Gott, wool merchants, Archive

Description

The bulk of the Gott papers was presented to the Brotherton Library at various times by Mrs Beryl Katherine (Robins) Gott (1866-1941). The papers are divided into two sections. The business records of the firm of Leeds wool merchants and manufacturers, Benjamin Gott and Sons, form the first section (Special Collections MS 193). A schedule of this section has already been compiled (Special Collections handlist 4), which is also available online.


The second section (Special Collections MS 194) consists of family papers, covering the period from the middle of the eighteenth century to about the time of Mrs Gott's death in 1941. During this period, the Gotts were one of the most prominent families in Leeds. An account of the genealogy of the Gott family (and of the Ewart and Rutson families who were connected by marriage) can be found in Burke's Landed gentry. The following paragraphs provide a guide to the relationship of those members of the family who are represented in the collection.


John Gott (1720-93), of Woodhall, Bradford (Section 1, nos. 1-3), married twice. By his first wife, Mary Parker, he had a son William (1745-1810), a civil engineer, of Woodhall and Burley (Section 1, nos. 4-6). No other papers of this branch of the family are included in this collection.


Benjamin Gott (1762 -1840), the wool merchant, was John Gott's son by his second wife, Susanna Jackson. He was the first member of his family to rise to prominence in Leeds. His wealth enabled him to build a fine collection of art at Armley House, as well as helping to finance works such as the rebuilding of Armley Chapel. Section 2 contains several letters to him from Sir Thomas Lawrence, the fashionable painter, and from the sculptors, John Flaxman and Joseph Gott. The last was a distant relation of Benjamin Gott. Benjamin's wife was Elizabeth Rhodes (Section 3, nos. 1-20). A collection of her diaries and cash accounts, spanning the years from 1809 to 1850, forms an incomplete but interesting record of their family and social life over that period. The remainder of Section 3 comprises a few items concerning Elizabeth's unmarried sister, Abigail.


Benjamin’s eldest son was John (1791-1867) (Section 4). His second son, Benjamin (1793-1817), died young while on a visit to Athens (Section 5). Their letters include some written when the boys were away at school.


The third son, William (1797-1863), of Wyther Grange, inherited his father's taste for fine art (Section 6). He also built up a magnificent collection of rare books, now, unfortunately, dispersed, which included several early editions of the Bible, liturgies, and Shakespeare's works. His papers include over 100 letters from art dealers (Dominic Colnaghi, John Sheepshanks), booksellers (Boone, Pickering), and book-collectors (Francis Fry). William Gott was active in encouraging public building in Leeds. He was the Chairman of the Building Committee when the extension to the Philosophical Hall was built, in 1861-62. About 20 letters from him to T P Teale, the Leeds surgeon, concern the planning and building of the new Leeds Infirmary in 1862 -63. He married Margaret Ewart (1795 -1844), daughter of the Liverpool merchant, William Ewart the elder (1763 -1823). (Margaret's sister Charlotte married William Rutson.) Harriet Gott (1795 -1883), who endowed almshouses at Armley, was William Gott's
unmarried sister (Section 7).


William's second son, William Ewart (1827-1879), married Anne Mary Aitchison (Section 8). His third son, John (1830-1906), became vicar of Leeds, and afterwards Bishop of Truro (Section 9). He married Harriet Mary Maitland. Most of his surviving correspondence is with bibliographers (A W Pollard, W Barclay Squire) and the organisers of exhibitions, such as the Caxton Celebration in 1877.


William Ewart Gott had several sons. Francis (1858-1920) was an estate agent who was Lord Mayor of Leeds in 1917-18 (Section 10). He married his cousin, Beryl Katherine Robins, whose mother, Harriet Caroline, was a daughter of William Gott. Beryl Katherine (Robins) Gott (Section 11) collected a large amount of material on the history of her family and Leeds. Much of her correspondence is concerned with this. Those of Frank Gott's brothers who are represented in the collection are William Henry (1852 -1929), Allan (1856-1924), George Arthur (1857-1926), and Charles Rhodes (1864 -1953) (Sections 11 and 12). Among William Henry's children were William Henry Ewart (1897-1942) and Anne Rosamund (Sections 10 and 11). The former, who was a prisoner-of-war in 1917 -18, reached the rank of Lieut-General and was killed in the Second World War.


The collection includes a number of papers from the Ewart family, of whom William Ewart the younger (1798-1869), the MP, is probably the best-known member. Among these papers are letters and poems of the Rev. John Ewart (1717-1799), minister of Troqueer, Kirkcudbrightshire, and father of William Ewart the elder (Section 13).


The miscellaneous material (Sections 14 and 15) includes over 370 engravings and prints, mostly of Yorkshire scenes, of the 18th and 19th centuries.


The collection has been sorted into sections for ease of reference. In each section, the items are arranged, where appropriate, in this order: letters from the subject in chronological order; letters to the subject in alphabetical order of writer; other material connected with the subject. It is inevitable, in a family collection of this sort, that some material could be placed in more than one section. Letters which fall into this category have normally been put in the writer's group; other material is usually placed in whichever section is earlier. An index of names is provided at the end.


Dates of letter are standardised, but addresses are given as they appear on the original. Unless otherwise stated, copies of documents are in the hand of the writer of the original, whatever method of reproduction has been used.


Compiled by R H Davis July 1972

Biography or history

The Gotts were a prominent Leeds family, and were partners in firms of woollen merchants and manufacturers from 1780 to 1867.

Access and usage

Access

Some parts of this collection have not been listed in detail and the content may be protected under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation. Please consult the relevant part of the catalogue for specific details. Where a detailed record does not exist, please contact Special Collections. Upon receipt of your request, a member of the team will discuss your requirements with you and review relevant material accordingly

Related records in our catalogue