Hibbert, Purrier and Horton was a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based merchant and shipping business, initially founded in 1770,Hall ''et al'', p.210. which was also extensively involved in the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

during the late 18th and early-mid-19th century. A partnership (its personnel and name changed several times), it was the primary trading vehicle for successive generations of the

Hibbert Hibbert is a surname. Its origin can be traced back to the Old Germanic given name ''Hildeberht'', which is composed of German elements ''wikt:hild, hilde'' (battle or strife) and ''berht'' (bright or famous). Today it might be translated to "bright ...

family's business interests in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

Origins

Manchester-based linen draper Robert Hibbert (1684–1762)Hall ''et al'', p.207. had three sons, two of whom settled in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and established extensive sugar plantations:

Thomas Hibbert Thomas Hibbert (1710–1780) was an English merchant and plantation owner who became a prominent figure in colonial Jamaica. Life Thomas was the son of Robert Hibbert (1684–1762) and his wife Margaret Tetlow Mills. Born into a family owning ...

(1710–1780) travelled to Jamaica in 1734; John Hibbert (1732–1769) lived in Jamaica from 1754 until his death. The third son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1717–1784), succeeded his father as manager of the Manchester business. Several of Robert Jr's sons also joined the family business, with Thomas Hibbert (1744–1819) entering into partnership with London merchants John Purrier and Thomas Horton in 1770. His brother, a third generation Robert Hibbert (1750–1835) also joined the partnership, as did, in 1780,

George Hibbert George Hibbert (13 January 1757 – 8 October 1837) was an English merchant, politician, slave-owner, ship-owner, amateur botanist and book collector. With Robert Milligan, he was also one of the principals of the West India Dock Company which ...

(1757–1837) who eventually rose to head the firm, which had offices at 9

Mincing Lane Mincing Lane is a short one-way street in the City of London linking Fenchurch Street to Great Tower Street. In the late 19th century it was the world's leading centre for tea and spice trading. Etymology Its name is a corruption of Mynchen ...

Changes of name

Reflecting the changing personnel involved, with sometimes more than one partnership, business was conducted under various names including: * Hibbert, Purrier and Horton (1772–1781) * Hibbert, Fuhr and Hibbert (1791–1799) * Hibbert, Fuhr and Co (1800–1802) * Hibbert, Fuhr and Purrier (1802–1818) * Geo, Rob, Wm Hibbert (1804–1805) * Geo, Rob, Wm and Sam Hibbert (1811–1818) * G W S Hibbert and Co (1820–1838) * Hibbert and Co (1839–1863) Various fourth generation Hibbert sons were also engaged in the business, as was John Purrier's son, John Vincent Purrier (1773–1833), and grandsons Edward Purrier (1802–1858), John Vincent Purrier (died 1849) and (almost certainly) Thomas Purrier (c. 1809 – 1873).
Edward Purrier: Profile & Legacies Summary
'' Legacies of British Slave Ownership. UCL. Accessed: 31 July 2015.

Company ships

The company's vessels included the merchantman ''Mary Ann''. In July 1772,

Maurice Suckling Captain Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for starting the naval career of his nephew Horatio Nelson and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy from 1775 until ...

arranged for his nephew Horatio Nelson to sail to the

in the Hibbert, Purrier and Horton merchantman, captained by John Rathbone, giving Nelson his first experience of seamanship and life at sea (he sailed from Medway, Kent, on 25 July 1771 sailing to Jamaica and Tobago, returning to Plymouth on 7 July 1772).

References

Sources

* {{cite book, last1=Hall, first1=Catherine, last2=McLelland, first2=Keith, last3=Draper, first3=Nick, last4=Donington, first4=Kate, last5=Lang, first5=Rachel, title=Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Colonial Slavery and the Formation of Victorian Britain, date=2014, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn=978-1107040052 1770 establishments in England British slave trade