BOWRING FAMILY CONNECTIONS -
BOWRING FAMILY CONNECTIONS -
Bowring Park owes its existence as a public park to Alderman William Benjamin Bowring who purchased the site, but never resided there, instead gifting it to the people of Liverpool in 1906.
History of the
Bowring Family
Benjamin Bowring, grandfather to William Bowring, originally traded as a watchmaker, silversmith, jeweller and engraver in Exeter.
He was a strong supporter of the abolition of slavery. The Bowring Family became a prominent force in the merchant trade industry, utilising family connections in Exeter, Derbyshire and London, as well as international connections with Newfoundland, where Benjamin re-located to establish the business.
Benjamin returned back to Birkenhead in 1834, establishing a Liverpool base for the firm to trade with Newfoundland. He died in 1846. His son Charles Tricks settled in Liverpool in 1843 with his wife and young son, William Benjamin Bowring.
Alderman WB Bowring
William Benjamin Bowring was born in 1837 in St. John’s Newfoundland, soon after relocating to Liverpool in 1843 with his parents.
William lived and worked between Liverpool, St. John’s and New York and settled in Liverpool at the age of 31 where he continued to work for his father’s business.
William took on a number of civic duties and was an active philanthropist. In 1893, he was elected the first Lord Mayor of Liverpool. In 1906, to celebrate the 50-year Liverpool Council membership of his father and himself, he bought Roby Hall Estate as a gift ‘for the use of the inhabitants of Liverpool for all time.’ This was handed over in 1907 when the park was renamed Bowring Park. William died on 20th October 1916 leaving his wife and no children.
Bowring Park, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
There’s also a Bowring Park in Canada! From land donated to St. John’s in 1911 by Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring to mark the 100th anniversary of Bowring Brothers Ltd’s operations in Newfoundland, the park has a statue of Peter Pan from which the same statue at Sefton Park, Liverpool is also cast.
The original is displayed in Kensington Gardens in London.
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