Windsor People

Frederic Rainer 1836-1911

Frederic Rainer: The Founder Of Probation?

Using material taken almost exclusively from the Rainer Archive, Shani Cassady reflects on the life and legacy of the “forgotten philanthropist” whose actions may have sparked off the train of events which eventually led to the establishment of the Probation Service.

Frederic Rainer is said to have been the catalyst to the Probation Service, donating 5/- to the Church of England Temperance Society (CETS) to arrest the inevitable downward spiral of those ‘whose foot has once slipped’. Nevertheless, little is written about the man who is said to have taken that first step, and few beyond the areas of probation know of his work. Indeed even a CETS publication celebrating its 60th anniversary, only refers to a donation from “a working printer”.

Biography

Born in Windsor in 1836 to George, a mason, and Susannah, a coffee shop proprietor, Frederic was the last of their six children. Educated in the National Schools and a member of the local parish church, he found a mentor in Reverend Henry Ellison, whose daughter remembered Frederic as a particular favourite of her father’s – “one of my father’s special protégés”. He left school in 1851 and obtained a position at the Windsor Express Office. In January of 1852 Frederic formally embarked on his apprenticeship as a printer, little realising at the time where this would lead him.

The Development of the Church of England Temperance Society

During Frederic’s early adulthood Reverend Ellison (later Canon Ellison) had turned his attention to temperance, and in 1859 set up a society in his locality. Three years later this gave rise to the Church of England Total Abstinence Society (later the Church of England Temperance Reformation Society, reconstituted in 1872 to form the CETS). His mission was largely developed during his time in Oxfordshire, although Ellison was not alone in his endeavours, as philanthropic enterprises were increasing nationally to stem the rising tide of apparent ‘ lawlessness ’ and ‘immorality’ amongst the labouring classes.

It was against this background then that the relationship between the church and police courts, that were fighting common causes, would be allowed to flourish. However, it needed a catalyst and, according to many, this came in the form of Frederic Rainer’s donation.

Frederic and ‘Those Whose Foot Had Once Slipped’

Frederic had married Louisa, the daughter of a cab driver, in 1862 and they had subsequently moved to London where he worked for Messrs. Gilbert and Rivington, ecclesiastical printers based in Holborn. According to accounts of his diary for that period, Frederic used transport reluctantly, preferring instead to walk. It is argued that his frequent perambulations around London allowed him to view the populace in a particularly intimate manner. He also passed his time visiting his sister Jane, reading history books, and learning languages, and even joined the Irish Volunteers where he graduated to firing blanks. He is also said to have written poetry, albeit on a temperance theme, and at least one such poem survives in the Rainer Archive. It was entitled: ‘Give Him A Pull Brother Out Of The Stream’:

“Strong drink’s the current that hurrying down
Thousands of votaries year after year;
Shall we stand helpless and leave them to drown?
Is there no possible remedy near?
Bring them the life-belt of Abstinence, friend;
Carefully, prayerfully, be this our theme –
Give them a hand, brother, gently yet firm;
Give them a pull, brother, out of the stream.”

He and Louisa had eight children, six of whom survived childhood and by 1878 Frederic once again lived in the area of Windsor and worked for the Hertfordshire Mercury. Perhaps spurred on by his donation in 1876, he founded two CETS branches in Hertfordshire where it is reported that the jubilee of the CETS took place in 1926. Although Frederic died in 1911 in Wroxall near Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, according to the CETS report of the jubilee his foresight and compassion were given recognition at that event:

“His Majesty the King more than appreciates the admirable work done by the Police Court Mission. It has now become of national importance, and few people have any conception of the vastness of this important enterprise, which was conceived by the brilliant mind of Frederic Rainer. It has won the highest encomiums from judges, magistrates, police officials and Christian social workers of all denominations … [and] … although … [he] … could not be said to be as great a prison reformer as either John Howard or Elizabeth Fry … he was one to be very highly regarded.

His Legacy

There is no way of telling whether Frederic did indeed begin the Probation Service with a 5/- donation. Like many stories, it could have become corrupted over the years and embellished as a useful means of symbolising the birth of an institution. Undoubtedly he was connected to Canon Ellison, and he himself began two CETS branches in Hertfordshire. His poetry confirms his belief in temperance and his dedication to those “drowning in the stream evil”. Undoubtedly he held that rehabilitation and not retribution was the way forward, and that souls could be reclaimed through temperance, industry and religious dedication. Perhaps then it is for these convictions, and not the 5/- donation that Frederic should be remembered. The grant was perhaps merely an expression of his beliefs; however, the act was seized upon and frequently forms the basis of many articles, books and lectures on the Probation Service. It may be argued though that by doing this, one fails to recognise the man, thereby relegating him to the position of an all too convenient introductory passage. Perhaps Frederic’s achievements can be best summed up by reference to the speech made by Reverend James Bell on the occasion of the unveiling of a memorial tablet at Windsor Town Hall in 1927.

“Frederic Rainer deserves his rightful place among the nation’s benefactors and reformers. Some men, like Charles Dickens, have become social reformers and benefactors by their writings: others, like Lord Shaftesbury, by their eloquent speeches have changed the laws of our land, and not a few, like John Howard and Elizabeth Fry, by their quiet persistence, have wrought great things. Frederic Rainer published nothing, he said little, but he did much …”

His legacy is his archive, and regardless of whether the 5/- donation actually occurred, Frederic Rainer and other forgotten philanthropists are now taking their rightful place in the history of social and legal reform.

Extract from The Probation Journal December 2001

Author

Shani Cassady is a Researcher, and is currently cataloguing the Rainer Archive as part of a partnership between Nottingham Trent University and the Galleries of Justice, Nottingham. 

References

McWilliams, W. (1983) ‘The Mission to the English Police Courts 1876-1936’, in Howard Journal 22, pp.l29-147.
All other material is taken from the Rainer Archive: ‘Notes, Reports and Letters.’