Sir Henry Meux, 1st Baronet (pronounced "Mews") (8 May 1770 – 7 April 1841) was a British

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

, owner of the London brewery which became the

Meux Brewery The Horse Shoe Brewery was an English brewery in the City of Westminster that was established in 1764 and became a major producer of porter, from 1809 as Henry Meux & Co. It was the site of the London Beer Flood in 1814, which killed eight peo ...

Early life

Meux was born on 8 May 1770. He was the second son of brewer Richard Meux (–1813) and Mary (née Brougham) Meux (–1812).Cokayne, G.E.; with Gibbs, Vicary; Doubleday, H.A.; White, Geoffrey H.; Warrand, Duncan; and de Walden, Lord Howard; editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 282. His elder brother was Richard Meux, who died in 1824, leaving his daughter, and heiress, Elizabeth Meux, who married Thomas Starling Benson of

Champion Lodge Champion Lodge was a large house at Camberwell in London. History Philip Champion de Crespigny (1704–1765), Philip Champion de Crespigny (1704–1765), proctor of the Admiralty court, began leasing the house around 1741 and purchased it in 175 ...

(parents of

Richard Meux Benson Richard Meux Benson (6 July 1824 – 14 January 1915) was a priest in the Church of England and founder of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, the first religious order of monks in the Anglican Communion since the Reformation. He is commem ...

, SSJE, and Gen.

Henry Roxby Benson Henry Roxby Benson (2 November 1818 – 23 January 1892) was a 19th-century British General. Life Benson was born Camberwell into a distinguished Welsh family, the second son of merchant Thomas Starling Benson and his second wife, Elizabeth M ...

). Another sister, Fanny Meux, was the wife of Vicesimus Knox. Meux was descended from an old

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

family. The elder brother of his grandfather's grandfather, Sir John Meux, MP for Newtown, had been created a baronet in 1641; but the title became extinct with Sir John's grandson in 1705. Sir Henry's maternal grandfather was Henry Broughman of

Brougham Hall Brougham Hall is located in the village of Brougham just outside Penrith, Cumbria, England. History The de Burgham family may have held land at Brougham in Edward the Confessor's time and were allowed to keep their position after the Norman Co ...

, Cumbria, and his uncle was Henry Brougham, father of Lord Broughman and Vaux.

Career

Meux's father owned the

Griffin Brewery Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick in the west of London was a family-run business from its foundation in 1845 until 2019. In that year, the brewing division of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC was sold to the Japanese international beverage giant Asahi. ...

on Liquorpond Street in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

, London, and Meux learned the business from him. His father built in 1795 the largest recorded

vat A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

, that held 20,000 barrels and cost £10,000. However, Meux "left his father's employ, in 1809, after an argument" and acquired the

Horse Shoe Brewery The Horse Shoe Brewery was an English brewery in the City of Westminster that was established in 1764 and became a major producer of porter, from 1809 as Henry Meux & Co. It was the site of the London Beer Flood in 1814, which killed eight peop ...

, a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

that had been formed in 1764. Meux renamed it "Henry Meux & Co." and it became a major producer of

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

. In 1814, his brewery was the site of the

London Beer Flood The London Beer Flood was an accident at Meux & Co's Horse Shoe Brewery, London, on 17 October 1814. It took place when one of the wooden vats of fermenting porter burst. The escaping liquid dislodged the valve of another vessel and destroyed ...

, which killed eight people after a porter vat burst. After his death in 1841, his son took over the brewery. On 30 September 1831 he was made a baronet of the second creation of the Meux baronets, this time of Theobald's Park.

Personal life

In November 1831, Meux married Elizabeth-Mary Smith, a daughter of Thomas Smith of Castlebar House,

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 ...

. Together, they were the parents of one son and three daughters: *

Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet (pronounced "Mews") (28 December 1817 – 1 January 1883), was head of Meux and Co., a London brewery, and a Member of Parliament (MP). Early life He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. On the dea ...

(1817–1883), who married Lady Louisa Caroline Brudenell-Bruce, the eldest daughter of

Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury Ernest Augustus Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury PC (8 January 1811 – 18 October 1886), styled Lord Ernest Bruce from 1821 until 1878, was a British courtier and politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household b ...

and his wife, the former Hon. Louisa Elizabeth Horsley-Beresford (daughter of

John Horsley-Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies John Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies (20 January 1774 – 1 March 1865) was an Irish peer and clergyman. His father, the 1st Baron Decies was son of Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone and Catherine de Poer, Countess of Tyrone. Early life Beresfor ...

), in 1856. * Elizabeth Mary Meux (1819–1880), who married her first cousin, Richard Arabin, a son of

William St Julien Arabin William St Julien Arabin (177315 December 1841) was a British lawyer and judge who served as the Judge-Advocate-General of the Army for a three-and-a-half-month period (6 November 183821 February 1839). Early life Arabin was born abroad,''1841 ...

and Mary ( Meux) Arabin. * Marianne Frances Meux (d. 1875), who married Sir William Bowyer-Smijth, 11th Baronet, eldest son of the Rev. Sir Edward Bowyer-Smijth, Bt. of Hill Hall, in 1839.Cokayne, George Edward, editor, ''The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes''; Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), volume III, page 237. * Emma Martha Meux (1822–1905), who married Arthur de Vere Capell, Viscount Malden, eldest son and heir apparent of

Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex Arthur Algernon Capell (27 January 1803 – 11 September 1892) was an English aristocrat who succeed to the title Earl of Essex in 1839. Early life Arthur Algernon Capell was the son of Hon. John Thomas Capel and Lady Caroline Paget (eldest daug ...

, in 1853. Sir Henry died at Theobald's Park, Hertfordshire on 7 April 1841, and was succeeded by his only son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

. His widow, Lady Meux, died on 18 September 1851.

Descendants

Through his only son Henry, he was a grandfather of Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet, who married socialite Valerie Langdon. Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was a grandfather of William St Julien Arabin, Alice Charlotte Arabin (wife of Hon. Arthur Charles Lewin Cadogan, a son of

Henry Cadogan, 4th Earl Cadogan Henry Charles Cadogan, 4th Earl Cadogan PC (15 February 1812 – 8 June 1873), styled Viscount Chelsea between 1820 and 1864, was a British diplomat and Conservative politician. He served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard between 1866 and 18 ...

), and Marianne Elizabeth Arabin (wife of John William Gordon Woodford, son of Sir

Alexander George Woodford Field Marshal Sir Alexander George Woodford, GCB, KCMG (15 June 1782 – 26 August 1870), was a British Army officer. After taking part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, he served in most of the battles of the Napoleonic Wars. During the ...

). Through his daughter Marianne, he was a grandfather of diplomat

Sir William Bowyer-Smijth, 12th Baronet Sir William Bowyer-Smijth, 12th Baronet (1 September 1840 – 22 July 1916) was an English diplomat. Early life Bowyer-Smijth was born on 1 September 1840 and baptised on 21 September 1840 at 13 Lower Grosvenor Street in London. He was the son o ...

, who died unmarried. Through his youngest daughter Emma, he was a grandfather of

George Capell, 7th Earl of Essex George Devereux de Vere Capell, 7th Earl of Essex (24 October 1857 – 25 September 1916), was a British aristocrat. He succeeded to the title Earl of Essex in 1892. Early life and background Capell was born on 24 October 1857 in London, the so ...

, who married American heiress Adele Beach Grant.

References

Notes Sources

External links

Sir Henry Meux, 1st Bt
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meux, Henry 1770 births 1841 deaths English brewers English businesspeople Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom