William Meath Baker

In 1863 William Baker IV (the uncle of William Meath Baker) bought an estate called Hasfield Court, in Gloucestershire. William made plans to change it by refacing the brick walls with stone and adding a porch, but he died before the move was accomplished and the alterations were completed by his brother Ralph. William died on the 16th of August 1865 and the Staffordshire Advertiser reported that the day of his funeral was one of general mourning in Fenton. He was buried in Fenton Churchyard and the funeral was attended by many of the workers from his factory. 

His brother, the Rev Ralph Bourne Baker inherited the factory and the estates at Hasfield, Gloucestershire and Doveridge Woodhouse. He married the Bishop of Meath’s daughter, Francis Crofton Singer, and they lived at Hilderstone where he was the incumbent until 1860. 

Here his son William Meath Baker was born in 1 November 1857. The family moved to Hasfield Court in 1865 where Ralph Baker died in 1875. The property was inherited by William Meath Baker. He did not take an active part in the running of the factories at Fenton, which traded as William Baker & Co., but he made regular visits to Fenton where, like his uncle William he was heavily involved in the development of the town

 William Meath Baker's involvement in the development of Fenton

Fenton Town Hall:
At the beginning of 1886 William Meath Baker offered to build a new town hail for Fenton. In April 1888 he submitted plans to Fenton Local Board of Health for three new streets which were subsequently named Station Street, Baker Street and Gimson Street. 

Victoria Square:
In the mid 1880s William Meath Baker demolished the cottages on the east side of his factory fronting High Street (now City Road) and what later became Victoria Square. Here in 1885 he constructed 30 houses with ornate frontages decorated with moulded brickwork and terracotta tiles.
Four years later the Fenton Local Board of Health Board built public urinals in the Square. 

Victoria Square c.1915
On the left are the houses W.M.B built - the public urinal in front.
In the centre of the picture is a drinking fountain presented by his uncle William Baker IV
[this in now in Fenton Park]

Hitchman Street:
In the meantime William Meath Baker submitted plans for a new street off Victoria Road in December 1889 which was named Hitchman Street. Here on a triangular site which also faced Victoria Road he built 12 houses and a shop in the same style as the houses fronting High Street and Victoria Square.

Ashleworth Terrace:
Below Christ Church on Church Street, William Meath Baker built a row of 12 houses called “Ashleworth Terrace” decorated with his monogram and the date of construction, 1891, on the front. The houses were built in an ornamental style with small gardens in front and were let to middle class tenants including several pottery manufacturers, schoolmasters and
commercial travellers. 

In the early 1930s William Meath Baker began to wind down his interests in Fenton. 
In 1931 Fenton House was sold to the parish. The factory ceased trading during the great depression in 1932. 
The premises is now occupied by Kames Kent (Ceramic Materials) Ltd. though all the buildings on the site date from after 1932. 
William Meath Baker died in 1935 but his descendants still (2000) own some property in the area including the houses in Hitchman Street and Victoria Place.

source: Andrew Dobraszczyc's notes