Samuel Morley (MP)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Morley was an English woollen manufacturer, philanthropist
, dissenter (Congregationalist
), abolitionist, political radical
, and statesman.
and a warehouse and offices in London
. Born in Homerton
, at 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
, Stoke Newington
when not living at his City of London
address. He was a member of Thomas Binney
'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
's keen supporters, and was elected as an MP for Nottingham in 1865, and later Bristol (1868-85).
In later life he became a strong advocate of temperance.
Amongst Morley's many philanthropic ventures, at least one continues to make an important contribution to London life today - Morley College
- which he endowed for adult education. In his day, he was also treasurer of Homerton College, chairing its inauguration on April 20 1852 as the new 'Training Institution of the Congregational Board of Education', following purchase, extension and rebuilding on the site of the old mansion and buildings of Homerton Academy.
, political radicals
and their subsequent British Liberal party, Morley 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. This contained an introductory note by 'George Sturge & S. Morley, Esq., M. P.' and a preface by Harriet Beecher Stowe
. In his autobiograohy, Josiah Henson records,
and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hollenden
in 1912. Their younger son was the Liberal politician Arnold Morley
.
Walk, Abney Park Cemetery
, Stoke Newington
, 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 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 philanphropist.
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...
, dissenter (Congregationalist
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
), abolitionist, political radical
Radicals (UK)
The Radicals were a parliamentary political grouping in the United Kingdom in the early to mid 19th century, who drew on earlier ideas of radicalism and helped to transform the Whigs into the Liberal Party.-Background:...
, and statesman.
Introduction
Samuel Morley was the youngest son of a manufacturer with premises in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and a warehouse and offices in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Born in Homerton
Homerton
Homerton is a place 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.-Origins:...
, at 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
Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish and Adeni Jewish community.Stamford Hill is NNE of Charing Cross.-History:...
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
when not living at his City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
address. He was a member of Thomas Binney
Thomas Binney
The Rev. Dr. Thomas Binney was an English Congregationalist divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the 'Archbishop of Nonconformity'...
's King's Weigh House
King's Weigh House
The King's Weigh House today serves as the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile and was formerly the name of a Congregational Church in London.-History:...
Congregational Chapel in Fish Street Hill, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
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
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
's keen supporters, and was elected as an MP for Nottingham in 1865, and later Bristol (1868-85).
In later life he became a strong advocate of temperance.
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.Amongst Morley's many philanthropic ventures, at least one continues to make an important contribution to London life today - Morley College
Morley College
Morley College is an adult education college in London, England. It was founded in the 1880s and has a student population of 10,806 adult students...
- which he endowed for adult education. In his day, he was also treasurer of Homerton College, chairing its inauguration on April 20 1852 as the new 'Training Institution of the Congregational Board of Education', following purchase, extension and rebuilding on the site of the old mansion and buildings of Homerton Academy.
Abolitionist
As an abolitionist, a cause closely associated with nineteenth century WhigsBritish Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
, political radicals
Radicals (UK)
The Radicals were a parliamentary political grouping in the United Kingdom in the early to mid 19th century, who drew on earlier ideas of radicalism and helped to transform the Whigs into the Liberal Party.-Background:...
and their subsequent British Liberal party, Morley became treasurer of the fund to finance Josiah Henson
Josiah Henson
Josiah Henson was an author, abolitionist, and minister. Born into slavery in Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Ontario, Canada in 1830, and founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive slaves at Dawn, near Dresden in Kent County...
, 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. This contained an introductory note by 'George Sturge & S. Morley, Esq., M. P.' and a preface by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
. In his autobiograohy, Josiah Henson records,
- I received numerous tokens of regard from many philanthropic gentlemen while I was in London, which I shall never forget; but I was particularly touched by the special kindness of Samuel Morley, Esq., and George Hitchcock, Esq., of St. Paul's Churchyard. These two gentlemen invited me to dine with them every day.
Marriage
Morley married Rebekah Maria Hope, daughter of Samuel Hope of Liverpool. Their eldest son Samuel became Governor of the Bank of EnglandGovernor of the Bank of England
The Governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the Bank, with the incumbent grooming his or her successor...
and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hollenden
Baron Hollenden
Baron Hollenden, of Leigh in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1912 for Samuel Morley, who had previously served as Governor of the Bank of England. He was the son of Samuel Morley and Rebekha Maria Hope and the elder brother of Arnold Morley....
in 1912. Their younger son was the Liberal politician Arnold Morley
Arnold Morley
Arnold Morley PC was a British barrister and Liberal politician.-Background:Morley was a younger son of Samuel Morley and Rebekah Maria, daughter of Samuel Hope of Liverpool...
.
Death and Memorial
There is a statue to Samuel Morley in Bristol, and a second memorial above his place of interment in Dr Watts'Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
Walk, Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park Cemetery
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 and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, 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 is to be found at the Waverley Street entrance to The Arboretum, Nottingham
The Arboretum, Nottingham
Arboretum is a residential area of the City of Nottingham in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. The arboretum from which the neighbourhood takes its name was the first designated public park in Nottingham selected under the authority of the Enclosure Act 1845. Samuel Curtis oversaw the design...
with lettering beneath his likeness describing him as an MP, merchant and philanphropist.