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and to be paid entirely in the company's shares and debentures. To raise the funding for the construction they became involved in complicated finance-raising schemes, and with their overseas operations hindered by war, they overstretched themselves. Consequently, Betts and Peto were probably the most
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Betts and Peto had always been amenable to major speculation; for example, once they had built the London, Tilbury and
Southend Railway, they leased it as operators for twenty-one years from the opening in 1854, a speculation said in 1863 to be losing £24,000 a year (equivalent to £2,900,000 in
40:
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when railway stocks were particularly badly affected and the London, Chatham and Dover
Railway became insolvent and therefore the shares they had been paid in became worthless. They were unable to pay their creditors and became insolvent in the following year.
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In 1843, Betts married Ann Peto (19 September 1820 – 23 January 1908), the sister of Samuel Morton Peto. Both are interred in the family vault in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul's Parish Church, Aylesford. Their children were:
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for stretches that included the
Marsden-Ashford line, Maidstone Branch, and the Saltwood tunnel. They also obtained large contracts on behalf of David McIntosh for the Midlands County Railway, whereby the Betts family relocated to
343:
Ernest
William Peto Betts (29 October 1850 – 12 November 1932) was ordained as a Church of England minister and officiated at the weddings of his siblings Morton and Ann.
346:
Percy
Campbell Betts (b. 7 January 1856 – 14 October 1878) accidentally shot himself at home while cleaning a revolver. Interred in the family vault at Aylesford.
307:. Betts in particular was responsible for obtaining the enormous amount of supplies and equipment, the fleet of ships to convey them from England to the
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as engineer. After the death of McIntosh in 1840, William Betts & Sons—the family firm now named for Edward and his father—gained contracts on the
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337:(30 August 1847 – 19 April 1914), a leading English sportsman of the time. He was notable for scoring the first goal in an English FA Cup Final.
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Herbert Peto Betts (b. 1857) was ordained as a Church of
England minister and officiated at his sister Ann's wedding.
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449:, Kent "... where he could still maintain a carriage." For the sake of his health he was sent by his doctors to
208:, and for the Manchester-Birmingham Railway. After that, Betts continued to gain contracts, especially in the
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established a formal partnership and together they were to work on a large number of railway contracts.
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695:
A Biographical
Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, volume 1 – 1500 to 1830
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Elizabeth Peto Betts (22 October 1846 — 1 March 1940) interred in the family vault at
Aylesford.
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In the 1860s, Betts and Peto agreed to build a line between London Bridge and
Victoria for the
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style, where he employed a staff of 18. Also in the 1850s, he acquired a London home at 29
164:, son of William Betts (1790–1867), a successful contractor's agent and railway contractor.
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where he employed a further 8 servants and by 1860 he had moved to Great George Street,
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and skilled workers needed to carry out the work, also in a very short period of time.
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in Canada. Betts undertook the actual management of the venture which included the
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171:. However, becoming more interested in engineering, he then worked as agent for
630:"The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)"
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which enabled supplies, particularly heavy ammunition, to be transported from
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Edward Betts's first railway undertaking was to supervise the building of the
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437:
After his bankruptcy, Betts was forced to sell
Preston Hall (to his friend,
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308:
222:
Separately, the partnership between the major civil engineering contractors
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675:
The Railway Builders: Lives and Works of the Victorian Railway Conctractors
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in 1845, Betts assumed full responsibility for the Betts company business.
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267:. Possibly the greatest enterprise of this trio was the building of the
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Edward Peto Betts (b. 1845) sometimes referred to as Edward Ladd Betts.
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was dissolved in 1846, and so Betts worked with Peto on parts of the
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Only minor works were to follow for Betts; small alterations to the
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88:
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144:(5 June 1815 – 21 January 1872) was an English civil engineering
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and an abortive attempt to improve the navigation of the River
388:. In the general election of 1865, he contested the
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who was mainly involved in the building of railways.
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259:Frequently, they also working in partnership with
409:prominent casualties of the collapse of the bank
356:Around 1850 Betts bought a 'palatial residence',
291:Peto, Betts and Brassey built at great speed the
457:. His estate was valued at less than £16,000.
215:Upon his father's retirement at Bevois Mount,
16:English civil engineering contractor (1815–72)
658:, 21 December 1866, p. 8; Issue 25687; col E.
539:, Knutsford: Cavalier House, pp. 22–26,
392:seat as a Conservative but was unsuccessful.
8:
492:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
453:in 1871 but he died the following year in
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27:
626:inflation figures are based on data from
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557:
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489:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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601:Cambridge University Alumni, 1261–1900
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473:
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175:building the Black Rock lighthouse at
697:, London: Thomas Telford Publishing,
679:, Newton Abbot: David & Charles,
299:to the British troops engaged in the
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167:He was apprenticed to a builder at
576:Sir Morton Peto: A Memorial Sketch
563:From the family vault at Aylesford
14:
746:British people of the Crimean War
537:The Grand Crimean Central Railway
406:London, Chatham and Dover Railway
364:in Kent, and had it rebuilt in a
287:The Grand Crimean Central Railway
47:National Portrait Gallery, London
483:"Betts, Edward Ladd (1815–1872)"
135:William Betts, Elizabeth Haywood
44:Historical photo of Edward Betts
721:British railway civil engineers
693:Skempton, Sir Alec W. (2002),
19:For the American painter, see
1:
441:) and moved to The Holmwood,
293:Grand Crimean Central Railway
573:Sir Bart Henry Peto (1893).
521:UK public library membership
513:UK public library membership
352:Ann Gertrude Betts (b. 1858)
411:Overend, Gurney and Company
767:
579:. London: Stock. pp.
340:Alice Peto Betts (b. 1849)
241:
18:
156:Edward Betts was born at
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195:for Hugh McIntosh under
731:People from Dover, Kent
726:English civil engineers
628:Clark, Gregory (2017).
265:Peto, Brassey and Betts
248:Peto, Brassey and Betts
498:10.1093/ref:odnb/49433
376:. In 1858, already a
232:Great Northern Railway
193:Grand Junction Railway
751:People from Aylesford
535:Cooke, Brian (1990),
201:South Eastern Railway
671:Joby, R. S. (1983),
480:Port, M. H. (2004).
423:Metropolitan Railway
386:High Sheriff of Kent
277:Saint Lawrence River
301:siege of Sevastopol
269:Grand Trunk Railway
177:Beaumaris, Anglesey
624:Retail Price Index
319:Domestic and civil
224:Samuel Morton Peto
183:Railway contractor
108:Civil engineering
613:, 19 October 1878
611:THe Leeds Mercury
519:(subscription or
511:(Subscription or
382:Deputy Lieutenant
335:Morton Peto Betts
197:George Stephenson
142:Edward Ladd Betts
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254:Peto and Betts
244:Peto and Betts
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238:Peto and Betts
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639:. Retrieved
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501:. Retrieved
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443:Bickley Park
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384:, he became
358:Preston Hall
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83:(1872-01-21)
57:15 June 1815
32:Edward Betts
25:
741:1872 deaths
736:1815 births
374:Westminster
305:Crimean War
275:across the
217:Southampton
97:Nationality
715:Categories
515:required.)
461:References
433:Later life
396:Later work
378:magistrate
152:Early life
146:contractor
110:contractor
105:Occupation
656:The Times
523:required)
390:Maidstone
362:Aylesford
309:Black Sea
297:Balaclava
252:In 1848,
206:Leicester
132:Parent(s)
72:, England
589:42693089
503:30 March
366:Jacobean
311:and the
281:Montreal
158:Buckland
124:Children
119:Ann Peto
61:Buckland
447:Bromley
445:, near
401:2023).
313:navvies
303:in the
210:Chester
191:on the
169:Lincoln
160:, near
100:English
91:, Egypt
701:
683:
587:
543:
509:
427:Danube
380:and a
212:area.
116:Spouse
641:7 May
583:–19.
455:Aswan
451:Egypt
360:near
162:Dover
127:Eight
89:Aswan
65:Dover
699:ISBN
681:ISBN
643:2024
585:OCLC
541:ISBN
505:2013
246:and
226:and
78:Died
70:Kent
54:Born
622:UK
494:doi
279:at
263:as
717::
632:.
581:18
554:^
486:.
468:^
429:.
283:.
234:.
179:.
67:,
63:,
645:.
591:.
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517:(
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496::
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
