Hannah Brackenbury (1795–1873) was an English
philanthropist. She was unmarried and had inherited wealth from James Brackenbury, a
solicitor from
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, who had made money through involvement with the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
. Sources differ regarding whether James was her father or brother. Believing herself to be the last of the Brackenbury line, which she thought could be traced to Perse Brackenbury, who had married into the family of
John Balliol
John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...
around 1086 AD, she elected to engage in philanthropic endeavours in spheres that had connections to her relatives.
Between 1865 and 1867, Brackenbury donated money to
Balliol College
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
to fund
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholars ...
s in history and
natural sciences and to enable the construction of new buildings.
The Brackenbury Scholarship at Balliol is funded to this day from her bequest and some of the buildings are named after the family. She had a brother, Ralph, who had been a doctor
and scholarships in the Brackenbury name were also created at the College Hall of
St. Bartholomew's Hospital. She was also a benefactor of
Manchester Medical School
The School of Medical Sciences at the University of Manchester is one of the largest in the United Kingdom with around 6,000 undergraduates, 3,000 postgraduates and 2,000 staff. It is the third oldest medical school in England and the largest m ...
. and
Ancoats Hospital, Manchester.
It is uncertain whether the Ancoats benefaction was a gift or a bequest.
At her death, in
Brighton, she bequeathed £6,600 to
the Manchester Grammar School, £12,500 to
Owen's College, Manchester and £9,000 to the
University of Durham
Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brackenbury, Hannah
1795 births
1873 deaths
19th-century British philanthropists
English women philanthropists
People associated with Balliol College, Oxford
19th-century women philanthropists