Elizabeth Elliot Scott
Buried: 13/09/1876, aged 48
Plot no: 59738 | Section: L08 / D1
Elizabeth Elliot Scott was born at Carlops in Scotland in 1827. Carlops is a small village on the borders, close to the boundary with Midlothian, that was founded in 1784. The village was founded mainly on the works of cotton weaving, coal mining and limestone mining. The name derives from "Carlins Lowp" ("Witches' Leap") as near the south of the village there are two exposed rock faces about 20 metres in height facing each other with a similar distance between them. Local folklore maintains that witches would leap from one face to the other, over the chasm, for some evening entertainment.
It has not been established when Elizabeth chose to leave Carlops, but we can suppose that she may have first moved to a larger city, perhaps Edinburgh, before becoming involved in the hotel industry and the Temperance Movement, eventually moving to London. She must have been very hard working and successful in her field as she died at the age of 48 after working at the Waverley in London for almost 25 years, meaning that she would have been successfully promoted from the age of 23.
The Temperance Movement was begun by reformers that campaigned against the recreational use and sale of alcohol to allay the ‘danger to society’ posed by the different aspects of drinking. Temperance was particularly aimed at the working classes and was aligned to several non-conformist religious groups, particularly the Chartists, Methodists and Salvationists. The first organisation that promoted temperance was formed in Glasgow in 1829 and temperance had a large following in Scotland.
The Waverley Temperance hotel opened at 4 Lawrence Lane, Cheapside in the spring of 1851, just in time for the Great Exhibition. Elizabeth Scott must have been employed from the opening of the hotel. The owner was Robert Cranston who had already established a Temperance hotel in Edinburgh. Cranston was a pioneer of the Temperance movement and was also concerned for the less privileged members of society. He was quick to advertise that his hotel did not take advantage of the interest in visiting the Great Exhibition to introduce the extortionate rates that some of the West End hotels were charging.
No doubt many of the guests staying at the Waverley between May and October 1851 made up some of the six million people who visited the Exhibition. Elizabeth Scott would have been kept very busy managing the staff to ensure the smooth running of the establishment.
The following advertisement was printed in the ‘Scotsman’ in April 1851:
WAVERLEY TEMPERANCE HOTEL,
4 LAURENCE LANE, Cheapside,
LONDON
AND 43 PRINCES' STREET, EDINBURGH.
The expense of accommodation for Parties visiting
the GREAT EXHIBITION is likely to deter many
from availing themselves of the Cheap Conveyances
afforded by the various Companies to visit London
on that most interesting and novel occasion.
A paragraph in the Scotsman of last Saturday
calls attention to the extortion already practised in
the West End of London, by parties offering the
accommodation referred to.
The Proprietor of the WAVERLEY begs to set the
matter at rest, so far as he is concerned, by laying
before the public the following quotations from the
scale of charges, which he is determined strictly to
adhere to during the whole period of the Exhibition:-
First-class Bed-rooms per night, 2s. Two persons
occupying the same room, 1s 6d each.
Second-class Bed-rooms per night Is 6d. Two persons
occupying the same room Is. each.
Plain Breakfast, Is; Ditto, with extras, Is. 6d.
Chop or Steak for Dinner, 10d; Soup, per basin, 6d.
Plain Tea, Is, &c. &c.
Parties may live at the WAVERLEY at rates even
lower than these, by having Cups of Coffee or Tea
in the Public Coffee room, which is kept liberally
supplied with Newspapers, Magazines, &c. &c.
ROBERT CRANSTON , PROPRIETOR ,
4 LAURENCE LANE, CHEAPSIDE,
LONDON,
AND 43 PRINCES' STREET, EDINBURGH.
19th April 1851.
By 1857 Elizabeth had another service and group of people to manage. The Waverley Hotels now boasted a News-Room. Here young men were ‘invited to spend their spare hours’. All the London, Provincial, Edinburgh and Glasgow newspapers and magazines were available as well as a library with over 400 volumes. The charge for the use of this service was one penny a visit. As well as making use of this service they could partake of the ‘hot joint and soups ready every day at one o’clock’. There was always coffee available and, in the evening, at half-past eight, the Times was available – on the day of publication. This was probably added for the Edinburgh clients, with a delivery by train.
One of the important events Elizabeth would have had to manage was when Thomas Cook, another dedicated temperance man, used the Waverley Hotel as a base to take booking for his first European trips, to Paris, Belgium and the Rhine in 1855. The advertisement notified interested travellers that ‘Mr Cook will be at the Waverley Temperance Hotel, Lawrence Lane, Cheapside, from eleven to three o’clock, on Saturday, August 11 and Monday 13, for the purpose of giving information and issuing tickets.
Thomas Cook was the ‘innovator of the conducted tour’ and became the founder of Thomas Cook and Son, worldwide travel agency. As his first tours had been to the Great Exhibition, perhaps he was a familiar face for Elizabeth and had stayed at the Waverley. Perhaps, also, he may have used it as a model for his own temperance hotel, that he and his wife opened in the Fleet Street in 1865.
“This stone was erected by Robert Cranston, Waverley Park, Edinburgh. In affectionate remembrance of Elizabeth Elliot Scott”
There are few records of Elizabeth, however, she is noted to have worked ‘successfully and faithfully’ and quietly in her role managing the 150 rooms of the London Waverley Hotel. Her gravestone stands as a token of Robert Cranston’s appreciation.
The simple yet distinguished headstone for Elizabeth Elliot Scott in section L08 /D1, in relatively good condition and all lead lettering intact. The grave is visible from the path, but as with many graves in Abney Park, only close inspection reveals the hidden story.
