George Head Head (c.1795 – 12 December 1876) was a mayor,

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, banker and mine

owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. The bank was started by his father, but was improved and rebuilt in his lifetime.Carlisle History
accessed 26 July 2008 He attended an important convention in 1840 on Anti-Slavery, where a painting records his involvement.

Biography

George Head Head was born to a successful banker (J .M. Head) who had a private bank called ''J.M.Head and Co.''. His father had started the bank in his grocers shop and it was passed on to George, who continued to run it at its original location on Botchergate in Carlisle. Eventually Head had the first local building built that was intended to be a bank. From 1835 until his death in 1876 Head was the principal shareholder of the

Greenside Mine Greenside Mine (sometimes referred to as ''Greenside Lead Mine'') was a successful lead mine in the Lake District of England. Between 1825 and 1961 the mine produced of lead and of silver, from around 2 million tons of ore. During the 194 ...

, a profitable lead mine near Glenridding in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. In 1840, Head journeyed to London to attend the World's Anti-Slavery Convention on 12 June 1840. The picture above shows him in a painting made to commemorate the event which attracted delegates from America, France, Haiti, Australia, Ireland, Jamaica and Barbados.The Anti-Slavery Society Convention
, 1840, Benjamin Robert Haydon, accessed 19 July 2008 He was the

High Sheriff of Cumberland The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the 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 ...

in 1851 and Deputy Lieutenant in 1852. Head's first wife, Maria Woodrouffe Head, died in 1854. He married Sarah Gurney on 1 May 1858 in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

. Sarah's late father was Samuel Gurney ("The Bankers' Banker") of

Upton Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough * Upton, Huntingdonshire, a location in Cambridge ...

, Essex The Gentleman's Magazine
accessed 26 July 2008 Rickerby Folly

Head's bank was demolished in 1865, when it was amalgamated with the Cumberland Union Bank. He owned Rickerby Hall which today stands in the public area called

Rickerby Park Rickerby Park is a public open space in Carlisle, Cumbria on the banks of the River Eden. The parkland is dotted with mature trees, beneath which cattle and sheep graze the sweet pasture grasses. A riverbank path follows the sweeping bends of th ...

. He is particularly noted for commissioning a large octagonal tower. This folly is an important local landmark.VisitCumbria
, accessed 26 July 2008 Head was interested in book collecting and supported the anti-slavery movement. He died in 1876 and his adopted heir

Miles MacInnes Miles MacInnes (21 February 1830 – 28 September 1909) was a British landowner, railway director and Liberal Party politician. Life MacInnes was the son of General John MacInnes and his wife Ann Sophia Reynolds. His father left Scotland to s ...

, a justice of the Peace, succeeded to the of

Rickerby Rickerby is a village in the civil parish of Stanwix Rural, in the City of Carlisle district, in the county of Cumbria, England. It is situated near Carlisle, next to the River Eden. In 1870-72 the township had a population of 97. The property ...

. MacInnes acquired Rickerby Park at Carlisle.Carlisle City Council History of Rickerby
He had been adopted as heir to George Head Head and he was a distant relative of his wives who were both childless. MacInnes was left £160,000 and the estate on the understanding that he would use Head's coat of arms and the surname "Head". Macinness did not take on the surname but did enjoy the inheritance. Head's monument in Carlisle St Michael's church and the plaques to his two wives are all grade two listed constructions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, George Head 1790s births 1876 deaths British abolitionists Deputy Lieutenants of Cumberland English bankers High Sheriffs of Cumberland People from Carlisle, Cumbria 19th-century English businesspeople