Augustus Smith
historyAugustus John Smith (15 September 1804 – 31 July 1872) was governor of the Isles of Scilly for over thirty years, and was largely responsible for the economy of the islands as it is today.
Smith was born at Ashlyns Hall, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, and went into banking. He became known locally as a philanthropist, doing his best to improve educational standards in his home district. In 1834 he acquired the lease on the Isles of Scilly from the Duchy of Cornwall for £20,000, and set about changing the islanders' way of life, expelling those who could not find a job locally and evacuating some of the smaller islands, where small populations were farming at barely subsistence level.
In 1866 Lord Brownlow tried to enclose Berkhamsted Common with 5' steel fences built by Woods of Berkhamsted and therefore, claim it as part of his estate. Augustus Smith MP led gangs of local men and hired men from London's East End brought out on the new railway on a specially chartered train to break the fences and protect Berkhamsted Common for the people of Berkhamsted. East End toughs and local Berkhamsted men and women fought that night against Lord Brownlow's men in what became known nationally as the Battle of Berkhamsted Common. This and his actions in promoting working class education are commemorated by the award of the Augustus Smith scholarship for state school students in Berkhamsted.
Smith gave himself the title Lord Proprietor, and, though many of his actions were unpopular, his motives are now generally recognised as having been good ones. Besides building a new quay at Hugh Town on St. Mary's, he sowed gorse and trees to provide shelter for the agricultural land. He built schools on the well-inhabited islands. Having cleared the island of Samson of the one or two families that inhabited it, he attempted to turn it into a deer park, but the experiment failed.»Golden Harvest: - Andrew Tompsett - 2006
Smith lived at Tresco Abbey. He never married, but is believed to have had illegitimate children by several of his female servants. He had a close relationship with Lady Sophia Tower, a married woman (and only daughter of the 1st Earl Brownlow) who often visited him at Tresco. The estate was inherited by lateral descendants, who retain the lease into the present day.
He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Truro from 1857 to 1865. He served as President of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall from 1857-1862, and also of the Royal Institution of Cornwall Peter Mandler, ‘Smith, Augustus John (1804–1872)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 » accessed 15 Nov 2007
Truro and St Austell (UK Parliament constituency)