Hugh Hornby Birley (10 March 1778 – 31 July 1845) was a leading Manchester millowner and Tory who is reputed to have led the fatal charge of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry at the Peterloo Massacre on 16 August 1819.
Hugh Hornby Birley | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Hugh Hornby Birley (unknown artist, after 1819) | |
| Born | 10 March 1778 Manchester, England |
| Died | 31 July 1845 (aged 67) Manchester, England |
| Burial place | St Peter's Church, Manchester 53°28′40″N 2°14′37″W / 53.47778°N 2.24361°W |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Known for | Peterloo Massacre |
| Spouse | Cecily Hornby |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | Richard Birley |
Early life
editHe was the son of Richard Birley (1743–1812), merchant, who had four sons and four daughters. Hugh's brother, Joseph Birley (1782–1847), was the father of Hugh Birley who served as Member of Parliament for Manchester from 1868 to 1883.[1][dubious – discuss]
Career
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In 1814 he commenced the building of the Cambridge Street Cotton Mill in Chorlton-on-Medlock. He was a local magistrate and one of the commanders of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry responsible for the Peterloo Massacre at St Peter's Field in 1819.[2]
He assisted the Swiss inventor-engineer Johann Georg Bodmer by making space available to him at his Chorlton Mills and was instrumental in founding the Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science in 1839.[3] He was associated with the Royal Manchester Institution[4] and a moving force in the establishment of Owens College.[5] He was a director of the Manchester Gas Works and became a business associate of Charles Macintosh with the intention of putting the works' waste products to profitable use in the manufacture of waterproof fabrics.[6]
Death
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Hugh Hornby Birley died in 1845 and was buried in the family vault in St Peter's Church, Manchester.[2] The church was demolished in 1907 and today the Birley graves, along with other St Peter's burials, lie below street level under the Manchester Metrolink tram lines crossing St Peter's Square. The site of the crypt is marked by a stone cross.[7]
Family
editBirley married Cecily Hornby (1797–1843) of Kirkham, with whom he had four sons, including:[2]
- Joseph Hornby Birley (1827–1881)
Descendants
editHis nephew was Hugh Birley (1817–1883), a businessman and Conservative politician, and his great-grandson was Oswald Birley (1880–1952), the portrait painter and royal portraitist prominent in the early part of the 20th century.[8]
References
edit- ^ David and Linda Birley Genealogies, 2002–2004, archived from the original on 23 November 2005, retrieved 10 August 2007 – features references to primary sources
- ^ a b c "Hugh Hornby Birley". Graces's Guide. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ^ Kargon 1977, pp. 36–38
- ^ Kargon 1977, p. 41
- ^ Kargon 1977, p. 154
- ^ Kargon 1977, p. 137
- ^ Kaye, Jeff. "The captain of the Yeomanry at Peterloo". People's History Museum. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ "Entry on Birley family genealogy". Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
Sources
edit- Kargon, R. H. (1977), Science in Victorian Manchester: Enterprise and Expertise, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-1969-8
- Lobban, M. (1990), "From seditious libel to unlawful assembly: Peterloo and the changing face of political crime c1770–1820", Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 10 (3): 307–352, doi:10.1093/ojls/10.3.307
- Walmsley, Robert (1969), Peterloo: The Case Re-opened, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-0-7190-0392-9
External links
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