Charles Pinney (29 April 179317 July 1867) was a British merchant and local politician in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. He was a partner in a family business that ran sugar plantations in the West Indies and owned a number of slaves. Pinney was selected as mayor of Bristol in 1831 and within weeks had to manage the response to major riots. Public order was lost for a number of days and significant damage caused to the city centre. Pinney was charged with neglect of duty over his actions but was acquitted at trial. He returned to local government as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, holding the position until 1853.

Early life and career

Charles Pinney was the youngest son of John Pretor Pinney and his wife Jane (née Weekes), sugar planters and traders in

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...

, West Indies. Charles was born on 29 April 1793, after the couple returned to England and settled at 7 Great George Street in Bristol. Charles took over the running of his father's business, in partnership with Robert Edward Case, which included the ownership of a number of slaves on plantations in the West Indies. Pinney was a member of the Whig Party and was president of the Anchor Society, which was then associated with the party, in 1822. He was selected as a councillor in the

Bristol Corporation Bristol City Council, formerly known as The Bristol Corporation (and colloquially as "The Corporation"), is the local government authority governing the city of Bristol, England. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, successive royal c ...

in 1822 and served as a sheriff from 1823-24. Pinney was one of the few Whigs in the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

-dominated corporation, but he served until it was reformed by the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

. Pinney also helped to found and run a Mechanics' Institute in the city and was a supporter of the 1830 French Revolution.

Mayor during the 1831 riots

Pinney was selected as mayor of Bristol on 16 September 1831. The political environment was fraught, a Whig government was attempting to pass the second Reform Bill to implement electoral reform in the House of Commons. The Tories opposed this bill but it was supported by much of the general populace, including many in Bristol. Pinney's selection as mayor may have been an attempt by the Tory majority in the corporation to curry favour with pro-reform elements in the city and head off unrest. Pinney attempted to remain politically neutral after his appointment, though this angered many of the Whigs who regarded him as having abandoned his beliefs to join

The Establishment ''The Establishment'' is a term used to describe a dominant social group , group or elite that controls a polity or an organization. It may comprise a closed social group that selects its own members, or entrenched elite structures in specific ...

. Civil disturbances occurred at the visit of the anti-reform

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

on 24 October and the anti-reform judge

Charles Wetherell Sir Charles Wetherell (1770 – 17 August 1846) was an English lawyer, politician and judge. Wetherell was born in Oxford, the third son of Reverend Nathan Wetherell, of Durham, Master of the University College and Vice-Chancellor of the Univer ...

on 29 October. The latter instance saw attacks on a carriage carrying Pinney and Wetherell, which escalated into the

1831 Bristol riots The 1831 Bristol riots took place on 29–31 October 1831 and were part of the 1831 reform riots in England. The riots arose after the second Reform Bill was voted down in the House of Lords, stalling efforts at electoral reform. The arrival ...

. The civic authorities lost control of the city until 31 October. Pinney was criticised by some for his actions during the riot and was tried at the

Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

from 25 October 1832, charged with neglect of duty. He was found not guilty of the charge by the jury after seven days.

Later life

Pinney claimed £2,000 from the Bristol Corporation for losses of his property, principally wine and china, during the riots; he was awarded £714. He continued his business with Case and the company was awarded £3,572 in compensation for slaves following the

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. It was passed by Earl Grey's reforming administrati ...

. Pinney failed, by 34 votes, to be elected as a Whig councillor for the St Augustine constituency in the 1835 elections to the reformed Bristol Corporation. He was afterwards selected as an

, though he later defected to the Tories. The 1835 selection of aldermen restored a Tory majority to the council, which had been split 50:50 in elected members. Pinney served as president of the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

for 1844–45. In 1850 he unsuccessfully proposed that the corporation purchase

Clifton Down Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and t ...

, a traditional open space in the city, to preserve it from development. He ceased to be an alderman in 1853. Pinney died at his home, Camp House in Clifton, on 17 July 1867 leaving a fortune of £60,000.

Personal life

Pinney was at one point close to marrying the daughter of noted slavery abolitionist

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

but the engagement was broken off and on 8 March 1831 married Frances Mary, daughter of James Charles Still, of

East Knoyle East Knoyle is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, in the south-west of England, just west of the A350 road, A350 and about south of Warminster and north of Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was the birthplace of the arch ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

; they had two sons and a daughter.A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, seventh edition, vol. II, Sir Bernard Burke, Harrison and Sons, 1886, p. 1467

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinney, Charles 1793 births 1867 deaths Whig (British political party) politicians British merchants British slave owners Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers Mayors of Bristol 19th-century British businesspeople