Samuel Morley (15 October 1809 – 5 September 1886), was an English woollen manufacturer and

political radical Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radical ...

. He is known as a philanthropist, Congregationalist dissenter,

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 ...

, and statesman.

Background

He was the youngest son of John Morley, a

hosiery Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as ...

manufacturer with premises in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

who opened offices in Wood Street, London; his mother was Sarah Poulton of

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

. Born in

Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it ...

, from an early age he worked for his father's business in London. When his father and brothers chose to retire, he was left in managerial control. By 1860 he was sole owner of both the London and Nottingham parts of the business, and as it grew rapidly into the largest of its kind in the world he became very wealthy, and a model employer. Morley took a large residence in

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. T ...

when not living at his

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

address. He was a member of

Thomas Binney Thomas Binney (1798–1874) was an English Congregationalist divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the "Archbishop of Nonconformity". He was noted for sermons and writings in defence of the principles of Nonconformity, for devotional ...

's King's Weigh House Congregational Chapel in Fish Street Hill, London. He ventured into publishing, becoming one of the proprietors of the '' Daily News'', the main Liberal paper of the period. By reducing its price, its losses turned to gains and carried greater influence. As a Liberal, he was one of

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

's keen supporters, and was elected as an MP for

in 1865, and later

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

(1868–85).

Philanthropist and educationalist

Sometimes called the "Philanthropic Merchant", he was sufficiently eminent to be caricatured in '' Vanity Fair'' (15 June 1872). A contemporary biographer, writing in the ''Annual Register of World Events'', considered that he would be remembered by posterity as "one of the leading merchant princes and philanthropists of the century". Among many philanthropic ventures, Morley endowed

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo, London, Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in ...

in London for

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values.Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

. He was also treasurer of

Homerton College Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the c ...

, chairing its inauguration on 20 April 1852 as the new "Training Institution of the Congregational Board of Education", following the purchase, extension and rebuilding on the site of the old mansion and buildings of Homerton Academy. In the late 1850s he served as President of the London Peace Society, overseeing a meeting held at

Exeter Hall Exeter Hall was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings by promoters of human betterme ...

in 1859 against the War in Italy.Appleton, Lewis. ''Memoirs of Henry Richard, the Apostle of Peace'' (Trubner & Co., 1889) p.38 In later life he became a strong advocate of temperance.

Abolitionist

Morley supported

abolitionism 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 Britis ...

, a cause closely associated with 19th-century British Whigs and

political radicals Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radi ...

, and then the

British Liberal party The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning as an alliance of Whigs, free trade–supporting Peelites and reformist Ra ...

. He became treasurer of the fund to finance Josiah Henson, an escaped American slave who was given support in Britain. Josiah Henson later wrote ''Uncle Tom's Story of His Life: an Autobiography of the Rev. Josiah Henson (Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle Tom'), from 1789 to 1876''. It contained an introductory note by Morley and George Sturge (1798–1888), and a preface by

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the ha ...

. In his autobiography, Josiah Henson records,

Marriage

Morley married Rebekah Maria Hope, daughter of Samuel Hope of Liverpool. Their eldest son

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

became Governor of the Bank of England and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hollenden in 1912. Their younger son was the Liberal politician Arnold Morley.

Death and commemoration

There is a statue to Samuel Morley in Bristol, and a second memorial above his place of interment in Dr Watts' Walk,

Abney Park Cemetery Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England. Abney Park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, D ...

, London. The latter is designed with elegant simplicity, as a large raised tomb, with a plain pediment to each end for nonconformists, even those as wealthy as Samuel Morley, generally resisted ostentatious memorials. A bust of Morley, by Joseph Else, is to be found at the Waverley Street entrance to The Arboretum, Nottingham with lettering beneath his likeness describing him as an MP, merchant and philanthropist. A Primitive Methodist chapel was erected in 1889 in Blue Bell Hill, Nottingham, and named in his memory the Morley Memorial Chapel.

References

*Hinton, R.J. (1875) ''Brief Biographies: English Radical Leaders'', New York: Puttnams' Sons *Hodder, Edwin (1887
''Life of Samuel Morley''
London: Hodder & Stoughton * *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Samuel English abolitionists English philanthropists Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 English Congregationalists 1809 births 1886 deaths Burials at Abney Park Cemetery Members of the London School Board Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bristol Congregationalist abolitionists 19th-century English businesspeople