Edward Allen Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton (1 April 1856 – 21 October 1930), known as Sir Edward Brotherton, Bt, between 1918 and 1929, was an industrialist in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England and a benefactor to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

and other causes. He was also a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician, and sat 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. ...

between 1902 and 1922.

Life

Edward Allen Brotherton was born 1 April 1856 at 2 Tiverton Place, Ardwick Green,

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 ...

to Theophilus Brotherton, a yarn agent, and Sarah née O'Donnell. He is also related to educational reformer Edward Brotherton and the 1st MP for Salford,

Joseph Brotherton Joseph Brotherton (22 May 1783 – 7 January 1857) was a reforming British politician, Nonconformist minister and pioneering vegetarian. He has been described as the first vegetarian member of parliament. Biography He was born in Whittington ...

. At the age of 14 Brotherton made an unsuccessful attempt to go to sea which lasted only two days. He left school at 15 working at a hardware store before finding a position as an assistant at a chemical laboratory. At this time, he also attended evening classes in chemistry taught by Henry Roscoe at Owens College, Manchester. At 19 he began work at a chemical works in

. In 1878 Brotherton, with backing from his family, became the founding partner of Wakefield company Dyson Brothers and Brotherton. The company manufactured ammonium sulphate, taking advantage of plentiful supplies of ammoniacal liquor produced by the local coal and gas industry and supplied

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

to the textile industry and for use in the extraction of gold. In 1882 Brotherton married Mary Jane Brookes, daughter of artist and designer Warwick Brookes. Sadly their marriage was short-lived as Mary died in childbirth in 1883. The child, a daughter also died. Brotherton never remarried and kept in contact with Mary's family for the rest of his life. In 1889 Brotherton's partnership with the Dyson brothers ended and he continued the business alone under the name Brotherton and Co. The company would go on to become one of the largest private chemical companies in the country expanding into coal tar distillation and manufacturing products such as pitch, TNT and creosote during the First World War. The business also moved from headquarters in Wakefield to City Chambers,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. Brotherton's nephew Charles Ratcliffe, husband of

Dorothy Una Ratcliffe Dorothy Una Ratcliffe (20 April 1887 – 20 November 1967), often known as D.U.R., was a socialite, heiress and author. She wrote in the Yorkshire dialect, despite being born in Sussex and brought up in Surrey. She published 49 books, edited a ma ...

, later succeeded his uncle as head of the business and took the name Brotherton. The company continued after Brotherton's death until 1957 when it was acquired by British Chrome and Chemicals. The company later traded under various names such as Brotherton Chemicals Ltd, Brotherton Speciality Products Ltd and Brotherton Esseco Ltd. Brotherton spent his later years at Roundhay Hall, Leeds (now Spire Leeds Hospital) and Kirkham Hall, Yorkshire where he died on 21 October 1930. His burial at Lawnswood Cemetery, Leeds on 24 October 1930 was attended only by the male members of his family, at his stipulation.

Collecting

During his lifetime Brotherton amassed an impressive collection including books, manuscripts and letters. His first foray into collecting was, however, unsuccessful. In February 1922 he attempted to buy a 15th-century Towneley manuscript of

Wakefield Mystery Plays The Wakefield or Towneley Mystery Plays are a series of thirty-two mystery plays based on the Bible most likely performed around the Feast of Corpus Christi probably in the town of Wakefield, England during the Late Middle Ages until 1576. It is o ...

but was outbid by the American book dealer A.S.W. Rosenbach. His niece, Dorothy Una Ratcliffe, was so disappointed by the loss that Brotherton took her to the bookseller

Bernard Quaritch Bernard Alexander Christian Quaritch ( ; April 23, 1819 – December 17, 1899) was a German-born British bookseller and collector. The company established by Bernard Quaritch in 1847 lives on in London as Bernard Quaritch Ltd, dealing in rare ...

where they bought a first edition of

Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...

's Miscellaneous Poems instead. Aided and encouraged by Dorothy, Brotherton continued to add to what would become a large and varied collection and later employed J Alexander Symington as librarian. In 1926 Brotherton published a catalogue of the highlights of the collection. Brotherton enjoyed showing his treasures to visitors to his home and welcomed many scholars to his private library.

Brotherton Library

Edward Allen Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton (bust)

In 1927 Brotherton donated £100,00 to the

for a new library. In June 1930, in one of his last public acts, he laid the foundation stone for the building, at the same time announcing that he would bequeath his collection of books and manuscripts to the university. The Brotherton Library opened in 1936 and still houses his collection which includes 35,000 books, 400 manuscripts, 4,000 deeds and 30,000 letters. On his death Brotherton's will also revealed a further bequest of £100,00 to the university. Today the Brotherton Circle honours the generosity of alumni and friends who include a gift to the University of Leeds in their will.

Political career and honours

Brotherton was elected as Alderman/Councillor for Leeds City from 1911 to 1915 and was Lord Mayor of Leeds in 1913–14. Brotherton was also an Alderman of

from 1901, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

1902–1910 and 1918–1922. He was first elected at a by-election in March 1902, after his predecessor Lord Milton inherited a peerage on the death of his grandfather. He was created a Baronet, of Wakefield in the West Riding of the County of York, in 1918 and raised to the peerage as Baron Brotherton, of Wakefield in the County of York, in 1929, for "political, public and charitable causes". The titles became extinct on his death in October 1930, aged 74. During the time that Brotherton served as Lord Mayor of Leeds his niece, Dorothy Una Ratcliffe, took the role of Lady Mayoress. As Lord Mayor he raised the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...

(Leeds Pals) at his own expense, in return receiving the title of Honorary Colonel.

References

External links

*
Biography on website of Brotherton Esseco

A podcast about a 14th-century manuscript from the Brotherton collection at the University of LeedsAudio Podcast from Astrotalkuk.org
A rediscovery of a copy of the Almagest in the special collections of the Brotherton Library in the University of Leeds.
Lord Brotherton of Wakefield (1856-1930), Leeds University Library's greatest benefactor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brotherton, Edward Brotherton, 1st Baron 1856 births 1930 deaths English businesspeople People from Ardwick People associated with the University of Leeds Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs who were granted peerages English book and manuscript collectors Politics of Wakefield Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Mayors of Leeds Barons created by George V