R. O. Heslop

RICHARD OLIVER HESLOP, M.A., J.P., F.S.A.  (1842 – 1916)

 

When Oliver Heslop died unexpectedly in March of 1916, at the age of 74, his funeral brought together a veritable Who’s Who of dignitaries including the Lord Mayor and Sheriff of Newcastle, both of whom, according to the Newcastle Journal, wore their robes of office.  The solemn occasion was also attended by Sir Walter Runciman, M.P., City Councilors and the Mayor of Durham, representatives from five Consular offices as well as leaders from all walks of civic, academic, antiquarian and business life in and around the City of Newcastle.
The extensive list of mourners aptly reflects Heslop’s keen involvement in Newcastle society as a businessman, historian, lexicologist, lecturer, author, songwriter and liberalist, as well as holding esteemed civic positions as a Justice of the Peace and Consul to the Netherlands.
Obituaries were effusive in their praise of Heslop and his work, perhaps none describing him better than that written in the Newcastle Daily Journal on March 4, 1916:
“A gentleman of great charm of personality, he was one of the best known and most highly esteemed figures in Northern commercial and literary circles and he filled many public positions with grace, distinction and commanding urbanity.   His researches were conducted with the zeal of an enthusiast and his efforts in disclosing the lustre of Northumberland and Newcastle in this particular realm will stand as a monument to his name for many years to come.”
Heslop was born on March 14, 1842 at Villa Place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Joseph and Elizabeth Heslop.  His father was a relieving officer, a job that involved administering aid to the poor.  The family was undoubtedly upper middle-class and enjoyed the service of not just one, but two live-in domestic helpers.  He was educated at the Royal Grammar School following which he entered into a seven-year apprenticeship with Messrs. Haggie of Gateshead, a well-known supplier of rope and chains to the marine and coal mining industries. In 1867, the same year in which he married Margaret Webster, Heslop ventured into his own business as an iron and steel merchant with offices located at Sandhill and Stockbridge in Newcastle.
The business, Heslop, Wilson and Budden, appeared to be successful but in late 1874 the company and its individual partners declared bankruptcy.  It is possible this was as a result of what is generally called The Long Depression, but it seems more probable it was for the purpose of dissolving Heslop’s seven-year partnership with Thomas Wilson and John Budden.  The period of administration was short-lived and by April the following year a discharge from bankruptcy was granted to all parties, allowing Heslop to continue the business under his own name and from the same offices.
Following their marriage, the couple moved to Ashfield Terrace in Elswick where they lived with Heslop’s sister, Sarah, until about 1880 when the family moved to the picturesque village of Corbridge in Northumberland.  By this time, they had two children, Agnes 3, and Richard Oliver, 5 months.  Their second son, Cuthbert, would be born the following year.  The family returned to Newcastle in 1900, moving into a spacious house on Eskdale Terrace where he lived until his sudden death on March 4, 1916.
While Heslop was a successful businessman he is best known for his work as a historian and lexicologist.  It was in these aspects of Northumbria’s heritage that Heslop maintained a passionate interest, especially its dialect and the preservation of the distinctive Northumbrian burr.  For several years he conducted lectures throughout the region while writing for a variety of magazines and newspapers such as the popular Newcastle Weekly Chronicle for which he contributed a regular column entitled, ‘North Country Words and Their Meaning’.  He also wrote songs in dialect which were published under the pseudonym, Harry Haldane.  His crowning achievement was the highly acclaimed, Northumbrian Words, a dictionary of the Northumberland dialect which was published on behalf of the English Dialect Society in 1892.  It remains today as one of the classic references to the Northumbrian dialect as spoken around the mid to late 19th Century.  In 1901, in recognition of his study of the antiquities of Northumbria, he was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree by Durham University (Armstrong College of Science, Newcastle).
In the final decade of his life, Heslop became an important figure in Newcastle’s civic, historical and literary societies. His positions included:

President, Literary and Philosophical Society

Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians, London

Vice President, Newcastle Society of Antiquarians

Vice President, Surtees Society

Governor, Royal Grammar School

Governor, The Royal Infirmary

Governor, Armstrong College

Member, Public Library Committee

Member, Laing Art Gallery Committee

Consul, The Netherlands

Justice of the Peace, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Richard Oliver Heslop was interred at St Andrew’s cemetery in Newcastle.  His passing was widely reported and as an admired figure, was deeply mourned by many.  Perhaps because he never sought the limelight during his life, in death he has sadly been forgotten.

Andy Bogle
Northumbrian-words.com

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