 1857.

Vivian and Talbot were not troubled by a contest in 1859 or 1865. At the former election, Vivian attacked the proposed disfranchisement of those voters who ‘by industry and frugality’ had qualified for borough as well as county votes. He suggested that the ‘fancy franchise’ for savings bank depositors should apply to similar investments, and advocated redistribution of seats.30The Times, 11 Apr. 1859; Daily News, 11 Apr. 1859. He continued to divide consistently for electoral reform and abolition of church rates and university tests. His third and fourth Parliaments saw him come into his own as a parliamentarian, contributing more frequently to debate, and serving on numerous committees.31In addition to those select committees mentioned in the main text, Vivian served on the 1865 inquiry into the lord chancellor’s conduct regarding appointments in the Leeds bankruptcy court: PP 1865 (397), ix. 413. He was consulted by ministers on questions ranging from coal-mining to electoral corruption, and has been highlighted as ‘a good example of how a backbench MP could make a real contribution to the business of government by drawing on his local knowledge’.32M. Cragoe, Culture, politics, and national identity in Wales 1832-1886 (2004), 254-5. With ‘a strong, sonorous... voice’, he increasingly used his technical background to make well-informed speeches.33Western Mail, 18 May 1882. He took a particular interest in the supply of rifles and guns to the army, perhaps influenced by his uncle Richard Hussey Vivian’s position as master-general of the ordnance, 1835-41, and by his own involvement with the militia.34A family history by Vivian’s granddaughter suggested that Vivian also had military experience as a volunteer alongside Garibaldi in Italy in 1859, but no further evidence has been found to corroborate this: Stewart, Family tapestry, 138. (His shooting prowess was such that in 1861 he was a favourite in the annual summer pigeon-shooting handicap held at Hornsey Wood House.35The Times, 29 June 1861. Vivian did not, however, win this contest.) Having asked questions on weaponry in the previous three sessions, Vivian moved for an inquiry into whether a better weapon than the Enfield rifle could be provided for the army, but withdrew his motion following Palmerston’s assurance that the matter was in hand, 25 June 1861.36See his questions of 8 July 1858, 19 July 1859, 20 July 1860, and also his correspondence to The Times on the merits of the French frigate La Gloire: The Times, 30 Nov. 1860. He sat on the select committee on ordnance in 1862 and 1863, and pursued the issue thereafter, regretting that ‘during the past few years serious mistakes had been made, both as regarded small arms and ordnance’, 2 June 1865.37PP 1862 (448), vi. 111; PP 1863 (487), xi. 1. He supported Palmerston’s fortifications and works bill, arguing that economy in this respect was ‘a penny-wise and pound-foolish policy’, 23 June 1862.

Vivian’s other main interest was coal-mining, on which George Bentinck suggested that he ‘might fairly be considered an authority’.38Hansard, 9 Mar. 1860, vol. 157, c. 273. He dismissed concerns about Britain’s reserves of coal with a sanguine assessment of the extent of the south Wales coalfield, arguing that it alone contained 500 years’ supply, 9 Mar. 1860. An American observer recorded that ‘altho’ he hesitated in his speech the substance of his remarks was most practical and useful’.39‘Extracts from the diary of Benjamin Moran’, 439. Vivian subsequently published this speech as a pamphlet: H.H. Vivian, Speech on the debate which arose in the House of Commons upon the coal question... (1861). Following Professor Jevons’ rather more pessimistic assessment in 1865, which provoked national alarm, Vivian secured the appointment of a royal commission to investigate the extent of the coal supply, in a three-hour speech praised by Gladstone as ‘interesting and able’, 12 June 1866.40The Times, 26 June 1866; The Biograph, and Review (1881), 134. Vivian also published this speech: H.H. Vivian, Speech of H. Hussey Vivian, Esq., M.P., F.G.S., on the coal question... (1866). He served on this exhaustive inquiry, which reported in 1871 in a rather less optimistic vein than Vivian’s earlier predictions.41PP 1871 [C.435], xviii. 1ff. It found that, if rates of consumption increased as anticipated, Britain could have as little as 276 years’ supply (although as much as 1,273 years’ supply if consumption remained static). He made several contributions on the mines regulation and inspection bill, objecting unsuccessfully to its compulsory education clauses, 13 June 1860, and moving successfully that the measure be permanent, 3 July 1860. He served on committees on mines in 1865, 1866 and 1867, the last of which made recommendations on child labour, safety improvements and wages, and voiced his hopes that ministers would legislate accordingly, 12 June 1868.42PP 1865 (398), xii. 605; PP 1866 (431), xiv. 1; PP 1867 (496), xiii. 1. The recommendations included completely prohibiting the employment of boys under 12, restricting boys under 16 to a 12 hour day, banning deductions from wages for the cost of timber props, and increasing the number of inspectors. Outside Parliament he chaired the relief fund following the 1867 Ferndale colliery disaster, personally contributing £100.43The Times, 30 Nov. 1867.

Vivian’s position as an active and useful backbencher was reinforced by his contributions on a variety of other subjects. He was on occasion an advocate for manufacturers’ interests, opposing the salmon and trout fisheries bill, which he feared would damage ‘the great commercial interests of the country for the sake of preserving a few fish’, 11 July 1861, and proposing amendments to the alkali works regulation bill, 19 June 1863. He advised on metallurgy and mining for the 1862 Exhibition, and on British involvement in the 1867 Paris Exhibition.44The Times, 30 July 1861; London Gazette, 2 May 1865. He also spoke on matters ranging from scrap metal dealing, 4 July 1860, to the cattle plague bill, where he successfully moved to lift certain restrictions on livestock movements, 19 Feb. 1866. Having chaired the Reigate and Galway election petition committees, he advocated the permanent disfranchisement of venal voters, but withdrew his motion after a heated debate, 29 May 1866.45PP 1866 (274), x. 341; PP 1866 (191), xi. 293. The previous day he had argued against amending the bribery laws as part of the Liberal reform bill, fearing that it would jeopardise that measure’s progress. In June 1866 he was among those who advised Gladstone against dissolving over reform, as ‘nothing could be more fatal to our own party’.46H.H. Vivian to W.E. Gladstone, 25 June 1866, BL, Add. MSS 44411, cited in F.B. Smith, The making of the Second Reform Bill (1966), 117. His keenness to see reform pass may explain his vote against Gladstone on the crucial question of personal payment of rates, 12 Apr. 1867.47Smith, Making of the Second Reform Bill, 182. Although Smith suggests that Vivian was among the ‘wild radicals’, he is classified by Dod as a straightforward Liberal: Dod’s parliamentary companion (1857), 295. He secured Disraeli’s agreement to lower the leasehold franchise to £5, 23 May 1867, but his proposal that leaseholders should be entitled to a county vote was defeated by 230 votes to 256, 24 June 1867. He spoke in support of the disfranchisement of Totnes, Yarmouth, Lancaster and Reigate, 30 May 1867, and divided for disfranchisement of small boroughs, 3 June 1867, but opposed female enfranchisement, 20 May 1867. He voted with Gladstone on the Irish church, 3 Apr. 1868.

Vivian was re-elected unopposed in 1868, the year in which his second wife died, having been an invalid since the birth of their son.48Stewart, Family tapestry, 137. He remarried in 1870, and had six more children, the youngest of whom, twin girls born in 1883, had the Prince and Princess of Wales as their godparents.49Stewart, Family tapestry, 145. Still prominent in Swansea’s public life, and an active and well-respected parliamentarian, he pursued his interest in coal-mining, and took up the cause of Welsh higher education.50The Times, 30 Nov. 1894; G. Roderick, ‘An English champion of Welsh education’, National Library of Wales Journal (1993-4), xxviii. 285-90. One assessment of Vivian in 1882 recorded that he had ‘dined complacently, and voted consistently, and so has kept on friendly terms alike with his stomach and his conscience’, and regarded him as an exponent of ‘sturdy, old-fashioned Whiggism’: Western Mail, 18 May 1882. He was re-elected in 1874 and 1880, and received a baronetcy at Gladstone’s behest in 1882.51Williams, rev. Newell, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’. There had been rumours of a baronetcy in 1866, which did not materialise: Morning Post, 31 Jan. 1866. Following redistribution in 1885 he was returned for Swansea district, where he was re-elected as a Liberal Unionist in 1886, but rejoined the Gladstonian Liberal fold thereafter.52His disagreement with Gladstone over home rule apparently prevented him accepting the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancaster, but their relations were cordial once more when Gladstone stayed at Singleton on a visit to South Wales in 1887: Williams, rev. Newell, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’; R. Shannon, Gladstone: heroic minister 1865-1898 (1999), 465. His services to Swansea were such that he was accorded the rather unusual honour of having a statue erected there during his lifetime (in 1886), and he became first chairman of Glamorgan county council in 1889.53http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/images/nrpAH/AHSWANSEA0022.jpg; http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/flarge.php?uid=67864&sos=0. The statue is still in Swansea, although it has been moved from its original location. Re-elected in 1892 he was elevated to the Lords – which he found ‘a silent, cold assemblage’ – as baron Swansea the following year.54Stewart, Family tapestry, 203. Vivian denied rumours that pecuniary considerations influenced the granting of this honour: Toomey, Vivian and Sons, 244. Outside Parliament, Vivian in later years devoted less time to business and more to leisure, shooting in Scotland, yachting and stock-breeding cattle, which may have contributed to the firm’s decline from the 1890s, although increasing international competition was also a factor.55Williams, rev. E. Newell, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’. Vivian had also set up his own firm, H.H. Vivian & Sons, independent of his brothers, in 1883: Toomey, Vivian & Sons, 190.

Having suffered from throat problems for some time, Vivian died suddenly of heart failure in November 1894 at Singleton (where he had lived since 1886), shortly after returning from a trip to Canada.56Stewart, Family tapestry, 179, 191; Manchester Times, 30 Nov. 1894; The Times, 30 Nov. 1894. His estate was valued at £215,032 17s. 11d.57Williams, rev. E. Newell, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’. His eldest son, Ernest Ambrose (1848-1922), who succeeded as 2^nd baron Swansea, created ‘a profound sensation’ by refusing to attend his father’s funeral at Sketty when he learned that his stepmother had been left lifetime use of Singleton, before it passed to him.58Williams, rev. Newell, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’; Wrexham Advertiser, 8 Dec. 1894. There had apparently been a family rift three years previously. Vivian’s widow also inherited his London house, and his three younger sons received other properties. Vivian’s daughters received £10,000 each, and all four sons inherited shares in the family business.59The Times, 27 Mar. 1895 Neither John Aubrey (1854-1898) nor Henry Hussey (1873-1898) survived their father long, and none of Vivian’s sons followed him into the Commons.60The Times, 2 Mar. 1898, 16 Dec. 1898. His youngest son, Odo Richard (1875-1934), who unlike Ernest was actively involved in the family business, served on Swansea council, 1898-1913, and succeeded as 3^rd baron Swansea in 1922.61Toomey, Vivian and Sons, 253-4. The Vivian family papers are located in the National Library of Wales, and Swansea University holds papers relating to the Singleton estate, which was sold to Swansea Council in 1920, and now forms the nucleus of Swansea University.62http://www.archiveswales.org.uk/anw/get_collection.php?coll_id=20265&inst_id=1&term=Vivian%20%7C%20H.%20Hussey%20%28Henry%20Hussey%29%20%7C%201821-1894%20%7C%20Lord%20Swansea; http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=F9274; Morris, Houses of Singleton, 25, 145; W.L. Davies, ‘Vivian, Henry Hussey’, Welsh Biography Online [http://yba.llgc.org.uk/en/s-VIVI-HUS-1821.html]. On the Vivians’ social role in Swansea, see L.A. Cook, ‘An examination of the social impact of the Vivians on Swansea, 1809-1894’ (PhD, University of the West of England, 1997). In addition to his father and uncle, two of Vivian’s first cousins served as MPs for Cornish constituencies during this period, Charles Crespigny Vivian and John Cranch Walker Vivian, while his brother Arthur Pendarves Vivian represented West Cornwall from 1868.63Charles Crespigny Vivian and John Cranch Walker Vivian were both the sons of Richard Hussey Vivian. Two of Vivian’s fathers-in-law were MPs, as was his brother-in-law, Hugh Arthur Henry Cholmeley. His maternal uncle, Arthur Jones, was clerk of public bills in the Commons, 1853-63.64The Times, 30 Dec. 1863; http://www.portcullis.parliament.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Persons&dsqSearch=Code==’652’&dsqCmd=Show.tcl