Ellen Marjorie Grenside (1904-1962)

Donor. Mrs Ellen Marjorie Grenside or Watson (1904-1963)

Figure 1.Painting. Mrs Ellen Watson by Sir James Guthrie. 1898 © CSGCIC Glasgow Museums Acc 2949

The subject of the painting is Mrs Ellen Watson (c1820-1902), our donor’s paternal grandmother. Painted by Sir James Guthrie c1898 it has been exhibited on several occasions including at the RSA in 1901, The Franco -British Exhibition in 1908, Links House Scottish Art Promotion in Glasgow in 1966 and the Arts Council’s London and Empire Tour ‘Decade 1890-1900’ in 1967.¹ The painting was in the possession of the sitter’s son George Lennox Watson(see below) until his death in 1904 and was then passed down the family until it was gifted to Glasgow Museums by the sitter’s granddaughter Mrs Ellen Marjorie Grenside or Watson in 1952.²

Ellen Marjorie Watson (1904-1963)

Ellen Marjorie Watson(known as Madge) was born at 9 Highbury Terrace Dowanhill Glasgow on 29 April 1904. Her father was George Lennox Watson (GLW)and her mother was Marie (or Mary) Alice Lovibond .³ By the time of our donor’s birth her father was well established as a yacht designer of great repute.⁴

GLW was born on 30 October 1851 in Regent Street Glasgow. His father was Thomas Lennox Watson, a doctor at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and his mother, the subject of our portrait, was Ellen Burstall ,⁵ daughter of engineer Thomas Burstall who was involved in the Rainhill Locomotive Trials in 1828/9.⁶ As a boy GLW spent holidays at Inverkip on the River Clyde where he is believed to have developed a passion for yachts and at the age of sixteen became an apprentice draughtsman at the shipyard of Robert Napier and Sons in Glasgow. During this training period GLW was involved in the use of hydrodynamics in yacht design. He went on to gain more experience with A and J Inglis Shipbuilders . In 1873 at the age of twenty two he founded the world’s first dedicated yacht design office-G Watson & Company. He had early success with racing yachts such as Verve, Clothildeand Vril.This brought his name to the fore as the most innovative yacht designer of the time. Though he was personally involved in the building and part ownership of these early yachts he never made a business of yacht building instead concentrating on yacht design. He went on to design over 400 yachts for some of the wealthiest men in the world venturing into steam yachts from 1885. ⁷

Figure 2 George Lennox Watson © RNLI

In 1893 GLW designed the Britannia (see Figure 3) for Edward ,Prince of Wales, later Edward VII who was a keen sailor. The yacht was built at the Clyde yard of D& W Henderson. In 1910 the new king George V, also a keen sailor, inherited Britannia and competed with it successfully for the rest of his life .⁸ GLW designed four yachts for the Americas Cup Race including Shamrock IIfor Sir Thomas Lipton .⁹

Figure 3 HMY Britannia © Public domain

Other famous clients included the Tsar of Russia (Zarnitza),¹⁰ F. W.Vanderbilt the American millionaire(Warrior) which was launched by Mrs Marie Watson in February 1904.¹¹ GLW also redesigned Scotiafor the Scottish Antarctic Expedition of 1902-4 .¹²

Figure 4 Scotia © Public Domain

In addition to yacht design GLW was also heavily involved with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). He became consulting Naval Architect in 1887 and remained involved with the RNLI for the rest of his life. He developed the Watson- Class Lifeboat which in several variations was operated by the RNLI around the coasts of Britain and Ireland between 1888 and 1991 .¹³As we shall see this involvement influenced his daughter throughout her life

Figure 5 Tynemouth.Watson Motor Class Lifeboat. © RNLI

Involvement in yacht design and other interests seemed to leave GLW little time for his personal life. He did not marry until he was 52 years old when he married Marie Alice Lovibond in Putney ,London on 10 June 1903. The wedding was described as ‘a gathering of the most fashionable people in society.’ Sir Thomas Lipton, Lord Dunraven and Peter and James Coats of Ferguslie were among many other prominent guests .¹⁴ The couple lived at 9 Highbury Terrace, Dowanhill, Glasgow where our donor was born .¹⁵ Ellen or Madge as she became known ,was to grow up not knowing her father as he died suddenly on 12 November 1904 of ‘Coronary asthma’. ¹⁶

Shortly after her father’s death Madge and her mother moved from Glasgow to Putney Hill, Greater London where they lived at 12 Chartfield Avenue . Marie Watson came from Putney so they possibly moved there to be near her family. According to the 1911 Census the house was also occupied by Madge’s nurse and three servants .¹⁷ The Watsons lived at this address until 1922 when they moved to a house called Vril in Holloway Hill, Godalming in Surrey. The house was probably named after one of Madge’s father ‘s first yachts and was previously known as Braemar House until bought by the Watsons .¹⁸

There is little information about our donor’s life in the nineteen twenties and early thirties but we do know that she was a talented pianist gaining the Licentiateship of the Royal College of Music in 1927 which qualified her to teach the piano.¹⁹ She was also pianist for the Rainbow Band, ‘a small ensemble of the daughters of Godalming families specialising in playing for charity concerts .’²⁰ One example of this was in January 1931 when ,’Miss Madge Watson and the Rainbow Band provided the music for a pantomime The Sins of Cinderella’ which was performed by The Cottage Players at the Church Room in Godalming to raise money for the Church Room Building Fund. ²¹ Rainbow was also the name of one of Madges fathers yachts.(Wikipedia)²²

Madge was said to be involved in numerous social activities including the Godalming Badminton Club and the Hindhead Golf Club. She was also heavily involved with the Godalming branch of the RNLI ,appointed as honorary secretary, in 1929 ,an office she held for 30 years .²³

Madge’s mother died on 23 March 1929 leaving her daughter living alone at Vril .²⁴ However at the age of thirty Madge married Philip James Grenside (known as Jimmie) ,an electrical engineer, on 20 January 1934 at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Godalming.²⁵ We do not know how they met but perhaps through mutual social interests such as sport as Jimmie was also a member of the Godalming Badminton Club and the Hindhead Golf Club.

George Lennox Watson was not forgotten at the wedding as the wedding cake was decorated with a silver cup presented by the RNLI on the occasion of the marriage of Madge’s parents .²⁶

Figure 6 Wedding of Philip James Grenside and Ellen Marjorie Watson

The couple both lived at Vril after the wedding. A son, George, was born in 1935²⁷ followed in 1937 by a daughter, Hazel .²⁸ In 1938 they moved to The Mount, Bushbridge Lane, Godalming and this house was renamed Vril .²⁹ There in 1940 a third child, Lois, was born. ³⁰There appear to have been three servants living in the house including Alice Agnew .³¹

Jimmie was a member of Brooklands Flying Club and in June 1935 acquired a Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate .³²According to the 1939 Register by 1939 his occupation was that of Assistant Flying Instructor .³³ From April 1940 until November 1945 Jimmie was a First officer in the Air Transport Auxiliary which had been established in 1939 for the purpose of delivering aircraft to the Royal Airforce and the Royal Navy as well as other air transport tasks auxiliary to the war effort .³⁴

Madge continued her volunteer work as honorary secretary of the Godalming RNLI. In 1936 she was awarded the RNLI Gold Badge for her work .³⁵ Her work continued during the war. For example in September 1941 she organised a whist drive at the Church Rooms in Godalming which raised £16.³⁶ just one of many fundraising events. Throughout her life she helped raise a total of £7750 for the RNLI. In 1949 she was appointed an Honorary Life Governor. ³⁷

Madge was also involved with the British Red Cross Society, The British and Foreign Bible Society ,The Mission for Seamen and the United Nations. She was a regular church goer attending the Busbridge Parish Church and later of St Johns Church, Farnham .³⁸

Madge was also interested in local history and for many years was Honorary Curator of the Weybridge Museum which had been founded in 1911.³⁹

By the end of the war the Grensides had moved to Ramsden Road, Godalming .One of the former servants ,Alice Agnew, was still living with the family. Again the house was names Vril .⁴⁰

By 1961 Madge, Jimmie and the three children had moved again to Flat 1, Frith Hill House ,Nightingale Road, Farnham .⁴¹Here Jimmie died on 8 July 1961. His estate on his death was very small ⁴² compared to that of Madge ⁴³who died at the Royal Surrey Hospital on 24 August 1963. As was said in the obituary published in the Guilford and Godalming Advertiser,

‘ Mrs Grenside devoted most of her spare time to helping others less fortunate than herself ‘.⁴⁴

References

1. Glasgow Museums Resource Centre Object File 2949 Grenside Mrs E. M

2. As above

3. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk  Statutory Births

4. https://lifeboatmagazinearchive October 1937 p 348-350

5. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk Statutory Births

6. http://www.gracesguide.co.uk Thomas Burstall

7. www.gracesguide.co.uk George Lennox Watson

8 . op cit ref 4

9 .as above

10. Dictionary of National Biography 1912 Supplement Vol 3 George Lennox Watson