Bassett Family Association Database

Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke[1]

Male 1877 - 1953  (75 years)


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  • Name Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke 
    Born 27 Dec 1877  Northampton, Northamptonshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 21 Oct 1953 
    Notes 
    • W.J. Bassett-Lowke
      London Times, 23 Oct 1953

      W. J. Bassett-Lowke, the founder of the famous firm of model makers,
      of Northampton and High Holborn, died on October 21, 1953 at the age of 76.
      Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke was born in 1877 at Northampton.
      Engineering was in his blood. His grandfather established the engineering and
      boiler-making business of Bassett and Sons in Northampton in 1859. His father
      was also and engineer and it was while he was apprenticed to his father
      works of J.T. Lowke and Sons that the firm of Bassett-Lowke took shape.
      Frustrated by the difficulties of getting well-designed components to meet his
      model-making needs, he decided to produce them for himself and for othe
      faced with the same problem.
      In this he was helped by his father and by his friend, H.F.R.
      Franklin. They advertised in the Model Engineer, then just established. A mail
      order business sprang up and the firm of Bassett-Lowke was born. The first of
      the famous catalogues was issued in 1899. Since then his models of railways,
      ships, and engineering equipment, many of them exquisite replicas of their
      prototypes, have become world famous.
      Bassett-Lowke was a director and one of the founders of the
      Northampton Repertory Theatre, and since his election as a member of the
      Northampton Town Council in 1930 he played a prominent part in municipal
      activities. He retired from the council in 1952, after having been an alderman
      for seven years.
    Person ID I57  299B Samuel Bassett of Randwick
    Last Modified 30 Aug 2009 

    Father Joseph Tom Lowke,   b. 19 Sep 1850, Northampton, Northampton, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Aug 1926  (Age 75 years) 
    Mother Eliza Goodman,   b. 15 Jul 1849,   d. 4 Jun 1922  (Age 72 years) 
    Married 10 Oct 1874 
    Family ID F12  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Florence Jane Jones,   b. 9 May 1886,   d. 8 Feb 1973  (Age 86 years) 
    Family ID F17  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Sources 
    1. [S1] GEDCOM file imported on 30 August 2009.