Matthias Lucas: an obituary (1848)

Post date: Jun 08, 2011 1:54:39 PM

The Gentleman's Magazine of February 1848 (available on Google books) records the death on 2 January 1848 at Wateringbury Place, Kent of influenza, aged 86 of Matthias Prime Lucas, esq.,Alderman of London.

"Mr Lucas was a native of London, and served his time to his father as a lighterman; for many years he toiled as hard as any member of the class to which he belonged, and through his industrial habits and success in business he realised an immense fortune. When Napoleon projected the invasion of this country, he was very active in raising a body of ''River Fencibles''¹ of which he was appointed Commodore; and in that capacity one act of his deserves notice. When the fleet which was destined to attack Denmark was being got ready, there was a difficulty to man it, when Commodore Lucas so forcibly represented the necessity of the fleet being fully equipped that he succeeded in getting nearly the whole body of the Fencibles to volunteer, and to the bravery of the London watermen and lightermen were the country indebted for those brilliant victories of Copenhagen, the Nile, and Trafalgar. It laid the foundation of an intimate friendship with the naval heroes of the day; and on each anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar, Mr Lucas always entertained those living who commanded in those conflicts ; the entertainment usually took place at Portsmouth, and which the venerable Alderman continued up to the last year of his existence.

Being intimately connected with Tower Ward by his shipping and mercantile transactions, upon the death of Sir William Curtis in 1821, he was unanimously elected to the vacant aldermanic gown. He served the office of Sheriff in 1822, and in 1827 became Lord Mayor. During his year of mayoralty the presidency of Batholomew's Hospital became vacant to which he succeeded, and retained to his death. He was also Prime Warden of the Waterman's Company, and twice Master of the worshipful Company of Vintners. By the governors and others of Bartholomew's Hospital on the completion of his 85th year two magnificent silver salvers were presented to the deceased. To the poor of Wateringbury his loss will be irreparable; the whole of which parish he purchased some years since for about £80,000 and on which he has expended about £140,000.

He carried out in the full sense of the word the Old Enlish Gentleman, entertaining strong Conservative principle. He was born on the 6th November 1761 , and he was in the full enjoyment of his health and faculties until within a few days of his decease."

¹The 'sea fencibles' were a body formed in early 1798 by order of the Admiralty to act as an anti-invasion force in coastal waters. The Sea Fencibles were Naval officers and volunteer seafaring men. Service as a Sea Fencible exempted seamen from impressment. In 1798 watermen and other groups of river tradesmen on the River Thames voluntarily formed associations of 'River Fencibles'. Officially established in 1803 as "Corps of River Fencibles of the City of London", by 1804 they had uniformed commissioned officers in command.

In 1806 as commandant of the River Fencibles, Matthias Lucas had been responsible with the Lord Mayor for organising the elaborate procession on the river that took Nelson's body, after it had lain in state at Greenwich hospital, to the Admiralty, before it was buried at St Paul's. The following is a description of the procession from the History of The Watermen's Company (page 53):

The procession consisted of—

1—A boat containing two harbour masters. 2—The harbour master's water baliffs, &c. 3—A shallop containing the rulers of the Company of Watermen, and their clerk. 4—The chief officers and staff of the river fencibles. 5—Boats with drums, &c., muffled. 6—Officers commanding gun boats. 7—Ten gun boats, two and two. 8—River fencibles flanking. 9—Two row boats with an officer in each, then followed nine state barges draped in black, containing the mourners, officials connected with the admiralty and also the Heralds of Arms, bearing the insignia of the deceased. The third barge which contained the body, was covered with black velvet, the top adorned with plumes of black feathers and also with armorial bearings and a viscount's coronet; the body was covered with a large sheet, and a pall of velvet adorned with six escutcheons; this part of the procession was flanked by eighteen row boats of river fencibles, then came other barges of eight of the city companies, the Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Skinners, Merchant Taylors, Ironmongers, Stationers, and Apothecaries, those of the admiralty and official boards, the Lord Mayor's barge and the committee's barge containing the flag of the "Victory" flanked by the like number of row boats, with harbour marines ; the funeral barge was rowed by sixteen seamen belonging to the " Victory," the other barges by picked men from the Greenwich pensioners ; as the procession passed the Tower minute guns were fired, the procession arrived at Whitehall stairs about three o'clock, having been about three hours rowing up from Greenwich, when the King's, Admiralty, Lord Mayor's and city barges drew up in two lines, through which the barge with the body passed, the bands at the same time playing the " Dead March " in " Saul " with other dirgeful strains, with the most impressive effect, the gun boats firing minute guns all the time; during the time of disembarking there was a tremendous hailstorm.

In 1807 River Fencibles sailed to Copenhagen to help bring back some of the Danish vessels captured there after the second Battle of Copenhagen. The Greenwich River Fencibles consisted of a commandant, three captains, six lieutenants, 24 masters, 24 mates, and 157 gunners and privates. The Government provide pikes, but nothing else, so the men defrayed their own expenses. The Greenwich River Fencibles sent two officers and 126 men to Copenhagen. The City of London, Loyal Greenwich, and Royal Harbour River Fencibles also contributed men to the Walcheren Expedition in 1809. The Greenwich River Fencibles alone sent two officers and 130 men on the Walcheren expedition, two of whom were killed. In all, about 300 Fencibles volunteered to serve at Copenhagen and about the same number served on the Walcheren Expedition. They were disbanded in 1813.

His wife, Polly, had died the previous year in January 1847 aged 76 years.

For details of his will see Matthias Lucas's will and for his involvement in encouraging the poor to emigrate from Wateringbury see Wateringbury pays its own to go west.