James Harvey Insole

James Harvey Insole JP (30 April 1821 – 20 January 1901) was an English businessman who consolidated and developed the extensive South Wales coal mining and shipping business begun by his father George Insole.

James Harvey Insole
Born30 April 1821
Worcester, Worcestershire, England
Died20 January 1901(1901-01-20) (aged 79)
Llandaff, Glamorgan, Wales
Burial placeLlandaff Cathedral,
Llandaff, Glamorgan, Wales
OccupationColliery proprietor
Known forConsolidation and development of the family's extensive South Wales coal business; development of Cardiff, Wales, as a coal shipping port; Insole Court
Spouse(s)Mary Ann Jones (m. 1843–1882); Marian Louisa Carey née Eagle (m. 1890–1901)
Parent(s)George Insole

Insole became a partner in his father's business in 1842. They leased and revived the Cymmer (lower Rhondda Valley) bituminous coal pits in 1844 and developed their coastal and international markets together. When his father died in 1851, Insole took sole control of the company. Disaster struck in 1856 when an underground explosion of gas at the Cymmer mine resulted in a "sacrifice of human life to an extent unparalleled in the history of coal mining of this country".[1]:141 In 1862 Insole purchased the Abergorki mine in the upper Rhondda Valley. His company continued to develop the rich steam coal seams of the Rhondda and by the end of that century was one of the main exporters of South Wales steam coal. The company operated until 1940.

Insole also played a significant role in the development of Cardiff, Wales, as a coal shipping port, especially in connection with improving the means of loading coal ships and the construction of the new dock at Penarth which opened in 1865.

Among other civic roles, as a justice of the peace Insole served as magistrate for both Cardiff and Glamorgan. He was also the inaugural president of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce and he and his company made significant contributions to public causes including education and health.

Insole's modern legacy survives in his Victorian mansion Ely Court in Llandaff, Wales, now a community resource known as Insole Court which is used for a wide range of activities and events.

Early life

James Harvey Insole was born on 30 April 1821 in Worcester, Worcestershire, and was baptised at St Helen's Church, Worcester, on 2 May 1821.[2][3][4] He was the second child and eldest son of the six children of George Insole and Mary Insole (née Finch). During Insole's early childhood his father was a carpenter in Worcester and the family was associated with the Angel Street Independent (Congregational) Meeting House. In 1828 the family moved to Cardiff where Insole's father began building his South Wales coal mining and shipping business. Insole attended schools in Cardiff and Melksham, Wiltshire.[2][5][6][7]

When Insole came of age in 1842 he received a bequest from his father's uncle, a wealthy saddler's ironmonger in Birmingham. In 1843 Insole married Mary Ann Jones in Edgbaston. She was the daughter of his father's uncle's business partner. They had three children, two sons and a daughter.[2][8] The family lived in Crockherbtown, Cardiff, next door to Insole's parents, until 1852.[9][10]

Coal producer

In 1842 Insole's father brought him into partnership as George Insole & Son, colliery proprietors and coal shippers. At that time they were working the steam coal seam at the Maesmawr pit (Llantwit Fardre), but the seam was reaching exhaustion. They then leased and revived bituminous coal pits at Cymmer (Lower Rhondda Valley) in 1844, and in 1848 opened 36 coking ovens to supply the Taff Vale Railway Company.[11][12][13]

Bute Dock (West), Cardiff, in 1853, where Insole had his commercial offices

Insole had also suggested that the Taff Vale Railway Company negotiate with Lord Bute to erect coal staiths on the Cardiff Bute Dock (West). In 1848, when the first coal tip was ready, the Insoles became the first to load a ship at Cardiff by "mechanical appliances".[14][15]

Up to 1847 the Insoles mainly supplied the coastal markets of the Bristol Channel (Bristol, Gloucester), the Cornish ports (St. Ives, Penzance, Fowey), and the Irish markets (Limerick, Dublin, Youghal, Waterford, Cork) with steam coal. Subsequently, they supplied the French markets, first Brest and Nantes, then Calais, Marseilles, and Corsica. In 1849 they sent coal shipments to the Mediterranean, the Near East (Alexandria, Constantinople, Beirut, Smyrna), to South America (Montevideo, Rio Grande, Rio de Janeiro), and as far as Chile and Singapore.[11]

Insole took sole control of the business on his father's death in 1851. Aged twenty-nine, he was "a typical thrustful Victorian entrepreneur" and in that year he sank the Upper Cymmer Colliery, followed by the New Cymmer Colliery in 1855.[10][12]

Cymmer disaster
Main article: Cymmer Colliery explosion

The Crimean War made 1855 a boom year for coal and Insole began intensive excavation of his Cymmer Old Pit. In the early morning of 15 July 1856 an underground explosion of gas resulted in the deaths of 114 men and boys (thirty-four under the age of sixteen and fifteen under the age of twelve). It was described as a "sacrifice of human life to an extent unparalleled in the history of coal mining of this country".[1]:141[16][10] The local communities were also devastated by the disaster as almost all the working-age men and boys perished and thirty-five widows and ninety-two children, as well as other dependent relatives, were suddenly left without any immediate means of support.[10][17]

The ensuing coroner's inquest determined the cause of the deaths to have been "the post-explosion effects of afterdamp or methane poisoning". The evidence indicated that the explosion was due to defective mine ventilation and the use of naked flames underground, despite warnings from HM Inspector of Mines, Herbert Francis Mackworth, who stated that "the explosion arose from the persons in charge of the pit neglecting the commonest precautions for the safety of the men and the safe working of the colliery".[10][18]

Insole stated that he took "no part in the management", knew nothing of the duties of firemen or the problems of ventilation, did not refuse expenditure for safety, and could not recall having been sent any official documentation on mine safety. Insole was dismissed from the enquiry and, after further legal proceedings, he and his mine officials were exonerated from all blame.[10] The apparent contradiction in Insole's evidence given at the inquest and the later assizes was criticised. At the inquest, Insole claimed his mine manager was "intrusted with the entire control" as he was "one of the most competent mining engineers in this district". Insole walked free but his manager was charged with manslaughter. At the assizes, in support of his manager and when his own "personal liberty [was] no longer at stake", Insole then claimed the man was "not a person skilled as an underground man or engineer", and his manager was acquitted.[10][19]

Welsh historian E. D. Lewis' analysis of the disaster concludes:

It was the success of [the Cymmer Old Pit mine] when developed with such inordinate speed and recklessness by ... James Harvey Insole that led directly to the terrible mining disaster of 1856.[10]:123 Possibly the legal processes of the time were insufficient to punish those who were culpable, but of the moral responsibility of owner and officials, even when judged against the background of their own time and place, there can be no question.[10]:153

Insole, described in The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian as "the greatest sufferer in a pecuniary sense", contributed £500 (approximately equivalent to £47,100 in 2019) to the Relief Appeal Fund "in aid of the widows and orphans, and dependent relatives of the deceased" and undertook to meet the cost of the thirty graves opened at the Cymmer Chapel.[10][20]

Cymmer Colliery, Rhondda Valley, c. 1905, with wagons labelled "Insoles"; also see this view of the colliery, c. 1860s, which possibly includes Insole and family members

Post 1856

The Cymmer Old Pit continued in operation until 1939.[10] To ensure his supply of steam coal, in 1862 Insole purchased the Abergorki Level at the top of the Rhondda Valley.[11] In 1865 the Penarth Harbour, Dock and Railway Company, of which Insole was one of the original directors, opened the new dock at Penarth in competition with the congested Bute Docks.[21][22] The Cymmer mine was deepened in 1875–1877 to reach four rich seams of steam coal. By the end of the century Insole's company was again one of the chief exporters of South Wales steam coal. The company remained in business until 1940.[10][11] Although still maintaining an interest in the industry, Insole had effectively retired from direct involvement in his company by 1875.[23]

Gentrification
Coat of arms of
James Harvey Insole
Adopted15 April 1872 (H. Coll.)[24]
CrestUpon a wreath of the colours, a griffin passant or, charged on the body with two pheons and resting the dexter claw on a leopard's face jessant-de-lys azure
BlazonAzure, a griffin passant, in chief three leopards' faces jessant-de-lys or
MottoSoyez Ferme (Be Steadfast)
Other elementsMantling azure and or
Livery blue, with yellow facings

Insole used his wealth to obtain social status. Following the death of his father in 1851 Insole moved his family two miles out of Cardiff to the healthier and increasingly fashionable city village of Llandaff. In 1855 building started on Ely Court, a three-storey twin-gabled villa set in a large garden and approached by an imposing carriage drive. Over the next twenty-five years Insole acquired much of the surrounding land to create an extensive park.[10][25][26] In the 1870s the house was extended and embellished in the neo-Gothic style that had been employed by William Burges to transform Cardiff Castle for Lord Bute.[27]

Ely Court, Llandaff, c. 1900 (north front). Insole built the original twin-gabled villa in 1855 and 1856, extensively renovated and enlarged it in the 1870s, and added a further extension (left of picture) in 1898 and 1899.

Insole already owned several estates in Glamorganshire as well as land in Cardiff[28][29] when he set out to build a land-owning dynasty. In 1872, then semi-retired, he acquired armorial bearings from the College of Heralds.[24] Three years later, he purchased the 7,291 acre Luxborough estate in Somerset, including the "picturesque and commodious shooting box",[26]:118 Chargot House (or Lodge), numerous farms and cottages, and "thriving woods and plantations, together with a large tract of moor".[30][31] Insole was then able to style himself as "Lord of the Manors of Luxborough and Withiel Florey".[32] In 1878 he was listed in Kelly's Handbook to the Upper Ten Thousand.[33]

Chargot House, Luxborough, Somerset, on the Luxborough Estate purchased by Insole in 1875 (modern view)

Insole regularly entered plants he and his gardeners had cultivated in horticultural shows, competing successfully against other local gentlemen and their gardeners.[34] He devoted over forty years to:

improving his gardens and estates in different parts of the country, but more especially his unique residence and home at Ely Court. ... Mr. Insole studied horticulture and agriculture deeply, and was therefore always ready to give anything new a trial upon his garden or land. ... [W]hen the once famous Glamorganshire Horticultural Society existed, he was an ardent supporter both as a subscriber and exhibitor.[35]

In 1882 Ely Court was described as "the leading residence in the locality".[36]

Insole also collected paintings and objets d'art. In 1881 several of his bronzes, silver items and paintings were exhibited at the Cardiff Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition.[37][38]

Philanthropy

Insole and his company's names were to be found in published lists of subscribers to good causes.[39][40] In 1882 he announced a subscription of £1,000 for the proposed University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in Cardiff and provided a £25 per annum scholarship for a Cardiff student to pursue further studies.[4][41][42] In 1883 a ward at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary was renamed the Insole Ward in recognition of his donation of £1,000.[43][44][45] In 1890 Insole's company announced a £250 contribution over five years towards the funding and maintenance of the new University College engineering department and from 1892 the J. H. Insole scholarship provided £25 per annum for three years to support a University College student of mining.[46][47]

Although he was associated with the Congregational Church as a boy and in later life financed Nonconformist building projects, as an adult Insole was a noted churchman and his tenants knew him as a generous patron of the parish church at Withiel Florey, of which he held the advowson.[4][48][49]

Other activities

Civic and other roles: Cardiff street commissioner (1848);[50] justice of the peace and magistrate for Cardiff (1856);[5][51] land tax commissioner for Glamorgan (1856/1857);[52] vice consul to Spain at Cardiff (1858);[53] inaugural president of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce (1866);[14][54] magistrate for Glamorgan (1867);[5][55] member of the Pall Mall Club.[6]

Company directorships: Penarth Harbour, Dock and Railway Company; Ely Valley Railway Company;[5] Patent Fuel Works;[23] Cardiff Hotel Company;[56] Cardiff Baths Company.[57]

Remarriage, death, and legacy
A Pioneer of Cardiff's Trade – Mr Insole was one of the pioneers in the development of Cardiff as a port for the shipment of coal.

Evening Express, 21 January 1901[5]

Mr. Insole ... [took] an active part in the development of the [coal] trade, and by his knowledge and skill did much to assist in laying the foundation for the vast industry to which the success of Cardiff owes so much.

Western Mail, 24 September 1888[23]

[B]ut of the moral responsibility of [the Cymmer mine] owner ... there can be no question.

E. D. Lewis, "The Cymer Explosion"[10]:153

Insole was widowed in 1882. In 1890 he married Marian Louisa Carey (née Eagle), the widowed daughter of his former Dublin agent and sister-in-law of his eldest son who lived nearby in his Pencisely House mansion.[26][58][59]

Insole died on 20 January 1901, aged 79, at his residence Ely Court, Llandaff, and was buried at the Llandaff Cathedral burial grounds on 24 January 1901.[4][5][60] His estate was valued at £245,388 (approximately equivalent to £26,837,000 in 2019).[61]

Insole's death was overshadowed by the death of Queen Victoria two days later,[62] but his numerous obituaries praised his contributions to the South Wales coal industry and the development of Cardiff as a shipping port (the loss to the horticultural world also being noted).[5][14][49][35][63][64] and his funeral was attended by many Cardiff dignitaries and businessmen.[4][60]

Insole Court (south front) in 2008

Insole's profits were underpinned by the harsh and dangerous working conditions imposed on miners, and these caused the devastating effects of the 1856 Cymmer disaster.[10][65]

Insole's dynastic land-owning vision came to nought when the Luxborough estate was sold in 1920.[66] The Insole coal company closed in 1940 amidst the general decline of the South Wales coal industry.[11] Ely Court (now Insole Court) passed from family hands in 1932 and eventually fell into disrepair. However, after significant restoration, in 2017 the mansion was reopened to visitors for a wide range of community activities and events, and the gardens that Insole so loved are now a municipal park for public use.[67][68][69]

    Selected histories

    The following accounts include Insole's role in the development of the South Wales coal industry, although each is unreliable in various details, especially regarding his father's origins and early years as a merchant in Cardiff.[2]

    • Contemporary Portraits: Men and Women of South Wales and Monmouthshire; Cardiff Section. Cardiff: Western Mail. 1896. p. xxii.
    • Lewis, E. D. (1959). The Rhondda Valleys. London: Phoenix House.
    • Lewis, E. D. (1976). "Pioneers of the Cardiff Coal Trade", Glamorgan Historian. 11: 22–52.
    • Watson, Richard C. (1997). Rhondda Coal, Cardiff Gold: The Insoles of Llandaff, Coal Owners and Shippers. Cardiff: Merton Priory Press.[70]

    References
    1. Evans, Thomas (1857). "Report of the Working of the Coal Mines Inspection Act (18 & 19 Vict. c. 108.) in the South Wales District". House of Commons Papers (Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines, to Her Majesty's Secretary of State to December 1856). 16: 132–144.
    2. Ollerton, Richard L. (2012). "Hereford Cider, Worcester Leather, Birmingham Iron, Rhondda Coal: Foundations of a Welsh Coal Mining Dynasty". Morgannwg. 56: 62–83.
    3. Baptismal Register. St Helen in the City, Worcester. 1821. p. 54.
    4. "Luxborough. Funeral of Mr. J. H. Insole at Llandaff". The West Somerset Free Press. 2 February 1901. p. 8.
    5. "Death of Mr J. H. Insole. A Pioneer of Cardiff's Trade". Evening Express. 21 January 1901. p. 4. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
    6. Bateman, John (1883). Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Harrison. p. 237.
    7. "Death of Mr. George Thomas, Ely Farm". Evening Express. 23 June 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    8. "Family of James Harvey Insole (1821–1901)". The Insoles of Insole Court. 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    9. 1851 Census of England and Wales. Public Record Office. HO 107/2045 pp. 5–6.
    10. Lewis, E. D. (1976). "The Cymer (Rhondda) Explosion". Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion: 118–161. hdl:10107/1419644.
    11. Lewis, E. D. (1976). "Pioneers of the Cardiff Coal Trade". Glamorgan Historian. 11: 22–52. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
    12. Lewis, E. D. (1959). The Rhondda Valleys. London: Phoenix House.
    13. Geo. Insole & Son (1880). Cymmer Steam Coal. London: The Gresham Press, Unwin Brothers.
    14. "Cardiff and South Wales". Shipping Gazette and Lloyd's List. 21 February 1901. p. 3.
    15. "Taff Vale Railway". The Principality. 21 July 1848. p. 4. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
    16. ''M.I.R.'' (Mines' Inspector's Reports). Thomas Evan's Report for 1856. p. 141. Cited in Lewis, E. D. (1976). "The Cymer (Rhondda) Explosion".
    17. "The Terrible Accident at Cymmer". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 26 July 1856. p. 5. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
    18. "Cymmer Colliery Explosion". The Merthyr Telegraph. 23 August 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
    19. "The Cymmer Colliery Explosion". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 25 April 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
    20. "Public Meeting at Newbridge, in Aid of the Widows and Orphans, and Dependent Relatives of the Deceased". The Cardiff & Merthyr Guardian. 27 July 1856. p. 5. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
    21. "The New Penarth Dock". The Cardiff Times. 9 June 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
    22. "Opening of the Penarth Dock". The Welshman. 16 June 1865. p. 8. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
    23. "Mr. J. H. Insole, the First President". Western Mail. 24 September 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    24. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour (7 ed.). London: Hurst & Blackett, Ltd. pp. 1027–1028.
    25. "Tenders". The Builder. XIII: 360. 28 July 1855.
    26. Watson, Richard C. (1997). Rhondda Coal, Cardiff Gold: The Insoles of Llandaff, Coal Owners and Shippers. Cardiff: Merton Priory Press.
    27. Williams, Matthew (1997). "...'the example set by the late Mr Burges...' Gothic Revival at Insole Court, Cardiff". Decorative Arts Society Journal 1850 to the Present. 21 (21): 5–8. JSTOR 41809249.
    28. J. H. Insole, Private Ledger. 1860–2. Ledger of the Personal Accounts of James Harvey Insole, Ely Court, Llandaff. Cardiff Central Library Hub, MS 4.732. 1862.CS1 maint: location (link)
    29. J. H. Insole, Estate Ledger. 1876–7. Ledger of the Estate Accounts of James Harvey Insole, Ely Court, Llandaff. Cardiff Central Library Hub, MS 4.733. 1877.CS1 maint: location (link)
    30. "Preliminary Advertisement – Somersetshire". London Evening Standard. 16 June 1875. p. 8.
    31. "Sale of the Luxborough Estate". The Bristol Mercury. 1 January 1876. p. 8.
    32. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1899). Armorial Families. Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack. p. 440.
    33. Kelly's Handbook to the Upper Ten Thousand for 1878: Containing about Twenty Thousand Names of the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, p. 312, at Google Books. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
    34. "Glamorganshire Horticultural Society". The Cardiff Times. 21 August 1863. p. 5 (for example). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    35. "Obituary". The Garden. LIX (1524): viii. 2 February 1901.
    36. The Illustrated Guide to Cardiff. Cardiff: D. Owen, Howell & Co. 1882. p. 65, cited in Williams (1997).
    37. A Catalogue of the Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition at Cardiff. Glamorgan Archives, DAB/271. 1881.CS1 maint: location (link)
    38. "Cardiff Fine Art Exhibition. Water-Colour Drawings. First Notice". South Wales Daily News. 22 August 1881. p. 3 (for example). Retrieved 3 January 2020.
    39. "Cruelty to Animals". Cardiff Times. 3 May 1873. p. 5 (for example). Retrieved 3 January 2020.
    40. "Subscription List for Affording Relief to the Operatives in the Cotton Manufacturing Districts". The Cardiff Times. 10 October 1862. p. 4 (for example). Retrieved 3 January 2020.
    41. "The Proposed University College for Wales". The Cambrian News. 13 January 1881. p. 5. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
    42. "Cardiff Science and Art Schools. Distribution of Prizes". South Wales Daily News. 17 February 1887. p. 3. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
    43. "A New Infirmary in Wales". The Times. 15 November 1881. p. 10.
    44. The Illustrated Guide to Cardiff and the Neighbourhood. Cardiff and London: Western Mail Limited. 1897. p. 93.
    45. Insole Ward, Cardiff Infirmary [ca.1905], Ridley 2103, hdl:10107/4641610
    46. "University College of South Wales. Generous Contribution". South Wales Daily News. 16 June 1890. p. 6. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
    47. "University College, Cardiff". South Wales Echo. 5 May 1892. p. 4. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
    48. Ollerton, Richard L. (2019). "Recalling Some Old Cardiff Families". Morgannwg. 63.
    49. "Luxborough". West Somerset Free Press. 26 January 1901. p. 8.
    50. "Cardiff Street-Commissioners". The Principality. 10 November 1848. p. 4. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
    51. "New Borough Magistrates". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 29 November 1856. p. 5. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    52. A Collection of the Public General Statutes Passed in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Years of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. London: George Edward Eyre & William Spottiswoode. 1857. pp. 274–275.
    53. The Royal Kalendar, and Court and City Register for England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Colonies, for the Year 1858. London: R. & A. Suttaby. 1858. p. 193.
    54. "History of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce". Western Mail. 24 September 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    55. "Local Intelligence". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 15 February 1867. p. 5. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    56. The Joint Stock Companies' Directory for 1867. London: Charles Barker & Sons. 187. p. 488.
    57. "Prospectus. Cardiff Baths Company, (Limited)". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. 4 May 1861. p. 4. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
    58. "Death". South Wales Daily News. 6 May 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
    59. "Marriages". The Cambrian. 3 October 1890. p. 8. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
    60. "The Late Mr J. H. Insole – Interment at Llandaff". Western Mail. 25 January 1901. p. 6.
    61. National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1996. Insole, James Harvey. 1901. p. 273.
    62. "Queen Victoria – Pulpit References". Evening Express. 28 January 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
    63. "Notices". The Morning Post. 24 January 1901. p. 5.
    64. "Death of Mr J. H. Insole". South Wales Daily News. 22 January 1901. p. 6.
    65. "Condition of Colliery Work in the Rhondda 50 Years Ago". The Rhondda Leader. 7 September 1901. p. 7. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
    66. "The Estate Market". The Times. 18 May 1920. p. 19.
    67. Sisk, Emma (5 December 2014). "Cardiff Landmark Insole Court will be Closed for a Year as Redevelopment Work Starts". Wales Online. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
    68. "Llandaff's Refurbished Insole Court Mansion Reopens". BBC News. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
    69. "Insole Court (Also Known as Ely Court)". Parks & Gardens. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
    70. Boyns, Trevor (1998). "Rhondda Coal, Cardiff Gold: The Insoles of Llandaff, Coal Owners and Shippers (Book Review)". Morgannwg. 42: 98–101. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
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