Thomas Wrigley (1808-1880) by George Frederic Watts

Thomas Wrigley (27 June 1808 – 26 January 1880) was a British paper manufacturer, cotton mill owner, art collector and philanthropist from

Bury, Lancashire Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the Historic counties of Englan ...

. He was

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

in 1872. Born on 27 June 1808 close to his father's Bridge Hall Paper Mills, Thomas Wrigley inherited the business in 1846. According to Edward Morris, he was "largely responsible for making Bury one of the greatest paper-making centres in the world". Wrigley was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

in his political views and favoured both compulsory education and

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

. He was a supporter of

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and

Owens College, Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

. Wrigley, who was a Unitarian, served as High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1872. At his death in 1880, Wrigley left his paper mills, cotton mill and over £1.1 million to be shared between his three sons, while his small estate in Bury, along with the house there and a holiday house at

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

, were left to his daughter. In 1897, his family donated his collection of paintings, porcelain and other artworks to form a purpose-built art gallery for the people of Bury.

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