Armorer Donkin
The Newcastle solicitor Armorer Donkin was a key figure in Armstrong's life. Donkin had been a close friend of Armstrong's father, William Armstrong Senior, since before Armstrong was born. Recollections of holidays spent as a child at Donkin's country home near Rothbury in Northumberland would inspire Armstrong in later life to build his own home, Cragside, there.
As an apprentice solicitor Armstrong took articles under Donkin, becoming his partner in the firm, Donkin, Stable & Armstrong, in 1835. Donkin supported Armstrong's engineering ambitions, allowing him to pursue his scientific research while practising as a solicitor with the firm. When Armstrong decided that the Law was not his true vocation, Donkin supported his decision to resign and instead went into business with him. When Donkin died in 1851 he left Armstrong his considerable fortune.
This letter written by Armorer Donkin in 1807, in which he vouches for Thomas Wilson as one of the bail in a case of trespass, demonstrates the early association between Donkin and William Armstrong Senior, who is also named as one of the bail in the case and whose signature can be seen at the foot of the accompanying bond.
