Henry Ashworth (4 September 1794 – 17 May 1880) was an English

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

, friend of

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radicals (UK), Radical and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, manufacturing, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti–Corn Law L ...

, and founding member of the Anti-Corn Law League.

Early life and education

Henry Ashworth was born on 4 September 1794 into a prominent

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

farming family in Birtenshaw, then an outlying hamlet to the north of

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. His father was John Ashworth, who supplemented his income by buying cotton and selling it to local cottage weavers. He was sent to

Ackworth School Ackworth School is a private day and boarding school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of t ...

run by the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Career

In 1808, he became involved at the New Eagley mill, taking over its management in 1818. He was joined by his younger brother Edmund in 1821. Under the partnership of the two brothers, the business expanded, and by 1831, they had 260 employees. In 1832 they bought the partially completed Egerton Mill which had been built upstream at Egerton. They established schools, a library, and a reading room. Ashworth was a staunch nonconformist, and thus refused to pay church rates. Ashworth supported the schemes of

Edwin Chadwick Sir Edwin Chadwick Order of the Bath, KCB (24 January 18006 July 1890) was an English social reformer who is noted for his leadership in reforming the Poor Laws in England and instituting major reforms in urban sanitation and public health. A ...

to implement the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

of 1834, but was a tough opponent of

trades union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s. In a dispute with Edmund, the business was split in 1854, with Henry taking the New Eagley Mill and Edmund the Egerton Mill. By this time, the sons of both brothers had taken over much of the management responsibility. In 1880, Henry Ashworth retired, handing over New Eagley to his eldest son, George Binns Ashworth.

Anti-Corn Law

Ashworth was a founder of the Anti-Corn Law League and was one of its major supporters. He had met Richard Cobden in 1837 and reportedly became a close friend. In 1840, he was one of a deputation that waited upon

Lord Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership ended when he was dismissed ...

to urge the repeal of the corn laws. In 1843, in company with

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

and Cobden, Ashworth visited

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, and

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

, to survey agriculture—they were sometimes mentioned as the ABC of the League. At the large meeting held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

on 23 December 1845, Ashworth proposed that £250,000 should be raised for the purpose of the agitation. The corn laws were repealed, and the final meeting of the League was held in the Manchester Town Hall on 2 July 1846. Ashworth defended Cobden at the meeting held in Manchester after the incident in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

, when Peel charged the leader of the League with connivance at

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

. He also assisted Cobden in the negotiation of the

Cobden–Chevalier Treaty The Cobden–Chevalier Treaty was an Anglo-French free trade agreement signed between the United Kingdom and France on 23 January 1860. After Britain began free trade policies in 1846, there remained tariffs with France. The 1860 treaty ended tari ...

Personal life

Ashworth married Letitia Binns of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and with her had 11 children, 6 sons and 5 daughters. Of his sons, George Binns, John, and Henry were involved in the New Eagley business; two others died in childhood.

Later life

Throughout his life, Ashworth was an advocate of peace,

retrenchment Retrenchment (, an old form of ''retranchement'', from ''retrancher'', to cut down, cut short) is an act of cutting down or reduction, particularly of public expenditure. Political usage The word is familiar in its most general sense from the mot ...

, and reform. He also enjoyed shooting. He made several continental tours and, in February 1880, left his house, ''The Oaks'', Turton, to winter in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, as he had usually done for some years. Whilst travelling from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, he became ill and at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

was

bedridden Being bedridden is a form of immobility that can present as the inability to move or even sit upright. It differs from bed-rest, a form of non-invasive treatment that is usually part of recovery or the limitation of activities. Some of the more se ...

with Roman fever. After about two weeks of illness, he died in Florence on 17 May 1880 and was buried in the Protestant cemetery there.

Works

Ashworth's major work is ''Recollections of Richard Cobden and the Anti-Corn Law League'' (two editions, London 1876 and 1881), written with John Watts. He also wrote: *''Statistical Illustrations of Lancaster'', 1842. *''A Tour in the United States and Canada'', 1861. * An account of the

Preston strike of 1853–1854 The Preston strike of 1853–1854 was a strike by English weavers which took place between 1853 and 1854 in Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom. The strike lasted seven months and paralysed the cotton industry in the city of Preston. The primary ...

; and some pamphlets.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Henry 1794 births 1880 deaths People from Bolton People educated at Ackworth School 19th-century English writers 19th-century English male writers