Joseph Strutt (philanthropist)
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. He got his wealth from family textile business. The Strutt brothers were radical social reformers who gave significant donations and founded several important institutions in their native Derby area.
Background and early life
Joseph was the youngest son of Jedediah StruttJedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelt 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 the production of ribbed stockings...
of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
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 family business: William in technical aspects, Joseph marketing and George management.
Joseph was baptised at the Unitarian Chapel on Friar Gate, Derby on 19 September 1765, and subsequently educated at Derby School
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 and comprehensive in 1974 and was closed in 1989...
.
Family
In 1793 he married Isabella Archibold Douglas at St. Oswald's Church, AshbourneAshbourne, Derbyshire
Ashbourne is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 10,302.The town advertises itself as 'The Gateway to Dovedale'.- Local customs :...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, 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
Douglas Strutt Galton
Sir Douglas Strutt Galton KCB, GCB, F.R.S., MStJ, Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, DCL, LLD was a British engineer.-Education and early life:...
.
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 DerbyMayor of Derby
Names of the Mayors for the Borough of Derby from the first that was chosen on the 3 July 1638 by the king's charter then granted to the town the two last bailiffs were the two first mayors Mr Mellor being proclaimed the 3rd day of July to be the mayor until Michaelmas and twelve months after but...
. He served his second term as the first mayor of the reformed borough of Derby, taking office in November 1835 until November 1836.
He was a life-long radical social reformer 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. Strutt also set up the Mechanics Institution (established in 1824).
He served as a Deputy Lieutenant of the local militia during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, 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
W. J. Coffee
William John Coffee was an internationally renowned 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 for Duesbury at the china factory on...
, representing the work of sculptors of the Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
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
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Mummy
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
, 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, and gave an annual subscription to support its work. The exhibition held in the Institute's lecture hall in 1839
Derby Exhibition (1839)
The Derby Exhibition of 1839 was the first exhibition in Derby. It was held at the town's Mechanics' Institute, which later became known as Albert Hall. The exhibition was in line with the founding values of the Institute, which were to extend the spread of knowledge among the people of Derby...
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
Derbyshire Royal Infirmary
The London Road Community Hospital, , is a hospital in Derby, part of the Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It is based in the city centre...
), which was designed and built by his elder brother, William
William Strutt
William Strutt was an English artist.Strutt was born in Teignmouth, Devon, England, and came from a family of artists, his grandfather, Joseph Strutt, was a well-known author and artist, his father, William Thomas Strutt, was a good miniature painter...
.
Strutt is probably best known for his gift to the people of Derby of the Arboretum
Derby Arboretum
Derby Arboretum is a public arboretum and park in the city of Derby in England. It was the first publicly owned, landscaped, urban, recreational park in England. It is located in the Rose Hill area, about a mile south of Derby city centre. After many years of neglect, the Arboretum has recently...
, 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
John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor.-Background:...
to lay out his design, which was completed at a personal cost of £10,000.
Strutt died on January 13, 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.