Isaac Hawkins Browne (coalowner)
Encyclopedia
Isaac Hawkins Browne was a British Tory politician
, industrialist, essayist, and a lord of the manor
of Badger, Shropshire
.
(1705–60) and his wife, Jane, née Trimnell. He was educated at Westminster School
and Hertford College, Oxford
, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in July, 1770.
from its absentee owner, Clement Kynnersley of Loxley, near Uttoxeter
: the house was at that time rented to an ironmaster, William Ferriday. He also owned property at Malinslee in Dawley
, Shropshire
, now part of the town of Telford
, which included Old Park. In 1790, he opened coal mines on his estate and leased enough land in Old Park to enable Thomas Botfield to build the Old Park ironworks there. Ferriday and Botfield had long been business partners in the Dawley and Madeley
areas, for example in the Lightmoor Coalworks. Browne mixed and made money in the world of Industrial Revolution
business men, while seeking access to the world of politics dominated by the landed gentry
. Badger gave him the opportunity to create the rural lifestyle to which he aspired.
After making a grand tour
in 1775–1776, he settled on his estates at Badger. Between 1779 and 1783, Browne had Badger Hall greatly extended, to a design by James Wyatt
, and commissioned paintings for it from Robert Smirke
. He also had Badger Dingle
reshaped into a picturesque
landscape devised by William Emes
.
Browne supported a Sunday School
at Malinlee from 1799, and organised the building of a church there, St. Leonard, consecrated in 1805 and designed by Thomas Telford
. This was intended to replace the parish church, but that was opened in 1818. It was probably he who initiated and financed one of the village schools at Badger: certainly it was said to be funded the lord of the manor after his death, when his wife was in control. He also instituted coal allowances for the villagers.
Browne took great interest in the affairs of the parish of Badger, as he was bound to do, since he had the right to nominate the incumbent: he did not present, as advowson
strictly belonged to the Crown. Thomas Hartshorn had been rector from 1753, succeeding his father in the post. For most of that time he held two prebends of St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton
: rural Hatherton, near Cannock
, and Monmore, which included the growing town of Bilston
. At Badger, communion was celebrated only five times a year. In 1780, after the death of Hartshorn, Browne had Dr. James Chelsum, a minor scholar, installed. Two years later, Chelsum added to his benefice at Badger the rectory of Droxford
in Hampshire, and a chaplaincy at Lathbury
in Buckinghamshire. He also took on numerous preaching posts, publishing his sermons. Although Browne must initially have trusted Chelsum, he clearly became disenchanted and arranged for his departure in 1795. Chelsum retained his other benefices until he died insane in 1801. Browne nominated in his place William Smith, who turned out to be an exemplary pastor, devoted solely to the parish and never absent for more than two weeks. Browne rewarded him with the valuable right to nominate his own successor.
in 1783 and served for two years.
From 1784, Browne was one of the members of Parliament for Bridgnorth
, a pocket borough controlled by the Whitmores of Dudmaston Hall
. He served for six successive parliaments, until 1812, and supported the Tory ministries of William Pitt the younger
, Henry Addington, the Duke of Portland, and Spencer Perceval
.
Browne is credited with 11 contributions to parliamentary debate between 1805 and 1809, when his speeches cease: all of them were short. (Reporting of debates was patchy before this time, so it is not certain how active he was earlier in his career.) He was clearly not a striking speaker. When he made one of his longer speeches in 1806, supporting funeral honours for Pitt, he was met by loud coughing.
In 1805 Browne spoke in support of a measure to force the payment of replacement curates when incumbent priests were absent. This was an issue of which he had bitter experience, of course. On this occasion he found himself on the opposite side to many of his Tory colleagues, who considered it an attack on ecclesiastical property rights. However, Browne's support for the pastoral work of the Church of England
was accompanied by a virulent anti-Catholicism
. In 1807 a bill was introduced to allow Catholics to serve in the armed forces, a very small initial modification to the Penal Laws that had excluded Catholics from public life. Browne said of Catholicism that "he considered its spirit to be as hostile to the liberties of this country, as any arbitrary power could be." He declared that Catholics already "had every thing they could wish for, excepting political power," and finished by saying:
Browne was seldom more than equivocal advocate of reform. In 1807 he rose to support a delay in the passing of the Slave Trade Act 1807, although he professed himself opposed to the trade. In fact, he had close family connections to the West Indies lobby. In 1809, commenting on a motion to re-establish a Finance Committee of the House, he delivered himself of a masterpiece of equivocation:
Browne was generally a defender of the established order, in many ways a typical country member of the unreformed Parliament, which he accepted implicitly as legitimate. In 1809 Browne denounced John Curwen's Reform Bill, which sought to outlaw the selling of seats in the House of Commons, "because it would have the effect of excluding a great portion of the wisdom and talents it possessed from that house." Bar-room banter about bribery and corruption was, in case incorrigible, so "in opposing it he trusted that he should not be considered as more a friend to corruption than any other Hon. member. The bill he thought could not be rejected too soon."
, whom he married in 1788. Shortly after her death, in 1802, he married Elizabeth Boddington, daughter of Thomas Boddington
, who outlived him by 21 years and to whom he left a life interest in the manor of Badger, although it was to pass to his nephew, R.H.Cheney on her death.
Browne, according to his epitaph in the parish church, "in 1812 voluntarily retired from public life" and died "after a gradual decline."
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, industrialist, essayist, and a lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Badger, Shropshire
Badger, Shropshire
Badger is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about six miles north-east of Bridgnorth. The parish had a population of 134 according to the 2001 census....
.
Family and education
He was the only son of the poet Isaac Hawkins BrowneIsaac Hawkins Browne (poet)
Isaac Hawkins Browne is remembered as the author of some clever imitations of contemporary poets on the theme of A Pipe of Tobacco, somewhat analogous to the Rejected Addresses of a later day...
(1705–60) and his wife, Jane, née Trimnell. He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in July, 1770.
Employer and squire
In 1774, Browne bought the manor of BadgerBadger, Shropshire
Badger is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about six miles north-east of Bridgnorth. The parish had a population of 134 according to the 2001 census....
from its absentee owner, Clement Kynnersley of Loxley, near Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
: the house was at that time rented to an ironmaster, William Ferriday. He also owned property at Malinslee in Dawley
Dawley
Dawley is a small town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. Today it forms part of the new town of Telford...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, now part of the town of Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
, which included Old Park. In 1790, he opened coal mines on his estate and leased enough land in Old Park to enable Thomas Botfield to build the Old Park ironworks there. Ferriday and Botfield had long been business partners in the Dawley and Madeley
Madeley
-People:* Anna Madeley , actress* Chloe Madeley , television presenter* Darrin Madeley , ice hockey player* Keith Madeley, businessman* Paul Madeley , footballer* Richard Madeley , television presenter...
areas, for example in the Lightmoor Coalworks. Browne mixed and made money in the world of Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
business men, while seeking access to the world of politics dominated by the landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
. Badger gave him the opportunity to create the rural lifestyle to which he aspired.
After making a grand tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
in 1775–1776, he settled on his estates at Badger. Between 1779 and 1783, Browne had Badger Hall greatly extended, to a design by James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
, and commissioned paintings for it from Robert Smirke
Robert Smirke (painter)
Robert Smirke , was an English painter and illustrator.-Life and work:Smirke was born at Wigton near Carlisle, the son of a clever but eccentric travelling artist. In his thirteenth year he was apprenticed in London with an heraldic painter, and, at the age of twenty, began to study at the schools...
. He also had Badger Dingle
Dingle (disambiguation)
A dingle is a small enclosed valley, a diminutive form of "Dell ". It may refer to:-People:*Herbert Dingle, , was an English astrophysicist.*Johnny Dingle, American football player...
reshaped into a picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
landscape devised by William Emes
William Emes
-Biography:Details of his early life are not known but in 1756 he was appointed head gardener to Sir Nathaniel Curzon at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. He left this post in 1760 when Robert Adam was given responsibility for the entire management of the grounds. During his time at Kedleston he had...
.
Browne supported a Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
at Malinlee from 1799, and organised the building of a church there, St. Leonard, consecrated in 1805 and designed by Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
. This was intended to replace the parish church, but that was opened in 1818. It was probably he who initiated and financed one of the village schools at Badger: certainly it was said to be funded the lord of the manor after his death, when his wife was in control. He also instituted coal allowances for the villagers.
Browne took great interest in the affairs of the parish of Badger, as he was bound to do, since he had the right to nominate the incumbent: he did not present, as advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
strictly belonged to the Crown. Thomas Hartshorn had been rector from 1753, succeeding his father in the post. For most of that time he held two prebends of St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton
St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton
St. Peter's Collegiate Church is located on the highest and the oldest developed site in central Wolverhampton, England. For many centuries it was a chapel royal, and from 1480 a royal peculiar, independent of the Diocese of Lichfield and even the Province of Canterbury. The collegiate church was...
: rural Hatherton, near Cannock
Cannock
Cannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England....
, and Monmore, which included the growing town of Bilston
Bilston
Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...
. At Badger, communion was celebrated only five times a year. In 1780, after the death of Hartshorn, Browne had Dr. James Chelsum, a minor scholar, installed. Two years later, Chelsum added to his benefice at Badger the rectory of Droxford
Droxford
Droxford is a village in Hampshire, England, lying in the Meon valley, and lies around 3¾ miles east of Bishop's Waltham within the new South Downs National Park. The A32 passes through the village between Gosport and Alton...
in Hampshire, and a chaplaincy at Lathbury
Lathbury
Lathbury is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes and ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. It is just to the north of Newport Pagnell....
in Buckinghamshire. He also took on numerous preaching posts, publishing his sermons. Although Browne must initially have trusted Chelsum, he clearly became disenchanted and arranged for his departure in 1795. Chelsum retained his other benefices until he died insane in 1801. Browne nominated in his place William Smith, who turned out to be an exemplary pastor, devoted solely to the parish and never absent for more than two weeks. Browne rewarded him with the valuable right to nominate his own successor.
Political career
Browne was appointed High Sheriff of ShropshireHigh Sheriff of Shropshire
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
in 1783 and served for two years.
From 1784, Browne was one of the members of Parliament for Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth (UK Parliament constituency)
Bridgnorth was a parliamentary borough in Shropshire which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until its abolition in 1885.It...
, a pocket borough controlled by the Whitmores of Dudmaston Hall
Dudmaston Hall
Dudmaston Hall is a 17th century country house in the care of the National Trust in the Severn Valley, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom....
. He served for six successive parliaments, until 1812, and supported the Tory ministries of William Pitt the younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, Henry Addington, the Duke of Portland, and Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval, KC was a British statesman and First Lord of the Treasury, making him de facto Prime Minister. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated...
.
Browne is credited with 11 contributions to parliamentary debate between 1805 and 1809, when his speeches cease: all of them were short. (Reporting of debates was patchy before this time, so it is not certain how active he was earlier in his career.) He was clearly not a striking speaker. When he made one of his longer speeches in 1806, supporting funeral honours for Pitt, he was met by loud coughing.
In 1805 Browne spoke in support of a measure to force the payment of replacement curates when incumbent priests were absent. This was an issue of which he had bitter experience, of course. On this occasion he found himself on the opposite side to many of his Tory colleagues, who considered it an attack on ecclesiastical property rights. However, Browne's support for the pastoral work of the Church of England
Church 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...
was accompanied by a virulent anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
. In 1807 a bill was introduced to allow Catholics to serve in the armed forces, a very small initial modification to the Penal Laws that had excluded Catholics from public life. Browne said of Catholicism that "he considered its spirit to be as hostile to the liberties of this country, as any arbitrary power could be." He declared that Catholics already "had every thing they could wish for, excepting political power," and finished by saying:
- "It had been the wisdom of our ancestors to restrain the executive power from conferring the highest offices upon Roman Catholics,and we ought to revere their memories, and also to do justice to posterity, by maintaining the fences which our ancestors had erected."
Browne was seldom more than equivocal advocate of reform. In 1807 he rose to support a delay in the passing of the Slave Trade Act 1807, although he professed himself opposed to the trade. In fact, he had close family connections to the West Indies lobby. In 1809, commenting on a motion to re-establish a Finance Committee of the House, he delivered himself of a masterpiece of equivocation:
- "Mr. I. H. Browne admitted many disagreeable circumstances had occurred in the Committee, but he believed from no ill intention in any one, nor from any desire to protract unnecessarily the time of the Committee. Many thought a reform as to the power and influence of the crown was necessary, and others that it was not; and he believed each party was actuated by what they really thought to be right. Many of the Committee thought the influence of the crown was the most valuable part of the constitution; of course those would not agree to diminish it: but though he did not exactly agree with either party on this head, and many others, he still thought every one had acted to the best of his judgment."
Browne was generally a defender of the established order, in many ways a typical country member of the unreformed Parliament, which he accepted implicitly as legitimate. In 1809 Browne denounced John Curwen's Reform Bill, which sought to outlaw the selling of seats in the House of Commons, "because it would have the effect of excluding a great portion of the wisdom and talents it possessed from that house." Bar-room banter about bribery and corruption was, in case incorrigible, so "in opposing it he trusted that he should not be considered as more a friend to corruption than any other Hon. member. The bill he thought could not be rejected too soon."
Marriages and death
Brown's first wife was Henrietta Hay, daughter of Edward Hay, a career diplomat, and granddaughter of Thomas Hay, 7th Earl of KinnoullEarl of Kinnoull
Earl of Kinnoull is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for George Hay, 1st Viscount of Dupplin. Other associated titles are: Viscount Dupplin , Lord Hay of Kinfauns and Baron Hay of Pedwardine . The former two are in the Peerage of Scotland, while the last is in the Peerage...
, whom he married in 1788. Shortly after her death, in 1802, he married Elizabeth Boddington, daughter of Thomas Boddington
Thomas Boddington
Thomas Boddington was a political activist in London in the late 18th century. He lived in Clapton . Boddington was involved in the slave trade and active as part of the West India lobby, but also participated in other committees: The Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor, and the Committees...
, who outlived him by 21 years and to whom he left a life interest in the manor of Badger, although it was to pass to his nephew, R.H.Cheney on her death.
Browne, according to his epitaph in the parish church, "in 1812 voluntarily retired from public life" and died "after a gradual decline."