George Dawson

George Dawson (12 June 1821 – 22 February 1889) was an English builder, property developer and alderman. The son of a village labourer, he was a self-made man who started as a cooper, became a rich entrepreneur and built himself a mansion.

However, Dawson achieved his success by hard work, and the mansion only appeared towards the end of his life. Between the coopering and the mansion-building, and in a working partnership with architect John Henry Hirst of Bristol, he built or expanded many large buildings in Harrogate. This included Prospect Crescent, Cambridge Crescent, the wings of the Crown hotel, and many blocks and large villas in the town. Alongside fellow developer Richard Ellis, he helped to develop Harrogate into a town with impressive buildings.

Dawson married twice and had eight children. After he died his second wife erected over his grave a large sculpture by Thomas Potts of Harrogate.

Background Dawson was a self-made man, with modest origins. The Census describes the arc of his career with much reservation. His father was Charles Dawson, a labourer, and his mother was Rebeccah Dawson. He was born on 12 June 1821, in the village of Skelton-on-Ure, North Riding of Yorkshire. The 1851 Census finds him describing himself as a cooper and grocer, living with Isabella and their one-year-old daughter Ann Eliza (born 1850) at 64 Towns Street, Kirkby Malzeard. They moved to Leeds where they had two more daughters, Emma Jane (born 1853), and Catherine Isabel (born 1857), then moved to Harrogate.

Dawson's second wife, whom he married in Portland Methodist Chapel, Clifton, Bristol on 28 April 1860, was Martha Oram (20 May 1837 – 22 May 1913) from Castle Cary. Dawson had three more daughters and two sons with Martha, so that he had eight children altogether. The 1881 Census finds Dawson and his wife lodging at Crown Wells House in Bilton, and Dawson is describing himself as a builder. By 1891 Martha Dawson is widowed, and is living with her daughter Mary Eva and her son in law in West Ham.

Historian Malcolm Neesam said of Dawson, "His brilliant business instinct made him a very rich man and it was with a nice sense of humour that he named his Victoria Avenue mansion Vanderbilt Court, after the famous American financier".

Around 1855, Dawson arrived in Harrogate. He started out in the town as a cooper, running a store in Low Harrogate, and "through a mixture of hard work and obstinacy, he eventually earned enough to speculate as a builder". At some point between 1862 and 1865, he acquired the Ashfield House estate, which gave him opportunity to work on Lower Montpellier Parade, Around 1869, Dawson built a new pump room designed by J.H. Hirst, near the Montpellier Quarter, but it was demolished in 1954. Some of those others are buildings in Parliament Street including Fattorini the Jeweller (1866–1868), numbers 3–29 Swan Road (1881–1886), his residence Vanderbilt Court at 5 Victoria Avenue, 2–24 Crescent Road (Grosvenor Buildings), the wings of the Crown Hotel, Some of these are now listed buildings, for example, 1–10 Prospect Crescent, and 2–6 Crescent Road.

The whole of Mr Dawson's buildings have been erected with a view to their durability; and for solidity and the imposing character of their frontage they have few compeers. Harrogate Advertiser, 1889.

In spite of his success as a developer, Dawson remained in hands-on control of his building business, including the careers of his apprentices. In 1882, apprentice Thomas Pearson pretended that he was already "of age", i.e. 21 years old, so that his contract was legally at an end. However Dawson checked his birth certificate and found that the lad was in fact 20 years old, and had another year to work his contract. Dawson applied for a court order, to get the lad back to work, and succeeded.

Crown Hotel and Montpellier Estate In 1868 the Improvement Commissioners tried to purchase Harrogate's Crown Hotel and the attached Montpellier Estate from Thomas Collins, but failed, and Dawson purchased both.

Dawson "improved the estate by altering the existing baths and almost entirely re-laying out the grounds". He sold the Montpellier Estate, and bought it back again in 1884, built Victorian Turkish baths there, and made improvement to the gardens.

Public life

Together with Robert Ackrill, Dawson was a "strong supporter" of local government.

Dawson was a director of the Steam Laundry Company, and of the Knaresborough, Harrogate and Claro Building Society. When Dawson died, the flag was lowered to half-mast, on the Council offices.

Obituaries and other observations As a property developer of large, expensive houses, Dawson created employment and attracted the rich to the town. Thus, the Pateley Bridge and Nidderdale Herald said this: "To Alderman Dawson, Harrogate owes much of the prestige it has gained for the character of the noble blocks of buildings which he has been instrumental in erecting". Dawson was a hands-on manager of his building works, and many who attended his funeral had been his employees. The minister at his funeral recognised this: "[Dawson was] a man of extraordinary gifts with a palatial mind and great depth of tenderness as a person". and possibly also of his wife. The bust of Dawson demonstrates that, even towards the end of his life, Dawson still sported "showy, elaborate whiskers", and he chose to model for the bust in his alderman's robe. which also has a painting of Dawson.