William Henry Hornby (1805–1884) an English cotton spinner,

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through per ...

and politician. He became the first Mayor of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

and national chairman of the

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Life

He was the son of the cotton spinner John Hornby (1763–1841) and his wife Alice Kendall Backhouse, daughter of Daniel Backhouse, born in Blackburn. During the 1820s the Hornby family business, a partnership with John Birley, expanded with the construction of a cotton spinning mill out of the centre of Blackburn, in the Brookhouse area on the River Blakewater. The original water mill was phased out, with

power loom A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...

s introduced in 1830, and a

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in 1841. The partnership with Birley ended in 1830, and William Henry Hornby brought in new partners. The business grew and prospered. Hornby was a paternalist, an Anglican Tory who supported the Ten Hours Bill. His younger brother John Hornby was elected to parliament for

in 1841. Elections in Blackburn at that period involved some violence and intimidation. William himself represented Blackburn from 1857 to 1865, having been the first mayor in 1852 and failing to be elected in an

1853 by-election Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping Re ...

. In 1868 he had the most votes, but an inquiry into intimidation meant he was denied the seat. His son Edward Hornby took the seat in the further election held in 1869. Hornby died at Poole Hall in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

, Cheshire, on 5 September 1884.Latham FA, ed. ''Acton'', p. 106 (The Local History Group; 1995) ()

Family

Hornby married in 1831 Margaret Susannah Birley, daughter and sole heir of Edward Birley of Kirkham. They had seven sons and four daughters. Of the sons, Edward Hornby and

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

, were also MPs for Blackburn from 1869 to 1874, and from 1886 to 1910 respectively. Another son, Albert, was the

England cricket captain This is a list of England cricket captains, comprising all the men, women and youths who have captained an England cricket team at official international level. The international match categories are Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 ...

who lost the Test match which gave rise to

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...

, at home against the

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in 1882. Edward and another son Cecil also played first class cricket.

References

External links

William Henry Hornby article from cottontown.org
* 1805 births 1884 deaths People from Blackburn Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1800s-stub

Life

Family

See also

References

External links