LRGS - Key Persons

Dr Christopher Pyle

Job Titles:

Trustee
Headmaster ( Ex - Officio )

Background Henry Gregson was born in 1802 as the child of Samuel Gregson (1762-1846) and Bella Gregson. He had three brothers - Samuel, Bryan, and Matthew - and two sisters, Isabella and Ellen. His brother, Samuel, was also a prominent figure in Lancaster, having been an MP, the founder of the Christ Church and the town's Mayor twice. In 1837, Henry married Annie Kirkes, which connected him with the Dodsons and other Lancaster-based families. Throughout Henry's life, he had many ventures. Henry attended LRGS between 1809 and 1816 before becoming a significant political, judicial, and charitable character in Lancaster. As a magistrate, he is widely remembered as being "patient, impartial, and merciful" (Lancaster Guardian). Overall, he had experience in business, manufacturing and trade, in law and politics, the military, and in local benefaction. Henry passed away on the 2nd September 1885 at aged 82, and is buried with his wife at Brookhouse.

James Williamson

Background Born 31st December 1842, James Williamson was the third of four children to local coated fabrics business owner James Williamson Snr. and his wife, Eleanor. James was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School from 1851 to 1855, later named "the greatest of that generation" by historian Athol Murray in The Royal Grammar School, Lancaster: A History. Throughout his lifetime, Williamson transformed his father's business, and married three times. He had two daughters from his first marriage to Margaret Gatey, one of whom married the grandson of Sir Robert Peel. Williamson later began a successful political career in the 1870's, obtaining a seat in the House of Commons in 1886, and eventually a seat in the House of Lords in 1895. His ventures in politics and business were rivaled by those of H.L. Storey, a fellow LRGS Old Boy and local businessman. Williamson is renowned for his generosity to both Lancaster and LRGS, and responsible for many of the major landmarks throughout the city. However, his reputation dwindled noticeably with the rise of the Independent Labour Party, with his beliefs conflicting with the party's attempts to unionise his unskilled workers. Nevertheless, despite his reclusiveness, Williamson continued to contribute to the local area and LRGS. At the age of 88, Williamson passed away on the 27th May 1930. James Williamson was one of Lancaster's most significant benefactors and philanthropists and it is evident that without Williamsons' contributions to the city, its landscape would look very different today. His father built Williamson Park in the late 1870's on what had been a disused quarry, which opened in 1881. However, as James Williamson Snr. passed away before its completion, Lord Ashton completed the park, and is recorded to have given a £12,000 endowment to the park in 1880. Building the park was a great source of employment for Lancaster residents who had lost their jobs as a result of the cotton famine caused by the American Civil War. Williamson then built the Ashton Memorial in memory of his second wife, Jessie Ashton, who died in 1904. The memorial was designed by Sir John Belcher, and it was completed in 1909, recorded at having lost no less than £100,000 to build. Williamson is recorded to have made many donations to various causes in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In 1880, he donated £1,500 to remove road tolls in order for produce sellers to access Lancaster's market freely. Five years later, he paid for a new peal of bells and a clock for the Lancaster Priory. In 1892, Williamson gave £5,000 to the new Lancaster Infirmary, as well as £1,300 towards the nursing wing. Five years later, he gave another £1,300 to relieve the infirmary of debt. Moreover, Williamson donated once again to healthcare services in 1898, giving £10,000 to the Ashton wing of the Royal Albert Institution, which closed in 1996, and was acquired by the Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic college. Furthermore, in 1904, he paid £1,000 for the Lune Bank Gardens to be established.

Lord Ashton

Lord Ashton was a prominent benefactor to LRGS during his life, with his donations and scholarships having a lasting effect on the school and students today. In 1900, the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser wrote that "Lord Ashton has forwarded £2000 for the benefit of the Royal Grammar School Lancaster to Mr. Greg, chairman of the Board of Governors". Furthermore, Williamson's Ashton House Scholarship was an important donation to LRGS students in the 20th century. The LRGS archives have discovered that the scholarship was created in 1904, which paid £30 per annum to a student towards their boarding costs. Later, in 1929, Lord Ashton donated £500 to LRGS' War Memorial Library in the New Building. Today, the Ashton Memorial Prize for French is still given each year to a student from each year group. Later, in 1958, in memory of Williamson, the school's governors purchased the recently vacant Parkside Children's Home to use as a boarding house, and named it Ashton House.