Henry Birchenough
Encyclopedia
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(7 March 1853 – 12 May 1937) was an English
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...
businessman and public servant.
Early life and education
Birchenough was born in MacclesfieldMacclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, the second son of John Birchenough, a silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
manufacturer. He was educated firstly at Strathmore House, Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
then subsequently at the University of 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...
, University College, London (B.A. 1873, M.A. 1876), and at École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques , often referred to as the École des Sciences Politiques or simply Sciences Po was created in Paris in February 1872 by a group of European intellectuals, politicians and businessmen, which included Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel, Pierre Paul...
, Paris.
Business
In the mid-19th century, Macclesfield had a thriving silk industry, and Birchenough joined the family silk business, John Birchenough & Sons, as a partner with his father and two brothers, Walter Edwin Birchenough (the father of the Very Reverend Godwin BirchenoughGodwin Birchenough
Very Reverend Godwin Birchenough was the only son of Walter Edwin Birchenough a silk manufacturer. Godwin Birchenough, who was also a nephew of Sir Henry Birchenough, the President of the British South Africa Company, was educated at Rugby and Oriel College, Oxford...
) and William Taylor Birchenough. The latter was married to Jane Peacock, daughter of Richard Peacock
Richard Peacock
Richard Peacock was an English engineer, one of the founders of locomotive manufacturer Beyer-Peacock.-Early life and education:...
MP, the locomotive manufacturer. The Birchenoughs, who were Methodists, were a prominent business family in Macclesfield, and Henry's father, a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, served as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the town in 1876.
As well as being a partner in the family silk business Birchenough was also a Director of the Imperial Continental Gas Association; and a Director of British Exploration of Australia Ltd and was to become President of the Macclesfield Chamber of Commerce.
Birchenough became a close friend of Alfred Milner, the future Lord Milner, and the two shared lodgings 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...
prior to Birchenough's marriage. Their friendship was to endure until Milner's death and both were members of the Coefficients
Coefficients (dining club)
The Coefficients was a dining club founded in 1902 at a dinner given by the Fabian campaigners Sidney and Beatrice Webb. It was a forum for the meeting of British socialist reformers and imperialists of the Edwardian era...
dining club, founded at a dinner given by Sidney and Beatrice Webb
Beatrice Webb
Martha Beatrice Webb, Lady Passfield was an English sociologist, economist, socialist and social reformer. Although her husband became Baron Passfield in 1929, she refused to be known as Lady Passfield...
in September 1902 and which was a forum for the meeting of British socialist reformers and imperialists of the Edwardian era. Birchenough was also a member of the Reform Club
Reform Club
The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...
, Brooks's
Brooks's
Brooks's is one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. From its inception, it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest social order....
, the Ranelagh and the City of London Club
City of London Club
The City of London Club was established in 1832, and is the oldest of the clubs based in the City of London. Its Italian Palladian style building was designed by English architect Philip Hardwick....
as well as being a member of Council for the Royal Statistical Society
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
.
South Africa
After the South African War, and at the suggestion of Lord Milner, the British Government sent Birchenough to South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
as Special Trade Commissioner to enquire into prospects for British trade in the country in the aftermath of the war. According to a November 1903 New York Times article Birchenough was optimistic about the revival of business opportunities for Britain in the country. In South Africa he had also undertaken a study of the activities of Britains main trade rivals, identifying the United States of America and Germany as being Great Britains main competitors in the country. Birchenough also laid out a number of suggestions to be considered in order to increase Great Britains competitive edge; these and the rest of his report were incorporated into a Blue Book
Blue book
Blue book or Bluebook is a term often referring to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Government :* At the European...
. For this he was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(CMG). He became a director of the British South Africa Company
British South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
in 1905 and soon became prominent in the company, being knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1916 for services to Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. He became president of the BSAC in 1925 and held the post until his death.
Government committees
By 1904 Birchenough was a member of the committee under Joseph ChamberlainJoseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
that produced the Tariff Commission report on the steel industry and trade, and the textile industry and fabrics. In 1906 he was appointed to the Royal Commission on Shipping Rings, and was also a member of the Advisory Committee to the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
. He worked with the Board of Trade during the First World War and then with the Ministry of Reconstruction
Ministry of Reconstruction
The Ministry of Reconstruction was a department of the United Kingdom government which existed after both World War I and World War II in order to provide for the needs of the population in the post war years.- World War I :...
. For these services he was created a Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in the 1920 New Year Honours. He was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1935.
Beit Railway Trust
Birchenough was also chairman of the Beit Railway TrustAlfred Beit
Alfred Beit was a German, British South African, Jewish gold and diamond magnate, a supporter of British imperialism in Southern Africa and a major donor towards infrastructure development in central and Southern Africa, and to university education and research in several countries.- Life and...
from 1931 until 1937. After his death his ashes were interred in a pillar of the Birchenough Bridge
Birchenough Bridge
Birchenough Bridge is the name for both a bridge across the Save River and a village next to the bridge. Birchenough Bridge is located 62 km from Chipinge in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe linking Mutare with Masvingo. The bridge was funded and planned by the Beit Trust, a foundation...
, which had been constructed with the support of the Beit Trust and which spans the Save River
Save River (Africa)
The Save is a 400km river of southeastern Africa, flowing through Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The river has its source in Zimbabwe, some 80 km south of Harare, then flows south and then east, from the Zimbabwean highveld to its confluence with the Odzi River...
in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
.
Family
Henry Birchenough was married to Mabel Charlotte, third daughter of George Granville BradleyGeorge Granville Bradley
George Granville Bradley was an English divine, scholar, and schoolteacher.-Life:George Bradley's father, Charles Bradley, was vicar of Glasbury, Brecon....
, Dean of Westminster. Mabel, like her sister Margaret
Margaret Louisa Woods
Margaret Louisa Woods was an English writer, known for novels and poetry. She was the daughter of the scholar George Granville Bradley and sister to fellow writer Mabel Birchenough...
, was also a writer and the author of The Popular Guide to Westminster Abbey (1885), Disturbing Elements (1896), Potsherds (1898), and Private Bobs and the New Recruit (1901). One of Birchenough's nephews William Taylor Birchenough (son of William Taylor Birchenough of Gawsworth Hall) played in the famous Eton V. Harrow Fowler's match
Fowler's match
Fowler's match is the name given to the two-day Eton v Harrow cricket match held at Lord's on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 July 1910. The match is named after the captain of Eton College, Robert St Leger Fowler, whose outstanding all round batting and bowling performance allowed Eton to win the match...
in 1910 and another, the Very Reverend Godwin Birchenough
Godwin Birchenough
Very Reverend Godwin Birchenough was the only son of Walter Edwin Birchenough a silk manufacturer. Godwin Birchenough, who was also a nephew of Sir Henry Birchenough, the President of the British South Africa Company, was educated at Rugby and Oriel College, Oxford...
became Dean of Ripon.
Birchenough had two daughters, but no sons, and so the baronetcy became extinct on his death.
Works
- "Do Foreign Annexations Injure British Trade?", article published in Nineteenth CenturyNineteenth Century (periodical)The Nineteenth Century was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by Sir James Knowles. Many of the early contributors to The Nineteenth Century were members of the Metaphysical Society. The journal was intended to publish debate by leading intellectuals.In 1900, the title was changed...
, 1897 - "England's Opportunity", article published in Nineteenth Century, July 1897
- "The Expansion of Germany", article published in Nineteenth Century, February 1898
- "The future of Egypt: The Niger and the Nile, a warning", article published in Nineteenth Century, 1898
- "The Imperial Function of Trade", article published in Nineteenth Century, 1899
- "Local Beginnings of Imperial Defence: an Example", article published in Nineteenth Century, 1900
- "A Civilian View", article published in Nineteenth Century, 1900
- "A Business View of South African Pacification", article published in Nineteenth Century and After, 1901
- "Mr Chamberlain as an Empire Builder", article published in Nineteenth Century and After, 1902
- "Preferential Tariffs within The Empire - A Reply to Sir Robert Giffen", article published in Nineteenth Century and After, 1902
- Commercial mission to South Africa: report received from Mr. Henry Birchenough, the special commissioner appointed by the Board of Trade to inquire into and report upon the present position and future prospects of British trade in South Africa, HMSO, 1903
- "Compulsory Education and Compulsory Military Training", article published in Nineteenth Century and After, July 1904
- "Some Effects of The War upon British and German Trade in South Africa", article published in the Journal of the African Society, 1915
- Report of the Departmental Committee appointed by the Board of Trade to consider the position of the textile trades after the war, 1918 (Birchenough chaired the committee)
- Report of the Empire cotton growing committee, HMSO, 1920 (Birchenough chaired the committee)