| Samuel Morton Peto |
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Information AboutSamuel Morton Peto |
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He was born in Woking , Surrey , and was apprenticed to his uncle who ran a building firm in London . When the uncle died in 1830 , Peto and his cousin Thomas Grissell went into partnership. The firm of Peto & Grissell built many well-known London buildings, including the Reform Club , the Oxford & Cambridge Club, the Lyceum and St James's Theatre , as well as Nelson's Column and the London brick sewer. In 1846 , the partnership broke up, and Peto entered into partnership with Edward Betts. Between 1846 and 1855 , the firm carried out many large railway contracts both home and abroad, among them the South-Eastern Line, The London, Chatham & Dover lines, the London, Tilbury & Southend line, and the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada . In 1854 Peto and Thomas Brassey constructed a railway in the Crimea between Balaklava and Sevastopol . He was made a Baronet for his services. Peto became a Liberal Member Of Parliament in 1847 . However, he became involved in the financial crisis of 1866 , was declared bankrupt and had to give up his seat in Parliament , despite having the support of both Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone . Peto had bought Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk in 1843 . He re-built the Hall and constructed a school and more houses in the village, before turning his attention to Lowestoft . He built a railway to connect the town to the rest of the rail network, as well as a harbour for 1,000 ships and some luxury hotels for the burgeoning holiday trade. |
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