ANTHONY SILSON, Leeds Lakes and Ponds

Abstract

1868 in case his lost his seat in Lancashire, as he did, at the same election. Langley then again fell foul of the party by contesting unofficially and losing a by-election in Greenwich in 1873. Finally, at the 1874 general election he was Gladstone’s official Liberal partner in this two member seat but finished narrowly last. This was his final attempt to enter parliament. Langley’s eventual downfall came from his last campaign. He was deeply concerned at the poor and insanitary houses that working class families were forced to live in, not least by the burgeoning of the population in the cities. In the larger cities the population had increased by up to five times between 1801 and 1871. Typically he took positive action and he became the driving force behind the ‘Artizans, Labourers’ and General Dwellings Company’ which, among other developments built the Shaftesbury Estate in Battersea. Considerable sums of money passed through Langley’s hands and he was accused of using sums for his own purposes. Langley was taken to court and there he argued that he was only holding the money temporarily in trust for the company. Given his long record of campaigning and of philanthropy he was unlikely to have misused funds but he was found guilty and sentenced to eighteen months with hard labour. By this time his health was poor and this experience was disastrous for him and his family. He was released on compassionate grounds in 1877 and survived a further fifteen years in very poor health. David George has done a fine job of bringing into the light the life of a dedicated and effective radical campaigner who until now has been too little known.