Elizabeth Salisbury Heywood was born Elizabeth Salisbury Grime in Salford in 1811 she survived a shipwreck at the age of 17 (38 people did not survive the “Emma” disaster of 1828).
She married a local business man, Thomas Goadsby, who became Mayor of Manchester in 1861/62.
Their only child, Marianne, died aged 3.
Thomas died in 1866 and two years later Elizabeth married widower and fellow councillor of Thomas, Abel Heywood.
Abel was twice Mayor of Manchester and is famous for the building of a new town hall.
Elizabeth, through Thomas, became involved in the commissioning of two life size statues, one being Prince Albert (who died during Thomas’s mayoral term) the other Oliver Cromwell, two very incongruous characters.
The siting of these statues became a political controversy that seemingly upset Queen Victoria. At one stage Prince Albert was being put out in the rain and Oliver was going in the warmth of the new town hall.
They both finished up out in the rain and could have been the reason that she refused to open the new town hall.
Throughout their marriage, Thomas and Elizabeth resided in a mansion, “Rosehill”, at Throstle Nest, Stretford which was directly facing Henshaw’s homes for the Blind and Deaf.
Elizabeth continued to live here with Abel after Thomas’s death hosting visits by many dignitaries including the Prince of Wales.
Abel and Elizabeth moved to “Summerfield”, Rose Hill, Bowdon about 1873 until Elizabeth’s death, aged 75, in 1887.
During her high profile life Elizabeth was instrumental in raising money, clothing, bedding and food for destitute women during the “cotton famine” and she was a strong supporter of Women’s Suffrage.
Her will shows her benevolence to many charities and good causes, but by far the largest bequest of £10,000 went to Owen’s College, Manchester, to be called the “Elizabeth Salisbury Heywood Endowment” to be used for the education of women and girls in the college.
