WEDDINGTON CASTLE - An Online History

KEY PEOPLE: Edward Melly (1857 - 1941)

Born in Liverpool in 1857, Edward Melly was second in a family of seven boys and one girl. He was born into a well-known merchant family which had begun in Liverpool with the arrival of his grandfather from Switzerland in the 1820s.

His uncle, George Melly, was especially famous in the Liverpool area. His father, Charles P. Melly, became known for providing drinking fountains throughout the country, earning the nickname of 'Fountain Melly'. It seems that this philanthropic streak was passed on to Edward.

Edward trained as a coal mining manager at the Nunnery Colliery in Sheffield. He was brought to Nuneaton to manage the Griff Colliery which had been sold by Lord Newdegate to Edward's mentor, Emerson Bainbridge.

He arrived with his family in 1882, and soon settled into middle class society. He was married three times. His first marriage produced three sons, though his wife died in childbirth in 1892 after 6 years of marriage. He remarried in 1894, but his second wife died in 1899 after a short illness. In 1906 he married his lifelong friend Harriet Lees (or 'Hattie'). They adopted 2 children together.

In 1888, following his father's death, Edward arranged with Nuneaton Borough council to establish a drinking fountain in his memory.

His generosity was further demonstrated in 1890, when he donated land for the Chilvers Coton Recreation Ground and presented four of the Pingles Fields "to be used as a public park forever". His specific concern for children was also demonstrated by his role as Honorary Secretary and President of the local NSPCC during World War One.

Councillor Edward Melly donated the lands for Riversley Park - named after his Liverpool home - which opened on July 6th 1907.

Mr Melly also had a lifelong concern with hospitals (possibly linked to his father's cousin William Rathbone, who founded district nursing). He was involved in the creation of the Cottage Hospital in Manor Court Road, making donations and acting as Financial Secretary.

In 1916 Edward Melly secured the lease of Weddington Hall in order to establish a Red Cross Hospital in the building. He paid for much of the equipment needed to make the hospital operational, this on top of several other contributions he and his wife had already made to the war effort.

Mr Melly also contributed £600 towards the construction of the Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery which was begun in 1914 and completed in 1917. 3000 people attended the opening night and many shook Mr Melly's hand personally. Ironically, it was in the Nuneaton Blitz of 17th May 1941 which obliterated the Museum roof, that Edward Melly also lost his life. He perished, aged 83, during the bombing raid along with his wife in their Church Street home.

PICTURE LEFT: Bomb damage in Church Street, Nuneaton to the late Alderman Melly's house. 1940s

SOURCE: E. F. Melly - Nuneaton's Unknown Benefactor. Extracts from display at the Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery, November 1997.

NB 1: In 2003 an artistic project, lead by local artist Alisha Miller, was undertaken.  This project, named 'The Gold Belt', was an artistic interpretation of Nuneaton history placed under the Vicarage Street walkway between Riversley Park and the George Eliot Memorial Gardens. Being in Riversley Park this work incorporated much of the history of this land, bequeathed to Nuneaton by Alderman Melly and indeed, takes its name from his own motto: "a good reputation is better than a gold belt".

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NB 2: In 2008 a bid was launched to use Lottery Funding to restore the Park to its original layout and usage (see local newspaper report here).