Famous Sons

 Born in Penshaw a son of a miner, leaving school at nine years of age. He started at Whitefield colliery as a trapper boy. Out of George’s wages of a half a crown he saved whatever he could from this amount to educate himself. These savings were used for the payment of a teacher at the night school, where he studied surveying and mining engineering, with such determination that at 20 years old, he was a deputy and later a overman. After periods has under-viewer at Belmont colliery, then viewer at Monkwearmouth he was appointed chief viewer of lord Londonderry’s Rainton collieries, and was left in charge of his enterprises at Seaham. It was said by the late George Hardy, manager of the Londonderry railway that George Elliot “ruled with imperial vigour”. 

     George married Margaret the daughter of George Green a Shiney Row man in 1836.

   On one occasion at a diner at Chilton Moor given by Frances Ann Marchioness of Londonderry to her workman, a young miner made a speech which so impressed George, he offered the young lad promotion, the young lad turned down the offer because he was studying for the Wesleyan ministry. It was many years later that George happened to be in Whitby, and was attending a Wesleyan church, when he recognised the preacher to be none other then that young lad from years ago, that preacher was the Rev James Cuthbertson. George through his kindness arranged for the Rev Cuthbertson to visit the Holy Land and Egypt.  

          Even before leaving the Londonderry service, he acquired interests in Usworth and North Biddick collieries, and in 1864 by a strange turn in fortune he acquired from the Londonderry family Whitefield colliery, where he had started as a trapper boy. For 15 years George carried on alone until 1879 when the pit closed or the Lambtons took over, (what ever report you read).

          Meanwhile his mining interests had moved to Wales, and he took up residence with an estate there.

           In approx 1851, in addition to mining, he became associated with rope and wire manufacture (Glass and Elliott), including haulage rope for collieries. When submerged (submarine) cables for telegraph purposes were introduced, George’s firm, made and laid one of the cables which spanned the Atlantic,  between Ireland and Newfoundland and was laid by the steam ship “Great Eastern”, which was purchased cheaply in 1864 (The first cable laid is recorded in 1866). His company was involved in no less than 30 cable laying contracts up to October 1862.

 George stood for North Durham in 1868, and was elected to Parliament

George was made a baronet in 1874 and was a great favourite of Disraeli. He persuaded the Prime Minister, Disraeli, to buy shares in the Suez Canal, thus giving England the control of the sea route to India.

He was financial advisor to the khedive of Egypt, and received a honour from the king of Portugal. He was also involved with the building of the port of Alexandria. 

     Honours included.

He gifted quite a lot to the area including.

1877.  West Rainton Church of St. Mary. The tower and spire, which is 130 feet high was   the gift of Sir George Elliot, in memory of his daughter.

1889.The Church of All Saints is a plain stone edifice, erected 1746, and consists of nave and chancel; the windows in the latter are of stained glass bearing representations of the Baptism, Resurrection, and Ascension, and were presented by Sir George Elliot in 1889, in memory of his brothers and son.

At his funeral held on 28th December 1893 in the Hillside cemetery Houghton -Le - Spring, people from all walks of life attended, lords mixed with miners and elder statesmen.

Sir George Elliot is buried in the family vault in the hillside Cemetery in Houghton.

His parents and other members of the family are buried in Penshaw church yard

A truly remarkable man, and I think he should be regarded on par with the Stephensons.

more to follow........

return