Hugh Mason
Encyclopedia
Hugh Mason was an English mill
owner, social reformer and Liberal
politician. He was born in Stalybridge
and raised in Stalybridge and Ashton-under-Lyne
until he entered the family cotton business
in 1838 after a seven year period working in a bank. Having originally opposed trade union
s, Mason became a paternalistic mill owner, creating a colony for his workers with associated facilities and ensuring that they experienced good conditions. During the Lancashire Cotton Famine of the 1860s he refused to cut workers' wages although it was common practice.
Mason became the first Liberal to be elected councillor for Ashton-under-Lyne in 1856. He was mayor of the council from 1857 to 1860 and retired from local politics in 1874 due to conflict with his own party. Mason returned to the Liberals in 1878 when he stood for election as Member of Parliament
for Ashton-under-Lyne
. He was voted in and supported progressive policies, which included women's suffrage
, making him unpopular within his own party. He was MP from 1880 to 1885. When he died in 1886, aged 69, Hugh Mason had amassed £290,933 (now about £17 million).
on 11 May 1817 and christened there. He was the youngest of four children of Thomas Mason, a former textile manager, and Mary Mason. The family had moved to Stalybridge from Derbyshire
in 1776. After working as the manager of a mill in Ashton-under-Lyne, Thomas established his own business in 1815 in partnership with James Booth and Edward Hulton at Currier Slacks Mill in the town. Rapid growth in their enterprise saw them expand into the Bank Mill and Royal George Mills in the 1820s and Albion Mill in the 1830s. At the age of 10, Hugh was working in the mill, and his education consisted of attending Methodist Sunday school
s in Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge and spending three years at a private school in Ashton-under-Lyne.
After leaving school at the age of 14, Mason got a job with the district bank while he attended night school in his spare time. He worked there until 1838, when he left at the age of 21 to join the family's cotton business. He became the driving force behind the business. The business thrived: by the early 1850s the Mason family had built two state-of-the-art cotton mills in the Ryecroft area of Ashton-under-Lyne, known as the Oxford Mills. In 1845, to house the workers for the mills, Mason began construction of a "workers' colony". The colony not only provided 150 terrace houses (housing an estimated 691 people in 1872) but also leisure facilities such as a library, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a reading room. Mason built up what he saw as a model industrial community, and according to Mason himself, the annual death rate was significantly lower than in the rest of Ashton-under-Lyne. Residents were expected to adhere to his strict moral code and he discouraged the use of public house
s. He estimated that establishing the settlement cost him around £10,000 and a further £1,000 per year to maintain (about £600,000 today and a further £60,000 to maintain).
Under Hugh Mason's leadership, the company prospered. The number of mule spindles
in use at the mills increased from 20,000 in 1846 to 75,000 in 1887. His two brothers, Henry and Booth, also worked in the company until retired in 1848 and 1853 respectively. Their father remained active in the company until 1860 when he retired, leaving Hugh as the sole owner. The Manchester Cotton Company was set up in 1860 and Mason's success in the cotton industry led him to become its chairman from the beginning until its winding up, which began in 1864, but was not concluded until 1867. The purpose of the company was to increase the number of producers of cotton; this was important as the American market was closed off during the American Civil War
, causing the Lancashire Cotton Famine. Mason served as President of the Manchester
Chamber of Commerce
from 1871 to 1874, and came to hold interests in the Bridgewater Canal
Navigation Company, the Midland Railway Company, the Mersey Dock Board
, and various other coal and iron companies.
Having initially opposed trade unions and factory legislation, Mason changed his mind around the 1850s regarding how workers should be treated, believing that the welfare of the employees impacted on the welfare of the employer. He became popular among workers for such things as becoming the first local employer to give his workers Saturday afternoons off. During the Lancashire Cotton Famine of 1861–1865 he refused to cut workers' wages as was common during the period. He stated:
As well as this, he contributed £500 (about the equivalent of £30,000 today) to the Ashton borough cotton famine relief. During the tumultuous 1870s and 1880s, Mason kept his workforce fully employed and continued to invest in his mills. By 1884, wages in his mills were 25% higher than they had been in 1870 even though his employees were working fewer hours. The Manchester Guardian noted:
. In the early 19th century, the area was poorly represented in Parliament. The major urban centres of Manchester
, Salford, Bolton
, Blackburn, Rochdale
, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham
and Stockport
– with a combined population of almost one million – were represented by either the two county MPs for Lancashire (or the two for Cheshire
in the case of Stockport). By comparison, more than half of all MPs were elected by a total of just 154 voters. These inequalities in political representation led to calls for reform and eventually the Peterloo Massacre
in 1819. Hugh said of his father that "To his life of honest industry, to his example of commercial probity, to his high Christian character, to his training, of me in my early years, to his wise consuls, I owe under God my position in society."
Although he claimed he was reluctant to enter politics, Hugh Mason became the first Liberal
elected councillor for Ashton-under-Lyne in November 1856. He represented the Portland Place ward
from 1856 until his retirement from politics in 1874. Mason quickly made an impression and was elected mayor for three consecutive years between 1857 and 1860, which had never happened before. He supported progressive measures such as opening a public park, providing public libraries, and addressing unsanitary conditions in parts of Ashton-under-Lyne.
Mason's policies led him to come into constant clashes with the Conservative
members of the council. He was not always popular within his own party either and he even financed his own newspaper, the Ashton-under-Lyne News, to convey his views and provide competition for the pro-Liberal Ashton Reporter. Conflict with the Liberals drove Mason into early retirement from local politics in 1874 at the age of 57.
As well as being a councillor, Mason was also elected a local magistrate for Ashton-under-Lyne in 1857. During his time in office he had to deal with the bread riots of 21–22 March 1863 (caused by the cotton famine) and the Murphy Riots in May 1868. The Murphy Riots were anti-Catholic demonstrations, feuled by Fenian
ism (an Irish nationalist organisation), across Lancashire led by William Murphy. He personally went to one mob during the Murphy Riots to read them the riot act
face-to-face. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant
of the County Palatine of Lancaster on 21 June 1862.
Mason, along with a group of other Liberals, was one of the founding members of the Reform Club in Manchester, a political club founded in 1867 for Liberals and their supporters. Despite retiring from local politics because of conflict with the Liberals, by 1878 he was back in favour and Liberal councillors were encouraging Mason to stand for parliament
ary election. Although he was a popular candidate, he was initially reluctant to put himself forward. However, he stood for Parliament in the 1880 General Elections
. His campaign in March and April 1880 involved vitriolic attacks on the local Conservative Party and on 3 April 1880 he was elected MP for Ashton-under-Lyne
, beating his opponent, John Ross Coulthart, by 2,966 votes to 2,586.
As an MP, Mason supported many reformist bills and became a spokesman of the Women's Suffrage Association in 1881. He proposed motions for women's suffrage in 1881 and again in 1883 but was defeated on both occasions. He led the women's suffrage movement until 1883 when illness forced him to retreat from public life temporarily. His defeat in the 1885 General Elections
was ascribed to his support of William Ewart Gladstone
over the issue of Irish Home Rule and to his illness. He lost to the Conservative John Wentworth Addison
by 3,152 votes to 3,104. Mason demanded a recount, but this increased the majority by one vote; he succumbed to illness and died before the result was announced.
Businessman and MP, another cotton mill owner who went on to be a millionaire businessman and landowner. They had one child, Arnold, who was born in 1851. Sarah died in 1852 at the age of 29. Mason next married Sarah's sister, Betsy, though it was illegal to marry one's sister-in-law in England at the time. To overcome this problem they married in Denmark on 7 June 1854. Their marriage was by special licence from the King of Denmark and was held at the Evangellic Reform Church, Altona
in the Duchy of Holstein. They had four children: Bertha, born in 1855, Edith in 1857, Rupert in 1859 and Sydney in 1861. Betsy died after the birth of Sydney and Mason then married Anne Ashworth in 1864.
Hugh Mason died three days after his 69th birthday on 2 February 1886 at his home, Groby Hall. At his death, he had amassed a fortune worth £290,933 (now worth about £17M). He was the first person to have a statue (now protected as a Grade II listed building) erected in his honour in Tameside
; it was financed by public subscription immediately after Mason's death.
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
owner, social reformer and 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...
politician. He was born in Stalybridge
Stalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
and raised in Stalybridge and Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
until he entered the family cotton business
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
in 1838 after a seven year period working in a bank. Having originally opposed trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, Mason became a paternalistic mill owner, creating a colony for his workers with associated facilities and ensuring that they experienced good conditions. During the Lancashire Cotton Famine of the 1860s he refused to cut workers' wages although it was common practice.
Mason became the first Liberal to be elected councillor for Ashton-under-Lyne in 1856. He was mayor of the council from 1857 to 1860 and retired from local politics in 1874 due to conflict with his own party. Mason returned to the Liberals in 1878 when he stood for election as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne (UK Parliament constituency)
Ashton-under-Lyne is a constituency centred on the town of Ashton-under-Lyne that is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
. He was voted in and supported progressive policies, which included women's suffrage
Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom
Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom as a national movement began in 1872. Women were not prohibited from voting in the United Kingdom until the 1832 Reform Act and the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act...
, making him unpopular within his own party. He was MP from 1880 to 1885. When he died in 1886, aged 69, Hugh Mason had amassed £290,933 (now about £17 million).
Early life and business career
Hugh Mason was born in StalybridgeStalybridge
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of...
on 11 May 1817 and christened there. He was the youngest of four children of Thomas Mason, a former textile manager, and Mary Mason. The family had moved to Stalybridge from Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in 1776. After working as the manager of a mill in Ashton-under-Lyne, Thomas established his own business in 1815 in partnership with James Booth and Edward Hulton at Currier Slacks Mill in the town. Rapid growth in their enterprise saw them expand into the Bank Mill and Royal George Mills in the 1820s and Albion Mill in the 1830s. At the age of 10, Hugh was working in the mill, and his education consisted of attending Methodist 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...
s in Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge and spending three years at a private school in Ashton-under-Lyne.
After leaving school at the age of 14, Mason got a job with the district bank while he attended night school in his spare time. He worked there until 1838, when he left at the age of 21 to join the family's cotton business. He became the driving force behind the business. The business thrived: by the early 1850s the Mason family had built two state-of-the-art cotton mills in the Ryecroft area of Ashton-under-Lyne, known as the Oxford Mills. In 1845, to house the workers for the mills, Mason began construction of a "workers' colony". The colony not only provided 150 terrace houses (housing an estimated 691 people in 1872) but also leisure facilities such as a library, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a reading room. Mason built up what he saw as a model industrial community, and according to Mason himself, the annual death rate was significantly lower than in the rest of Ashton-under-Lyne. Residents were expected to adhere to his strict moral code and he discouraged the use of public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s. He estimated that establishing the settlement cost him around £10,000 and a further £1,000 per year to maintain (about £600,000 today and a further £60,000 to maintain).
Under Hugh Mason's leadership, the company prospered. The number of mule spindles
Spinning mule
The spinning mule was a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres in the mills of Lancashire and elsewhere from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with the help of two boys: the little piecer and the big or side piecer...
in use at the mills increased from 20,000 in 1846 to 75,000 in 1887. His two brothers, Henry and Booth, also worked in the company until retired in 1848 and 1853 respectively. Their father remained active in the company until 1860 when he retired, leaving Hugh as the sole owner. The Manchester Cotton Company was set up in 1860 and Mason's success in the cotton industry led him to become its chairman from the beginning until its winding up, which began in 1864, but was not concluded until 1867. The purpose of the company was to increase the number of producers of cotton; this was important as the American market was closed off during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, causing the Lancashire Cotton Famine. Mason served as President of the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
from 1871 to 1874, and came to hold interests in the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
Navigation Company, the Midland Railway Company, the Mersey Dock Board
Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company , formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board , owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England...
, and various other coal and iron companies.
Having initially opposed trade unions and factory legislation, Mason changed his mind around the 1850s regarding how workers should be treated, believing that the welfare of the employees impacted on the welfare of the employer. He became popular among workers for such things as becoming the first local employer to give his workers Saturday afternoons off. During the Lancashire Cotton Famine of 1861–1865 he refused to cut workers' wages as was common during the period. He stated:
As well as this, he contributed £500 (about the equivalent of £30,000 today) to the Ashton borough cotton famine relief. During the tumultuous 1870s and 1880s, Mason kept his workforce fully employed and continued to invest in his mills. By 1884, wages in his mills were 25% higher than they had been in 1870 even though his employees were working fewer hours. The Manchester Guardian noted:
Local
Hugh Mason was influenced by his father's Liberal politics and strongly opposed to injustice and prejudice. Thomas Mason was a supporter of political representation for Ashton-under-Lyne and supported the repeal of the Corn LawsCorn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
. In the early 19th century, the area was poorly represented in Parliament. The major urban centres of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Salford, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Blackburn, Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
and Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
– with a combined population of almost one million – were represented by either the two county MPs for Lancashire (or the two for Cheshire
Cheshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Cheshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentiary constituency for the county of Cheshire. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.As a county...
in the case of Stockport). By comparison, more than half of all MPs were elected by a total of just 154 voters. These inequalities in political representation led to calls for reform and eventually the Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
in 1819. Hugh said of his father that "To his life of honest industry, to his example of commercial probity, to his high Christian character, to his training, of me in my early years, to his wise consuls, I owe under God my position in society."
Although he claimed he was reluctant to enter politics, Hugh Mason became the first 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...
elected councillor for Ashton-under-Lyne in November 1856. He represented the Portland Place ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
from 1856 until his retirement from politics in 1874. Mason quickly made an impression and was elected mayor for three consecutive years between 1857 and 1860, which had never happened before. He supported progressive measures such as opening a public park, providing public libraries, and addressing unsanitary conditions in parts of Ashton-under-Lyne.
Mason's policies led him to come into constant clashes with the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
members of the council. He was not always popular within his own party either and he even financed his own newspaper, the Ashton-under-Lyne News, to convey his views and provide competition for the pro-Liberal Ashton Reporter. Conflict with the Liberals drove Mason into early retirement from local politics in 1874 at the age of 57.
As well as being a councillor, Mason was also elected a local magistrate for Ashton-under-Lyne in 1857. During his time in office he had to deal with the bread riots of 21–22 March 1863 (caused by the cotton famine) and the Murphy Riots in May 1868. The Murphy Riots were anti-Catholic demonstrations, feuled by Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
ism (an Irish nationalist organisation), across Lancashire led by William Murphy. He personally went to one mob during the Murphy Riots to read them the riot act
Riot Act
The Riot Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that authorised local authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled, and thus have to disperse or face punitive action...
face-to-face. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of the County Palatine of Lancaster on 21 June 1862.
National
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
ary election. Although he was a popular candidate, he was initially reluctant to put himself forward. However, he stood for Parliament in the 1880 General Elections
United Kingdom general election, 1880
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
. His campaign in March and April 1880 involved vitriolic attacks on the local Conservative Party and on 3 April 1880 he was elected MP for Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne (UK Parliament constituency)
Ashton-under-Lyne is a constituency centred on the town of Ashton-under-Lyne that is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, beating his opponent, John Ross Coulthart, by 2,966 votes to 2,586.
As an MP, Mason supported many reformist bills and became a spokesman of the Women's Suffrage Association in 1881. He proposed motions for women's suffrage in 1881 and again in 1883 but was defeated on both occasions. He led the women's suffrage movement until 1883 when illness forced him to retreat from public life temporarily. His defeat in the 1885 General Elections
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
was ascribed to his support of William Ewart 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...
over the issue of Irish Home Rule and to his illness. He lost to the Conservative John Wentworth Addison
John Edmund Wentworth Addison
John Edmund Wentworth Addison was a British judge and Conservative politician.Addison was born in 1838 in Bruges, Belgium, and was the third son of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Robert Addison and his second wife, Grace Barton...
by 3,152 votes to 3,104. Mason demanded a recount, but this increased the majority by one vote; he succumbed to illness and died before the result was announced.
Personal life
In 1846 Hugh Mason married Sarah Buckley, the daughter of Abel Buckley Snr who was also the father of Abel BuckleyAbel Buckley
Abel Buckley was a British cotton manufacturer and Liberal politician of Irish descent.He was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, the younger son of Abel Buckley and Mary Keehan of Alderdale Lodge. He was educated at Mill Hill School and Owen's College...
Businessman and MP, another cotton mill owner who went on to be a millionaire businessman and landowner. They had one child, Arnold, who was born in 1851. Sarah died in 1852 at the age of 29. Mason next married Sarah's sister, Betsy, though it was illegal to marry one's sister-in-law in England at the time. To overcome this problem they married in Denmark on 7 June 1854. Their marriage was by special licence from the King of Denmark and was held at the Evangellic Reform Church, Altona
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
in the Duchy of Holstein. They had four children: Bertha, born in 1855, Edith in 1857, Rupert in 1859 and Sydney in 1861. Betsy died after the birth of Sydney and Mason then married Anne Ashworth in 1864.
Hugh Mason died three days after his 69th birthday on 2 February 1886 at his home, Groby Hall. At his death, he had amassed a fortune worth £290,933 (now worth about £17M). He was the first person to have a statue (now protected as a Grade II listed building) erected in his honour in Tameside
Tameside
The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...
; it was financed by public subscription immediately after Mason's death.
External links
- D. A. Farnie, 'Mason, Hugh (1817–1886)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, October 2005