February 24th William Bickford Smith (Death)

                 

 

 

 

 

 

Truro–born William Bickford–Smith (1827 – 1899) who died on this day in 1899 was an English fuse manufacturer and politician who represented Truro in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892.

His grandfather, William Bickford, had made his fortune through his invention of a rope-based mining fuse which was safer than previous fuses.  The grandson and son of successful entrepreneurs, Bickford-Smith was also the founding chairman of the Helston Railway.  Born Smith, he double – barrelled his surname as a condition of receiving his inheritance from his grandfather. 

Bickford-Smith is remembered for his purchase of the Trevarno Estate, whose gardens he developed, and for funding, in 1882, the famous Bickford-Smith Institute (pictured below) in Porthleven, which, famous for its 70-foot clock tower, was built as a scientific and literary institute and incorporated a lending library.

                                                                   

 


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