PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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SOLOMON STEPHENS (1864-1950)
Solomon Stephens was born at 34 Embankment Road, Cattedown, Plymouth, in 1864. His father, Mr James Stephens, was a master baker, while his mother was formerly Miss Elizabeth Velvin, of Ermington, Devon. He followed his father into the bakery business and following his marriage to Miss Louisa Scanes at Ide, near Exeter, in 1886, he opened his first, small, shop at 4 Drake's Buildings, Drake's Terrace, Hill Street, Plymouth. His business life (Messrs S Stephens Ltd) is dealt with in the Business Houses section. In 1901 he entered local politics by standing as a Liberal for a seat in Charles Ward. He was defeated by 30 votes. However, the following year he succeeded Mr Jonathan Marshall in that Ward and continued to represent it until the end of the Great War. After an absence of twelve months he was once again elected to the Council, this time for Laira Ward. Mr Stephens was chosen to be Mayor of Plymouth in 1922 and held the office until 1924, when he stood, unsuccessfully, as a Parliamentary candidate for the Drake Division. He was elevated to Alderman in 1926 in succession to Sir Thomas Baker. He lost his first wife in February 1929. In October 1931 Mr Stephens married a Scottish widow, Mrs Mary Scott, of Daviot, Aberdeenshire, at Kingston, Middlesex. Mrs Scott was very well known in Glasgow as the lady who made it possible for the poorer working-class women of the City to afford flowers for their homes. Her first shop in Great Hamilton Street, Glasgow, attracted crowds of women eager to view her flower displays and the flowers themselves were sold at prices that were well within the working woman's purse. They even bought flowers for weddings and funerals, something not known in the working-class districts before. In 1935 the Minister of Agriculture appointed him to the Wheat Commission to represent bakers all over the country and he was among those who advised the Ministry of Food on bread production during the Second World War. In 1937 he was elected as Lord Mayor of Plymouth and during his term of office he greeted HM Queen Mary when she visited the City and Count Grandi, the Italian Ambassador, when he paid a flying visit to inspect the Italian Naval training ships "Vespucci" and "Columbo". Upon the extension of the City boundary Mr Stephens presented the Council with a replica of the famous Warwick vase in commemoration of the event. During his eventful life he helped found the South Devon and Cornwall Master Bakers' Federation and for many years was president of the Plymouth Master Bakers' Federation. He was at one time president of the National Association of Master Bakers and Confectioners and chairman of their Parliamentary Committee. He retired from that office in 1943 after 31 years service and was entertained to dinner at the Dorchester Hotel, in London. In addition, Mr Stephens was a Justice of the Peace and one-time chairman of the Plymouth Incorporated Mercantile Association. He became leader of the Liberal Party on Plymouth City Council until he retired in 1949. He had served for 46 years. Mr Solomon Stephens died in 1950, at the age of 86 years. His business was sold to Messrs Rank Ltd in 1951.
Sources recorded.
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