Humphrey Chetham (10 July 1580 – 1653) was an English textile

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

, financier and philanthropist, responsible for the creation of

Chetham's Hospital Chetham's School of Music () is an independent co-educational music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates students between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. Students receive a full academic education alon ...

and

Chetham's Library Chetham's Library in Manchester, England, is the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world.Nicholls (2004), p. 20. Chetham's Hospital, which contains both the library and Chetham's School of Music, was established in ...

, the oldest

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

in the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...

.Crosby 2008.

Life

Chetham was born in

Crumpsall Crumpsall is an outer suburb and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, bordered by Cheetham Hill, Blackley, Harpurhey, Broughton, Greater Manchester, Broughton, and Prestwich. The po ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

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 ...

, the son of Henry Chetham, a successful

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 ...

merchant who lived in Crumpsall Hall and his wife, Jane (c.1542–1616), the daughter of Robert Wroe of Heaton. He was educated at

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 in 1597 was

apprenticed Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to Samuel Tipping, a Manchester linen draper. Crumpsall Hall, The Birthplace of Humphrey Chetham

In 1605, he moved to London with his brother George and set up a partnership with him trading in various textiles. The business was successful, since the fabric was bought in London and sold for a higher price in Manchester. He acquired

Clayton Hall Clayton Hall is a 15th-century manor house on Ashton New Road, in Clayton, Greater Manchester, Clayton, Manchester, England. It is hidden behind trees in a small park. The hall is a Grade II* listed building, the mound on which it is built is a ...

in Manchester as his home, and in 1628 was also able to buy

Turton Tower Turton Tower is a manor house in Chapeltown in North Turton, Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It is a scheduled ancient monument and a grade I listed building. It was built in the late Middle Ages as a two-storey stone p ...

from William Orrell. In 1631, he was asked to be knighted after his huge wealth became known to the crown, but he declined the honour, and so was fined. In 1635, he became the

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 ...

,Lancashire Illustrated page 79.
/ref> a job he was unable to refuse, and in 1643 he was forced into the position of General Treasurer of Lancashire, which he found very difficult for his age. He also began to obtain debts, and he feared that on his death parliament would take his money. He therefore donated money to form a

blue coat school A bluecoat school is a type of charity school in England, the first of which was founded in the 16th century. Most of them have closed; some remain open as schools, often on different sites, and some of the original buildings have been adapted ...

for forty poor boys, which later became Chetham's Hospital and then

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is an independent co-educational music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates students between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. Students receive a full academic education alon ...

. He also left money to establish Chetham's Library, including funds to pay for books. More libraries were constructed later on from this money.

Legacy

After Chetham's death, in 1653, at Clayton Hall the school and library opened. Chetham's contribution is commemorated by a statue and a window in

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother ...

and by a statue and mural in

Manchester Town Hall Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. It is the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments. The building faces Albert Square to th ...

. By prior arrangement, Clayton Hall was left to the surviving nephew, George. Chetham is also remembered in the name of the

Chetham Society The Chetham Society "for the publication of remains historic and literary connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester" is a text publication society and registered charity (No. 700047) established on 23 March 1843. History Th ...

, a

text publication society A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...

concerned with the history of

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, founded at a meeting at Chetham's Library in 1843.

Arms

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Official site of Chetham's Library
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chetham, Humphrey 1580 births 1653 deaths People educated at Manchester Grammar School People from Crumpsall English merchants 17th-century merchants 17th-century English businesspeople High Sheriffs of Lancashire