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Thomas Hughes (1822-1896)
"And then came the thought of all his old schoolfellows;
and form after form of boys, nobler and braver and purer
than he, rose up ..."
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Contents
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Portrait of Thomas Hughes from a plaque in
Uffington Church |
Thomas Hughes was horn in Uffington on 20th October, 1822, where
his grandfather (Rev. Dr. Hughes) was the Vicar. His grandmother,
Mary Ann (nee) Watts, lived in Uffington Rectory before they had
married as her father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all
held the living of Uffington.
Thomas was the second of the eight children born to John and
Margaret Hughes. His (non-clerical) father was an essayist and
storyteller, and figures as the squire in 'Tom Brown's School
Days'. We learn from the book that he dealt out justice and mercy
in a rough way and begat sons and daughters, and hunted the fox,
and grumbled at the badness of the roads and the times. And his
wife dealt out stockings, and calico shirts, and smock frocks,
and comforting drinks to the old folks with the "rheumatiz",
together with good council to all. The family lived in the Manor
House which was on the site of the present primary school.
Thomas spent a carefree childhood in Uffington. He was encouraged
to mix and play with other village children, he enjoyed rambles
on the Downs, bird's nesting and stickleback fishing in Rosy Brook
and the old Canal with his elderly friend Benjy. It was
from Benjy that Tom learnt about the history of the village, the backswording and wrestling and about the 'veast day'. During
winter months, he enjoyed tobogganing down the
Manger and White Horse Hill.
These happy days were interrupted at the age of eight, when
Thomas Hughes was sent to a private school at Twyford, near
Winchester. When he reached eleven years old he followed his
brother George to Rugby. Their father's choice of a public school
had been much influenced by his admiration for Dr. Arnold, whom
he had known at Oxford and for whose character and qualities as
schoolmaster he had unshakeable faith - even if he had some
misgivings of his political outlook. It was his time at Rugby
that would inspire Thomas Hughes to write "Tom Brown's School Days",
possibly the best school book ever written.
Thomas Hughes never admitted that Tom Brown was, in fact,
himself, saying that the character was based on at least twenty
boys. But from the opening chapters we can recognise many details
regarding the houses of Uffington and the lives of their
occupants.
Under Dr. Arnold's leadership Rugby School underwent many
changes. Hughes's early years there left a lasting impression on
him. Later in life he said "What a power Rugby has been in my
life. The years from ten to eighteen are the most important in a
boy's life and I passed all those years under the spell of this
place and Arnold, and have never ceased to thank God for it'.
When the time came for Hughes to leave Rugby, much of Arnold's
work had taken effect and the school was by then quite democratic
in its outlook.
Thomas Hughes' education continued at Oriel College, Oxford,
where he studied law. He made his name as a first-class cricketer
and boxer and he rowed for his college. Apart from his sporting
activities, the first year at Oxford was, he said, 'utterly
wasted'. He fell into idle ways and made a fool of himself. He
formed an association with a number of rich aristocrats who
taught him the vices so much a part of that class of society at
that time: swearing, gambling and the keeping of late hours.
However, after his engagement to Fanny Ford, he began to take a
more serious view of Oxford and he took his final examinations in
1845. Thomas and Fanny were married in 1847 and Hughes was called
to the Bar in 1848. In later life he became a QC and a county
court judge, living for many years in that capacity in Chester.
Hughes was a sensitive man of deep social conscience and was
horrified by the vice, squalor and poverty he found in London
while training as a barrister, and, anxious to play a part in
improving conditions for the poor, he joined the highly-motivated
Christian Socialists.
Christian Socialism was a direct result of the unsettled times
from 1830-1850. The French Revolution had taken place and many
other European countries were in a state of turmoil. In the
British Isles, Ireland was in the grip of the potato famine which
took its toll of a million lives in five years. The Reform Bill
had been passed but the working classes considered that they had
been cheated by its provisions. Although it had abolished slavery
in the colonies, the grievances of the factory hands and
agricultural workers in England had still to be redressed. A
movement called the Chartists tried to form trade unions to fight
for better conditions. However, the government's support of the
strong counter measures taken by the employers to destroy the
trade unions in 1834, climaxed by the savage sentence of
transportation passed on the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs', shows the
extent of the class wars.
It was at this time that Thomas Hughes, Frederick Maurice,
Charles Kingsley and John Ludlow began promoting Christian
Socialism as the way forward. This movement was within the
Church of England and espoused the belief that socialism was a
direct development and outcome of Christianity and, to be
effective, must be based on Christian principles. Maurice,
writing in the first of the Tracts on Christian Socialism said
simply this:-
"The watchword of the Socialist is co-operation - the watchword
of the anti-Socialist is competition. Anyone who recognises the
principle of co-operation as a stronger and truer principle that
than of competition, has a right to honour or the disgrace of
being called a Socialist".
To support the ideals of Christian Socialism and to show
confidence in the working classes, a night school was set up to
bring education to the illiterate workers. This led to the
Working Men's College being established by Kingsley and Hughes in
1854. Hughes was responsible for sporting activities being
developed at the College which, in turn' developed the social and
intellectual life of the college. His association with the
College continued all his life and he became principal from 1873-
1883.
It was during 1855 that Thomas Hughes revisited Uffington and the
White Horse Hill and began work on "Tom Brown's School Days" for the
benefit of their oldest son, Maurice, who was approaching public
school age. This book was followed by the novels "The Scouring of the
White Horse" and "Tom Brown at Oxford" neither of which achieved
the popularity of "Tom Brown's School Days".
In the early 1860's Hughes had considered the idea of standing
for Parliament as a representative of the Working Class and was
elected MP for Lambeth. He attempted to introduce legislation
against false weights and measures and on public house opening
hours. Unfortunately this was not a popular move amongst the
small traders and publicans in the Lambeth area and Hughes became
despondent at the corruption. By the time of the general election
of 1868 he was ready to change his seat for the quiet market town
of Frome in Somerset.
In June 1869 he was appointed Queen's Counsel. He continued to be
a keen supporter of the trade unions and helped them to gain
legal recognition. He joined in founding the Co-operative
Wholesale Society and was encouraged when industries such as
brick, iron, carpet printing and glass, agriculture and
horticulture joined in. He himself was willing to lose money in
these ventures; he said 'some men like to spend their money in
Scotland, some in keeping hounds and horse, and I have a taste
for co-operation'.
In addition to all this he attempted, among other things, to get
the government of the City reorganised; to provide life insurance
for the poor, to fight against enclosure of public lands and to
promote laws forbidding the racing of two-year-old horses. He was
never noted for his discretion and began to have bitter disputes
with the trade unions and the co-operative movement over their
failure to live up to the ideals with which they began, and his
outspoken support for church reform estranged many old friends.
It was against these disappointments that Thomas Hughes turned to
America.
In 1879 land for development became available in Tennessee. On it
Hughes proposed to build a new town, to be named Rugby. He hoped
the site would become a haven for young settlers from Britain.
His theory was that farming and other manual jobs for the common
good would benefit the second sons of Britain who, under the laws
of that time, inherited little wealth and were forced into rigid
career roles that did not suit them.
Thomas Hughes invested heavily in the project, and, largely through
his efforts, 120 settlers were soon on their way. Thomas Hughes's
mother came to live in the Colony and, at 84, was the oldest
resident. She lived in Uffington House. Unfortunately, the site
chosen was not conducive to be self-supporting and the project
began to fail. The colonists built a Church, a hotel and a library,
to which Hughes persuaded American publishers to contribute
books. The savings of the settlers dwindled and one by one they
left the colony. However, an association bas been formed which is
engaged in restoring Rugby as a memorial to Thomas Hughes, its
founder.
In 1882, Hughes was made a County Court Judge of the Chester
circuit. Thomas Hughes died on 22nd March 1896.
On Saturday, 18th May, 1912 the First Tom Brown's Festival was
held in Uffington by the Worker's Educational Association (WEA) of
Swindon. The Meeting was addressed by Mary Hughes, Thomas Hughes's
daughter, who had inherited her father's social conscience. She
lived in the East London and took over a former public house and
renamed it the Dewdrop Inn: for Education and Joy. Here she took
in the destitute and held religious and trade union meeting.
Alfred Williams, the Wiltshire Poet, also spoke at the meeting.
Also in 1912, a memorial plaque to Thomas Hughes, which can be
seen in the North Transept of Uffington Church, was donated by his
friend and fellow worker, Mr. Water Morrison, and unveiled on
29th November, 1912.
Mr. John Little, who lived in the village, researched greatly
into the life and works of Thomas Hughes and was the inspiration
behind the Tom Brown Festival in 1972; the 150th anniversary of
Thomas Hughes's birth. This three-day event raised funds to build
a new village hall and was the forerunner to the White Horse
Show, which has just celebrated its 25th Anniversary. The
proceeds from these shows enabled the Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall
to be built in 1975. The White Horse Show Trust continues to
provide amenities for the villages.
Mr. Little also arranged for the foundation stone from the Co-operative
Wholesale Society building in London to be re-laid in the Thomas
Hughes Memorial Hall. The idea of having a Museum in the
Schoolroom was conceived by John Little and the Tom Brown's
School Museum was opened by him in 1984. All of the exhibits have
been donated to the Museum, mostly by residents of the villages
of Uffington, Woolstone and Baulking who are keen to have the
history of the area preserved. On John Little's death in 1986,
his widow, Joan, donated his collection of
136 different editions
of "Tom Brown's School Days" to the Museum.