The Handley family of Sleaford
Encyclopedia
The Handleys were a prominent family in Sleaford
, Lincolnshire, between around 1777 and the late 1800s. An offshoot of the notable Newark family, the Handleys of Sleaford came to hold position as lawyers, bankers, politicians and clerics in the town and attained great wealth and holdings in the area. The family maintained an interest in transportation - first in canalisation and later the development of the railways.
The first family member to inhabit Sleaford was Benjamin Handley, who moved to the town some time in the 1770s. He helped develop the fledgling Sleaford Navigation
and founded a bank in the town. The most well known member of the family is the politician Henry Handley, who was a Member of Parliament for the Southern Division of Lincolnshire
between 1832 and 1841. He also helped pioneer the development of railways in the area.
In the latter part of the 1800s elements of the family emigrated to New Zealand
(and later Australia
) as well as returning to Newark. Buildings and monuments related to the Handleys still exist in modern day Sleaford — including Handley street, Benjamin Handley's manor house on Northgate, Lloyd's Bank (Alvey House) and the Handley Monument.
of the family, to be the "Ancient Family Handley of Handley in the County of Somerset" with later ascendant's noted in York
and other parts of Yorkshire. The family's first direct ancestors appear in baptism records for the area of Bramcote and Wilford (now part of modern day Nottingham
) dating between 1590 and 1594. Later Handleys moved to Balderton and Newark
, where the first member of the family to inhabit Sleaford, Benjamin, was born in 1754, to Willam and Sarah Handley.
in the town. In 1781 Benjamin was the clerk of a committee set up to work on the conception of the Sleaford Navigation
, in 1824 he became treasurer of the project and later advanced an interest free loan of £1,000.
Benjamin appears to have been involved chiefly in conveyancing
property in the area until he co-founded the Bank of Peacock, Handley and Kirton, which opened on 2 April 1792 in Sleaford market place. The enterprise was closely related to the Sleaford Navigation project and its finances (Peacock was the Navigation Company's chairman). In 1803 the bank moved to Alvey House on Northgate. Some years after Handley's death it merged with Lloyd's Bank but it still occupies the same building today.
Handley owned extensive areas of land in and around the town, including the manor at Burton Pedwardine and land in Heckington, Scredington and Spanby. In 1794, acting as commissioner of the Sleaford Enclosure Act, he received 25 acres in the town – with the land he built a manor house on Northgate.
Benjamin Handley married Frances Conington on 31 January 1785. The couple had seven children only four of whom (Frances, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Henry) survived beyond childhood. Frances was unimpressed with Sleaford at the time of her marriage; in a letter the same year she referred to it as "a very badly built town, chiefly belonging to one person and not likely to amend".
(1808–1814) when his boat capsized crossing the Tagus
river. His cousin from the Newark arm of the family (also called Benjamin
) was in the same boat, but survived.
and Oxford
he was elected Member of Parliament for a borough in Wiltshire
. In 1825 he married Caroline Edwards, with whom he had 10 children,.
At this time the family lived in Culverthorpe Hall
, 5 miles from Sleaford, which Henry was renting. The year after his marriage Handley left parliament and became a gentleman farmer
at Culverthorpe. In 1832, at the request of local freeholders, he was elected again to parliament, this time representing South Lincolnshire (along with Gilbert Heathcote) and a member of the Whig party. Handley received local praise for his parliamentary action and was again elected in 1835 and 1837.
During the early 1830s Handley was a proponent of steam power; both in relation to agriculture and the railways. In 1829 he had offered a prize to anyone able to create a successful steam plough.Nottingham & Newark Mercury, 16 January 1830, p.5, col.3: "We understand that Henry Handley Esq has received a model of a steam plough for which he has lately offered a handsome premium" In 1835 he helped revive Nicholas Cundy's proposal for a "Grand Northern Railway", running between London and York. As well as forming a company for the project, Northern and Eastern
, Handley obtained the services of engineer James Walker
to survey the proposed route. In 1836 various proposals for such lines were considered by parliament; the Northern and Eastern line was approved, but only as far as Cambridge (George Stephenson
had convinced parliament that a Northern line via Derby was sufficient).
Handley's support of the Liberal government in an 1840 vote of no confidence
caused a falling out with his party and he decided not to stand in the 1841 general election
. Nevertheless his candidacy was proposed and seconded, although he was not re-elected. A year after leaving parliament for the second time Handley became president of the recently formed Royal Agricultural Society
; he had been one of 12 trustees during the society's formation in 1838/39.
Handley died on 29 June 1846 at Surrenden-Dering, Kent, he is buried at Pluckley. The following year Sleaford townspeople began raising a subscription to construct a memorial in the town, eventually obtaining £942. Construction on the "Handley Testimonial in Sleaford" (now known as "Handley's monument"), designed by William Boyle, began in 1850 and was completed in 1852. A street was later named after him.
. He became Rector
of Winthorpe in 1886, whereupon he commissioned a new church building. This marked a return to Newark for the Sleaford branch of the family.
veteran. The eldest son of Henry and Caroline he was educated at Eton and in 1853 joined the 2nd Dragoons as a cornet
. During the famous Charge of the Light Brigade
in 1854 he commanded the right hand troop of his regiment.
Sleaford
Sleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
, Lincolnshire, between around 1777 and the late 1800s. An offshoot of the notable Newark family, the Handleys of Sleaford came to hold position as lawyers, bankers, politicians and clerics in the town and attained great wealth and holdings in the area. The family maintained an interest in transportation - first in canalisation and later the development of the railways.
The first family member to inhabit Sleaford was Benjamin Handley, who moved to the town some time in the 1770s. He helped develop the fledgling Sleaford Navigation
Sleaford Navigation
The Sleaford Navigation was a canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, most of which were adjacent to mills. Lack of finance meant that it stopped short...
and founded a bank in the town. The most well known member of the family is the politician Henry Handley, who was a Member of Parliament for the Southern Division of Lincolnshire
South Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)
South Lincolnshire, formally called the Southern Division of Lincolnshire or Parts of Kesteven and Holland, was a county constituency in Lincolnshire...
between 1832 and 1841. He also helped pioneer the development of railways in the area.
In the latter part of the 1800s elements of the family emigrated to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(and later Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) as well as returning to Newark. Buildings and monuments related to the Handleys still exist in modern day Sleaford — including Handley street, Benjamin Handley's manor house on Northgate, Lloyd's Bank (Alvey House) and the Handley Monument.
Early Handleys
The Handleys distant forefathers appear, according to a 1614 pedigreePedigree chart
A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance or phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses....
of the family, to be the "Ancient Family Handley of Handley in the County of Somerset" with later ascendant's noted in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and other parts of Yorkshire. The family's first direct ancestors appear in baptism records for the area of Bramcote and Wilford (now part of modern day Nottingham
Nottingham
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...
) dating between 1590 and 1594. Later Handleys moved to Balderton and Newark
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
, where the first member of the family to inhabit Sleaford, Benjamin, was born in 1754, to Willam and Sarah Handley.
Benjamin Handley, 1754
Benjamin Handley (17 October 1754 – 25 April 1828) was the youngest son of William Handley. He moved to Sleaford some time before April 1777, when he appears in records as an attorneyAttorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
in the town. In 1781 Benjamin was the clerk of a committee set up to work on the conception of the Sleaford Navigation
Sleaford Navigation
The Sleaford Navigation was a canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, most of which were adjacent to mills. Lack of finance meant that it stopped short...
, in 1824 he became treasurer of the project and later advanced an interest free loan of £1,000.
Benjamin appears to have been involved chiefly in conveyancing
Conveyancing
In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien....
property in the area until he co-founded the Bank of Peacock, Handley and Kirton, which opened on 2 April 1792 in Sleaford market place. The enterprise was closely related to the Sleaford Navigation project and its finances (Peacock was the Navigation Company's chairman). In 1803 the bank moved to Alvey House on Northgate. Some years after Handley's death it merged with Lloyd's Bank but it still occupies the same building today.
Handley owned extensive areas of land in and around the town, including the manor at Burton Pedwardine and land in Heckington, Scredington and Spanby. In 1794, acting as commissioner of the Sleaford Enclosure Act, he received 25 acres in the town – with the land he built a manor house on Northgate.
Benjamin Handley married Frances Conington on 31 January 1785. The couple had seven children only four of whom (Frances, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Henry) survived beyond childhood. Frances was unimpressed with Sleaford at the time of her marriage; in a letter the same year she referred to it as "a very badly built town, chiefly belonging to one person and not likely to amend".
Benjamin Handley, 1791
The eldest surviving son of Benjamin and Frances, Benjamin Handley (27 October 1791 – 22 May 1813) was a Lieutenant in the 9th Regiment of the Light Dragoons. He drowned in 1813 during the Peninsular WarPeninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
(1808–1814) when his boat capsized crossing the Tagus
Tagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...
river. His cousin from the Newark arm of the family (also called Benjamin
Benjamin Handley
Benjamin Handley was an English soldier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1835. His family were prominent in Lincolnshire during the 18th and 19th Centuries.-Biography:...
) was in the same boat, but survived.
Henry Handley, 1797
Probably the best known Handley, Henry (c. 1797 – 29 June 1844) was the youngest son of Benjamin and Francis. Educated at EtonEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
he was elected Member of Parliament for a borough in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. In 1825 he married Caroline Edwards, with whom he had 10 children,.
At this time the family lived in Culverthorpe Hall
Culverthorpe
Culverthorpe is a hamlet in the civil parish of Heydour, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies south-west from Sleaford, north-east from Grantham and 3 miles south-east from Ancaster....
, 5 miles from Sleaford, which Henry was renting. The year after his marriage Handley left parliament and became a gentleman farmer
Gentleman's farm
A gentleman's farm is an extremely small or non-operative farm. They are generally small acreages that are not used to produce large amounts of food, grain, or livestock for major markets. Gentleman's farms are also used as hobby farms, for horse rearing, or as bed and breakfast establishments...
at Culverthorpe. In 1832, at the request of local freeholders, he was elected again to parliament, this time representing South Lincolnshire (along with Gilbert Heathcote) and a member of the Whig party. Handley received local praise for his parliamentary action and was again elected in 1835 and 1837.
During the early 1830s Handley was a proponent of steam power; both in relation to agriculture and the railways. In 1829 he had offered a prize to anyone able to create a successful steam plough.Nottingham & Newark Mercury, 16 January 1830, p.5, col.3: "We understand that Henry Handley Esq has received a model of a steam plough for which he has lately offered a handsome premium" In 1835 he helped revive Nicholas Cundy's proposal for a "Grand Northern Railway", running between London and York. As well as forming a company for the project, Northern and Eastern
Northern and Eastern Railway
The Northern & Eastern Railway operated one of the two main lines which eventually became the Great Eastern Railway: the other being the Eastern Counties Railway....
, Handley obtained the services of engineer James Walker
James Walker (engineer)
James Walker, FRS, was an influential Scottish civil engineer of the first half of the 19th century.Walker was born in Falkirk and was apprenticed to his uncle Ralph Walker in approximately 1800, with whom he gained experience working on the design and construction of the West India and East India...
to survey the proposed route. In 1836 various proposals for such lines were considered by parliament; the Northern and Eastern line was approved, but only as far as Cambridge (George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
had convinced parliament that a Northern line via Derby was sufficient).
Handley's support of the Liberal government in an 1840 vote of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
caused a falling out with his party and he decided not to stand in the 1841 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1841
-Seats summary:-Whig MPs who lost their seats:*Viscount Morpeth - Chief Secretary for Ireland*Sir George Strickland, Bt*Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987...
. Nevertheless his candidacy was proposed and seconded, although he was not re-elected. A year after leaving parliament for the second time Handley became president of the recently formed Royal Agricultural Society
Royal Agricultural Society
The Royal Agricultural Society of England was established in the United Kingdom in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science". The RASE aim is to promote the scientific development of agriculture. The society received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1840.From its early days the society...
; he had been one of 12 trustees during the society's formation in 1838/39.
Handley died on 29 June 1846 at Surrenden-Dering, Kent, he is buried at Pluckley. The following year Sleaford townspeople began raising a subscription to construct a memorial in the town, eventually obtaining £942. Construction on the "Handley Testimonial in Sleaford" (now known as "Handley's monument"), designed by William Boyle, began in 1850 and was completed in 1852. A street was later named after him.
Rev. Edward Handley, 1842
Edward Handley (21 October 1842 – 1 February 1904) was the youngest son of Henry and Caroline and an ordained minister of the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He became Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Winthorpe in 1886, whereupon he commissioned a new church building. This marked a return to Newark for the Sleaford branch of the family.
Henry Edwardes Handley, 1835
Henry Edwardes Handley (24 September 1835 – 24 June 1892) was a soldier and Crimean warCrimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
veteran. The eldest son of Henry and Caroline he was educated at Eton and in 1853 joined the 2nd Dragoons as a cornet
Cornet (military rank)
Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. A cornet is a new and junior officer.- Traditional duties :The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet"....
. During the famous Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
in 1854 he commanded the right hand troop of his regiment.
Family tree
External links
- Henry Handley at HansardHansardHansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...