The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-12-04 00:00:00

THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF

STAMFORD.

SILVE pt-WEDDING PRESENTATION

The silver-wedding of the Earl and Countess of
Stamford and Warrington having fallen in the
present year, their Staffordshire tenantry, employees
and tradesmen resolved to mark the event by some
tangible proof of their respect and esteem. The
idea of the presentation. when once mooted, was
taken up in a spirit which showed that its success
would be assured, and the committee who had the
matter in hand have brought it to a most a itis-
factory issue. It was determined to limit the sub-
scribers to those above named, and also to limit
the amount of subscriptions; but had it been other-
wise, there is no doubt that the presentation would
have assumed very much larger proportions than
, was actually the case. The people of the Black
' Country and its green borderland owe a great debt
of gratitude to Lord Stamford for the generous
manner in which, season after season, he throws
open Enville gardens to all comers, and there have
been many special entertainments at Enville from
time to time, in which the public have been allowed
to take part without restriction; although there
has never been any formal acknowledgment of
Lord and Lady Statnford's kindness in these direc-
tions, there is, it may be unreservedly said, a very
lively appreciation in the public mind of their
large .heartedness in the matter, and had the
Presentation Committee deviated from the line
they had laid down subscriptions would have been
greatly multiplied. As it was, the committes
readily obtained sufficient for the immediate
purpose in view, and a fund of £350. was raised
for the presentation. This took the form ef a
dinner and dessert service of glass, manuf tctured by
the well-known firm of Messrs. Thomas Webb and
Sons, of Stourbridge. It comprised nearly 500
pieces, the whole being richly cut and engraved.
Tile cutting - was in hexagonal, diamonds, and
prisms, and the brilliant effect produced was every-
thing that could be desired. A coronet and mono-
gram were engraved in medallions on each piece.
The centre piece and two side pieces were on silver
stands, and were enriched with artificial flowers,
so deftly made that the eye was deceived into
believing them naturr.l. The address which was a
beautiful specim-n of illuminating in the style of
the 15th century, was executed by Mr. Frank
Allsop, of Stourbridge. The whole consisted of 18
pages, the first three being exceedingly elabJra e
and gold and colours were frequently used, and
presented a most harmonious effect. The arms of
the Earl and Countess of Stamford and Warrington
were executed in proper heraldic colours, the
former being entwined in the letter T at the top of
the first page. The remaining 15 pages containing
the text, which was beautifully underlined with
gold, had borders round each of distinct design in
which were introduced birds and flowers, and the
value of the work as an art production, is shown
by the fact that no two pages were alike, either in
colour, treatment, or design. The address has been
pronounced by judges as a great success, and the
binding of the book was also of a recherche character.
Lord Stamford received the Presentation Com-
mittee in the picture gallery at the Hall, a fine
room, containing a valuable collection of works of
historic and artistic interest. Lady Stamford
would also have been present but for the serious
illness of Mrs. Payne, who lies in a critical state at
the hall. The gentlemen attending to make the
presentation were the Rev. C. Padley, Rev. J. L.
Harding; and Messrs. E. M. Wakeman, H. Gray,
H. Thompson, E. Oakes, P. Pearman, H Yardley,
E. Bennett. S. Ward, and H. Thatcher (Envillel ;
Messrs. W. Corbett R. Broornhall, and J. W.
Jones (Stourbridge) ; and Messrs. T. Holyoake, T.
Bach, H. P. Downing, and W. Pearman (Kinver).
Several other gentlemen interested in the present-
ation were also in the room.
The Rev. C. Padley, as chairman of the com-
mittee, introduced the members of the committee
who, he said, attended to present the accompanying
service of glass, which had been made to com-
memorate Lord and Lady Stamford having attained
their silver wedding. He was further commissioned
to present the illuminated album, containing the
names of the subscribers, and an address, se, ting
forth the reasons and purpose of the presentation,
and which Mr. Corbett, the senior tenant on the
estate at Amblecote, would read They might
have had a much larger number of signatures
attached to the address if they had thought it
desirable ; but they considered it would be m 're
agreeable to Lord and Lady Stamford's wishes not
to extend the number of subscribers to too wide
an area; but to confine it to these who, 'either as
tenants, tradesmen, or otherwise were m.)re inti-
mately connested with the estates at Enville. Mr.
Padley also alluded to the reasons for limit'ng tho
amount of the subscription so that the presentation
might be a thoroughly representative one, and not
merely depend on the contributions of the wealthy.
He should not be doing justice to his subject if he
omitted to say a few words about the service of glass
extended in goodly array before him, When they
decided there should be a presentation, the ques-
tion arose as to the form it should take. Thoy
thought it would be almost like carrying onals to
Newcastle to present plate, and, after some con-
sideration, a service of glass was resolved on. The
present service was produced, which, from its
being composed of crystal glass and silver, was
deemed thst best and most appropriate material for
commemorating a silver-wedding, He would not
dilate upon the excellences of the service which
Messrs. Thomas Webb and Sons had made, arid it
was sufficient to say that in selecting that firm, the
committee made choice of one that had won golden
laurels, not only at home, but at Paris and Sydney.
It might not be known to many of those who
admired the works of Messrs. Webb and other
eminent firms, in the London shops, that from the
neighbourhood of Stourbriage came the purest and
finest crystal glass in the worli, and though Mr.
Webb could not say with the poet, "Exegt monu-
mentum wre perennius" (" I have constructed a
monument more enduring than brass "), he could
say he had produced a service of which it would
require a great deal of brass on the part of foreign
glass firms to equal, much less to excel. Mr. Padley
then referred to the harmonious working of the
committee in carrying out the presentation, and, in
concluding, paid a tribute to the Countess of
Stamford, who, he remarked, was ever ready to
suggest and second any scheme that might further
the interests of the community, and especially that
would benefit the poor of that neighbourhood.
(Applause). He wished to them both many years of
health, happiness, and prosperity, and would call on
Mr. Corbett to read the address.

.Mr. IV. Corbett (Ainblecote Hal]) then read the
address, which was in the following terms :
'• To the Earl and Countess of Stamford and
Warrington :—The attainment of your silver
wedding day is an event which we cannot allow
to pass without most respectfully expressing our
hearty congratulations and our earnest ensiles for
your united present and future health and hep-
piness. • We also avail ourselves of this opportunity
to ask you to receive the accompanying service of
gla4s from u 4, as a token of our respect and deep
sense of the many kindnesses received at your
hands for so many years. Your great
.beneficence
in wintor after winter, so liberally relieving the
poor of the district, your noble generosity in
throwing open the beautiful grounds and gardens
of Envifie to the public generally your ready and
hearty response to all calls made upon you for
public purposes—whether for the promotion of
religion, relief of distress, or the extension of
healthy amusements and public sports—all alike
make us feel what a heavy debt of gratitude we,
and all who are in any way: connected with the
Enville estates, owe you—a debt which, whilst we
fully appreciate, we can in no way repay. We
only hope that, in asking your acceptance of the
accompanying service, you will receive it from us
as some faint expression on our part of the regard
and esteem we entertain towards you both. We
would wish briefly to state that the pl.( sentation is
the production of a wellkwiwn firm in your own
neighbourhood, in immediate contiguity to your
lordship's manor of Amblecote, and that the artisans
employed in its manufacture are all men who have
for years enjoyed the privilege you have so liberally
accorded to the working classes of access to Envilie
and its grounds ; and we hope that these facts
may lead you to value it the more. With this
presentation we wish you also to accept an album,
ccntaining the names of those who avail themselves
of this opportunity of wishing you many happy
returns of your wedding-day.''
The Earl of Stamford, in redly, said : Mr.
Corbett and gentlemen, I must beg, in the first
place, to return you our most sincere thanks for
your great kindness and he irty congratulations
on the attainment of our silver wedding-day. I
really cannot find words to express how truly we
feel your kindness in presenting us with this
magnificent service of. glass and beautifully-il-
luminated album, showing, as it does, that twenty-
five years of our married life have at least proved
that our efforts to promote the happiness of all
those connected with our estates have resulted in
calling forth their expressions of gratitude for those
small favours we have been able to bestow, and
that you to whom we have lent a Inlping hand
in times of deep distress have appreciated what it
hid pleased God to put us in a positim t be able
to do (Applause.) Mr, Corbett and gentlemen,
the knowledge that this splendid service of glass
has been manufa,Aured in this neighhournood
enhances to a great degree the value of it, as you
may rest assured that as long as we live it will
remain as a memento of those wh05.3 good opinion it
has always been and always will be our utmost
endeavour to gain, (Applause.) I can only add how
much Lady Stamford regrets that her deep anxiety
regarding Mrs. Payne's state of health prevents
her being present to have personally tendered you
her most sincere thanks for such a mark of your
respect and esteem,

His lordship afterwards entertained the corn'
mittee at a collation.—Mr. W. Corbett proposed
" The Health of Lord and Lady Stamford," to
which his lordship briefly respondel, expressing a
hope that there would soon be an improvement in
the trade of the country,—Mr. Wakeman proposed
"The Health of the Rev. C. Padley," the chairman
of the committee ; and the visitors shortly after-
'cards left,