Life

Barritt was born at Manchester in 1743, and came of Derbyshire yeoman stock, his forefathers having settled at Bolton and Worsley, but his father, John Barritt, was the first of the family resident in Manchester. Of the education of Thomas nothing is known, but he developed a strong taste for archæological research which did not interfere with his success as a man of business.

He kept a saddle-maker's shop in Hanging Ditch

Hanging Bridge

Hanging Bridge is a medieval bridge spanning the Hanging Ditch, which connected the rivers Irk and Irwell in Manchester, England. The first reference to the bridge was in 1343, when it was called Hengand Brigge, but the present structure was built in 1421, replacing an earlier bridge. Material...

, and gathered a very curious collection of manuscripts and miscellaneous objects of antiquity. He travelled about the district and made sketches and memoranda which have been of great use to subsequent writers.

He was one of the early members of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society

Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society

The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, popularly known as the Lit & Phil, is a learned society in Manchester, England.Established in 1781 as the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, by Thomas Percival, Thomas Barnes and Thomas Henry, other prominent members have included...

, and contributed several papers to its Memoirs.

He died 29 October 1820, aged 77, and was buried in the Manchester parish church. Barritt's claim to remembrance is that with great patience and skill he recorded many facts in the history of the district which would otherwise have been lost. The Chetham Society

Chetham Society

The Chetham Society was founded in Manchester, England, in 1843, by James Crossley, a lawyer, and the Reverend Thomas Corser. The Society's stated aim is to maintain the "Historical and Literary Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester"...

 some years ago announced its intention of issuing a selection from his manuscripts, but it has not yet appeared.

Works

Among his contributions to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society Memoirs are essays on supposed Druidical remains near Halifax, on antiquities found in the river Ribble, and on a Roman inscription found in Campfield. A number of his manuscripts were secured for Chetham's Library, Manchester, and at the end of the 19th century, several others were in private hands. He wrote verses also, and several of them have been printed, but they are little better than doggerel rhyme.

His correspondence with the leading antiquaries of the time appears to have been extensive. One of the most interesting objects in his collection was a sword which he believed to have been that of Edward the Black Prince. A monograph on the swords, attributed to that warrior, has been printed by J. P. Earwaker, F.S.A., in which the claims of Barritt and others are discussed. Two portraits of Barritt were engraved, in which he is represented with the famous sword and some other objects of his museum.

Further reading