Two Entrepreneurs Who Made Penarth Their Home (Part 2)
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
TWO ENTREPRENEURS WHO MADE PENARTH THEIR HOME (Part 2)
In Part 1, I presented a biography of John Kyte Collett (1836 – 1933). He was originally from Shepton Mallett and had established his first business at the age of 17 with his widowed mother as a grocer in Bute Town. He was to become a millionaire, philanthropist and general ideas man. Also in Part 1, his cousin (also from Shepton Mallet) was introduced. Under JKC’s patronage he developed a number of notable edifices in and around Penarth.
By the time JKC was in his late 70s, and having largely retired from business, he turned his energies to addressing issues of the day and bringing his views to the great and the good. Thankfully the Cathays Heritage Library has a treasure trove of his legacy which he had reproduced mostly octavo size pamphlets with tiny print, price one penny from all good booksellers, stationers, etc!
His writing style was flowery, obsequious when addressing his “betters”, cross referenced to the Scriptures on many occasions and never using one word when three would suffice. Here is selection of some of his missives and ideas.
“A Suggested Transfiguration of (Cardiff’s) Temperance Town and Another Site for the Town Hall” In late 1890 a hotly debated topic at that time was a suitable location for a new town hall. In March 1897 the “Western Mail” suggested reusing part of the area then occupied by Temperance Town. This was a densely packed urbanisation of 6 streets of 280 houses where the new BBC building now stands. Collett’s scheme was to clear all and as well as the town hall there would be public gardens, an art school and gallery.
“Solving the Land Problem by doing Justly to One and All thus that Whole Community will be Greatly Enriched” An Open Letter to Prime Minister David Lloyd George with a Christian and non-partisan solution. The “land problem” had been around since the Enclosures of the 1750s and in view of the housing crisis is still relevant today. When D Ll G was dismissive of his views he followed up with missives to Walter Long MP, who had long been at odds with D Ll G, and A Bonar Law MP the leader of the Opposition. (5,000 words + 3 pages of calculations).
When all of that failed to get him any credence, he then wrote an open letter to His Majesty the King on the subject of “An Empire without taxes but at the same time paying for the War and paying off the National Debt without expense to anyone” (9.200 words + 5 pages of calculations).
“Supplement to Solving the Land Problem etc and Abolish all Taxes etc thus wisely generating an Income of £137,493, 576” (18 pages of Calculations)
“Duke Street, Cardiff. How to Widen it at Little or no Cost” An Open Letter to the City Engineer and Aldermen. At that time there was a row of buildings on the north side of Duke Street abutting the castle walls. (2,500 Words 1-5-1914)
“An Unwritten Chapter of Cardiff’s History”
Addressed to The Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors. The Unwritten History was about schemes being considered by the Great Western and Taff Vale Railway Companies to raise the level of their respective Permanent Ways by “several feet” to avoid the dips in the highways under their bridges. 21-04-1914 (6,400 Words)
“What Shall we Drink and Under What Conditions? An appeal to distillers, brewers, hotel proprietors, licensed victuallers, restaurant-keepers, etc and to moderate drinkers and teetotallers. With a view to the protection of the liberty of the individual to consume where, when, and what he chooses. Subject to the due regard being paid to the rights, happiness, and prosperity of the community as a whole”(4,000)
The foregoing words are the title of a pamphlet (price 1 penny) published in May 1915, but drawing on JKC’s observations over many decades railing against alcohol, he being a lifelong teetotaller. In the event strict controls on its consumption were introduced soon afterwards as a war time measure.
“An Appeal to Parliament, the Pulpit and the People: How housing and land problems can be solved coupled with replacement of deprecated currency notes by others of more value as money tokens than gold sovereigns”. In essence, his scheme involved borrowing money at 3.25% interest and then loaning it out at 4%, such that by the year 2000 the government would have accrued a profit of £137,493,576.
And now more about his nephew Fredrick Speed. He was also a native of Shepton Mallett; born in 1846. In Part 1 we read that he lived in Cardiff in the early 1870s but in the mid 1880s JKC enticed him back to exploit the potential for Penarth’s development after its connection to the Taff Vale Railway.
FS was to be the driving force behind the development of some of Penarth’s most notable buildings, his first ambitious project being Beach Cliff on the sea front. Those that survive include the “terrace” 2 to 10 Plymouth Road; The Royal Buildings corner of Stanwell Road and Victoria Road; former British Legion on Station Approach. And on a lesser scale he built many private houses around Penarth.
2 to 10, Plymouth Road, Penarth
The 1911 census records the 65 year old “builder and house agent” FS living at 10 Plymouth Road. The Western Mail, 2nd January 1920, announced his death at the age of 73.
Tony Hodge