Robert Hollond (1808–1877) was an English balloonist, lawyer, and politician. He funded and then took part in establishing a distance ballooning record with Thomas Monck Mason and Charles Green. He later served as a Whig politician representing the constituency of Hastings.

Biography

Hollond was born in 1808 to William Hollond who was a wealthy civil servant in Bengal. Hollond studied law at Corpus Christi College in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and despite his enthusiasm for ballooning he had become a lawyer by 1834. Hollond channelled his ballooning interest into funding a record balloon attempt in 1836 by the experienced aeronaut, Charles Green. Charles Green, a professional balloonist and aeronaut planned the record attempt which set out from

Vauxhall Gardens Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being ...

in London on 7 November 1836 at 1:30 p.m. Hollond, Green and Thomas Monck Mason travelled 500 miles in eighteen hours. In 1836, Thomas Monck Mason wrote an ''Account of the Late æronautical Expedition from London to Weilburg'' which detailed the journey. This book was dedicated to Hollond. The commemorative painting (''illustration, left'') that shows a consultation before the journey is by

John Hollins John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...

who later became an Associate of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. The painting portrays, from left to right, Walter Prideaux a lawyer friend,

who painted the portraits,

William Milbourne James Admiral Sir William Milbourne James, (22 December 1881 – 17 August 1973) was a British naval commander, politician and author. He served in the Royal Navy from the early 20th century to the Second World War. During the First World War, he wa ...

(later

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

and

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

), Charles Green the balloonist, Thomas Monck Mason, the other passenger, and Hollond at the centre. Besides the painting and the book, the humorous poet

Thomas Hood Thomas Hood (23 May 1799 – 3 May 1845) was an English poet, author and humorist, best known for poems such as " The Bridge of Sighs" and "The Song of the Shirt". Hood wrote regularly for ''The London Magazine'', ''Athenaeum'', and ''Punch''. ...

also wrote a comic poem to celebrate the epic journey to

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

. The ''Ode to Messrs Green, Hollond and Monck on their late Balloon Adventure'', includes the following lines Two legged high fliers What upper stories you must have to tell And nobody can contradict you well Or call you liars In 1837, Hollond served as a Whig politician representing the constituency of Hastings. According to official parliamentary records, Hollond served from 1837 until 1852, but he did not speak for nearly his first ten years in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. Hollond bought Stanmore Hall in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

in 1847. This house had previously belonged to his father-in-law, Thomas Teed, but had been resited in order that the views could be improved.'Great Stanmore: Introduction', A History of the County of Middlesex
Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 88-96. URL: Date accessed: 12 May 2009. In 1840 Hollond married Ellen Julia Teed, an author and philanthropist. Ellen Hollond gave a

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

painting called "Pan and Syrinx" to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

. The liberals of the time attended her salon in Paris.Mrs Robert Hollond
National Gallery, accessed May 2009 Her portrait in the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, entitled "Mrs Robert Hollond", is by the French academic painter,

Ary Scheffer Ary Scheffer (10 February 179515 June 1858) was a Dutch-French Romantic painter. He was known mostly for his works based on literature, with paintings based on the works of Dante, Goethe, and Lord Byron, as well as religious subjects. He was als ...

. Ellen Julia Hollond was said to be the founder of London's first

crèche Crèche or creche (from Latin ''cripia'' "crib, cradle") may refer to: *Child care center, an organization of adults who take care of children in place of their parents *Nativity scene, a group of figures arranged to represent the birth of Jesus ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollond, Robert 1808 births 1877 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies British balloonists Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 Balloon flight record holders British aviation record holders