Joseph Strutt (1765–1844) was an English businessman and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, whose wealth came from the family textile business. A native of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, Strutt was a radical social reformer who made significant donations and founded several important institutions in the town, including donating the land for the creation of Derby Arboretum, England's first urban public park. He twice served as Mayor of Derby.

Background and early life

Joseph was the youngest son of

Jedediah Strutt Jedediah Strutt (1726 – 7 May 1797) or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelled it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England. Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed ...

and Elizabeth Woolatt, who had two other sons, William and George. The Strutt family made a fortune from a silk, cotton and calico mill on the Morledge at Derby. Three brothers worked in the family business: William in technical aspects, Joseph marketing and George management.William Strutt
Derwent valley mills Joseph was baptised at the Unitarian Chapel on Friar Gate, Derby on 19 September 1765, and subsequently educated at

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational a ...

Family

In 1793 he married Isabella Archibold Douglas at St. Oswald's Church, Ashbourne,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. Isabella subsequently died in 1801 leaving Joseph with a son and two daughters, Caroline and Isabella. Caroline married Edward Hurt but died in 1835. Isabella married John Howard Galton of Hadzor House and was the mother of Sir Douglas Strutt Galton.Portrait of Joseph Strutt
Derby Arboretum

Career

Strutt served on the Derby Corporation from the age of 28, serving in numerous offices, including Chief Magistrate and two terms of office as Mayor of Derby. He served his second term as the first mayor of the reformed borough of Derby, taking office from November 1835 until November 1836. He was a lifelong radical

social reformer Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

and dedicated the majority of his time in the service of the town. He had the firm conviction that in order to gain the respect of the working classes and reform them from "Their brutish behaviour and debasing pleasures" they must be allowed the same opportunities to enjoy civilized pleasures, such as art exhibitions and open spaces, as enjoyed by the upper classes. He served as a Deputy Lieutenant of the local militia during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, as England faced the threat of a French invasion. Strutt opened up his own house and gardens at Thorntree House in St. Peter's Street, now the site of the HSBC Bank, as an art gallery and museum, for the benefit of all classes of Derby's citizens, in order to cultivate a common appreciation of works of art. The works of art included sculptures by

W. J. Coffee William John Coffee (1774–1846) was an English artist and sculptor who worked in porcelain, plaster, and terra cotta. He also worked in oil paint, although this was not the medium for which he became famous. His early career was as a modeller fo ...

, representing the work of sculptors of the

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

periods, as well as a collection of paintings by famous Renaissance artists. His collection of paintings offered an opportunity for ordinary working citizens to see examples of fine works of art. His collection of artifacts also included a fine example of an

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian

Mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

, believed to be the one that now resides at Derby's Central Museum. Amongst many other things, Strutt was president of the Mechanics Institution which he founded in 1824,A. F. Chadwick
The Derby Mechanics' Institute 1825–1880
''The Vocational Aspect of Education'', Volume 27, Issue 68, 1975 and gave an annual subscription to support its work. The exhibition held in the Institute's lecture hall in 1839 included paintings which came from Strutt's collection. Many of these are thought to have joined the early collection of Derby Museums. He also gave £1,000 to the Athenaeum Society, helping to build the Athenaeum Building, an art gallery and museum offering collections of art and exhibitions to the general public. He also gave some financial support to the Derbyshire General Infirmary (later to become the

Derbyshire Royal Infirmary The Derbyshire Royal Infirmary was a hospital in Derby that opened in 1810. It was managed by the Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Following the transfer of community services to the London Road Community Hospital located further ...

), which was designed and built by his elder brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. Strutt is probably best known for his gift to the people of Derby of the

Arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

, which was designed to give instruction and be a place for exercise and entertainment; it is also recorded as the first public park in England. He enlisted the services of

John Claudius Loudon John Claudius Loudon (8 April 1782 – 14 December 1843) was a Scottish botanist, garden designer and author, born in Cambuslang in 1782. He was the first to use the term arboretum in writing to refer to a garden of plants, especially trees, co ...

to lay out his design, which was completed at a personal cost of £10,000. Strutt died on 13 January 1844 at his home in St. Peters Street, after attending a meeting to cast his vote in favour of improving Derby's sanitary conditions. He had been ill for some time and suffered a relapse from which he never recovered. He was interred along with his wife, Isabella, at the Friargate Unitarian Chapel in Friar Gate. The chapel was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the Heritage Gate office complex, which now incorporates a modern Unitarian Chapel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strutt, Joseph 1765 births 1844 deaths British businesspeople English philanthropists Mayors of Derby People educated at Derby School Businesspeople from Derby People associated with Derby Museum and Art Gallery

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...