Isaac Spooner (c.1735–1816) was an English ironmaster and banker who founded Birmingham Bank.

Life

Spooner was born to Abraham Spooner and Anne Knight, he went into the family iron business based around a furnace at

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston ...

, in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

area. In 1791 he founded a bank with Matthias Attwood the elder, known then as the Birmingham Bank, which became the largest private bank in Birmingham with a clientele mostly consisting of farmers and manufacturers. In 1801, Birmingham Bank opened a London branch called Spooner, Attwood & Holman. The bank Attwood, Spooner & Co. failed in 1865. Spooner's views were

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. He owned an estate of over 2000 acres at

Elmdon, West Midlands Elmdon () is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the county of West Midlands, England. The population of this Solihull Ward at the 2011 census was 12,067. The name Elmdon means hill of the elms. It is primarily ...

, where he completed Elmdon Hall, a development begun by his father Abraham in 1795, and which stood until its demolition in 1956. Elmdon Park remains in its place. Elmdon Park Behind Land Rover Factory - geograph

Elmdon Park Behind Land Rover Factory - geograph

Family

Spooner married Barbara Gough, daughter of

Sir Henry Gough, 1st Baronet Sir Henry Gough, 1st Baronet (1709–1774), also known as Sir Harry Gough, of Edgbaston Hall, Warwickshire, was a British merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1732 to 1741. Early life Gough was the son of Sir Richard Goug ...

, sister of

Henry Gough-Calthorpe, 1st Baron Calthorpe Henry Gough-Calthorpe, 1st Baron Calthorpe (1 January 1749 – 16 March 1798), known until 1796 as Sir Henry Gough, 2nd Baronet, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1796 when he was raised to the peerage. Early l ...

and granddaughter of the MP Reynolds Calthorpe. They had children including: *Abraham, who married the daughter of Luke Lillingston (great-nephew and heir of General Luke Lillingston) of Ferriby Grange, and took the name Abraham Spooner Lillingston. *Isaac, who married Miss Tyler of Redland in 1807. *

Barbara Ann "Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The more famous version was recorded by the ...

, who married

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually bec ...

. *Anne, who married Edward Vansittart, son of

George Vansittart George Vansittart (15 September 1745 – 31 January 1825) was a British politician. He was the younger son of Arthur Vansittart of Shottesbrook and educated at Reading school. His brothers Arthur Vansittart and Henry Vansittart were also MPs. ...

and

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

Taplow Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is the ...

, as his second wife, and was mother of

Edward Vansittart Neale Edward Vansittart Neale (1810–1892) was an English barrister, cooperator, and Christian socialist. Biography Neale was born on 2 April 1810 in Bath, one of the eight children of Edward Vansittart Neale (formerly Vansittart), Rector of T ...

. *Henry, who attended

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

. *

William William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

, who became

Archdeacon of Coventry The Archdeacon of Coventry is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Coventry. The post has been called the '' Archdeacon Pastor'' since 2012. History The post was historically within the Diocese of Lichfield beginnin ...

. *

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, who was a member of parliament. He married Charlotte, daughter of Nathan Wetherell. *John, who was a clergyman. There were nine in all, with the unmarried Eliza; or ten. Richard is said to be the ninth child in an 1885 ''Life of Thomas Attwood''.

Notes

External links

landedfamilies.blogspot.co.uk, ''Alston of Elmdon Hall''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spooner, Isaac 1735 births 1816 deaths English businesspeople English bankers English evangelicals People from Birmingham, West Midlands