Michael Thomas Bass (23 July 1760 – 9 March 1827) was a brewer of

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

, England, who considerably developed the

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

brewing company.

Biography

Bass was the son of William Bass, a carrier from

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, who founded the brewery in 1777.the Peerage.com
/ref> After his father's death in 1787, Michael ran the brewery with his brother William until he took sole control in 1795. He continued to develop the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

trade with Russia and North Germany, exporting via the

River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...

and Hull. He extended the brewery's operations, laying the foundations for its future success. He entered into partnership with John Ratcliff and in 1799 he built a second brewery at Burton. Following the Napoleonic blockade, Burton brewers needed another market, and Bass was one of the breweries to start brewing and exporting India Pale Ale (IPA). Bass married Sarah Hoskins, the daughter of Abraham Hoskins of Burton and

Newton Solney Newton Solney is a small village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England, located about two miles (3 km) from the East Staffordshire border, near to Burton upon Trent. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 659. ...

. Sarah's brother, Abraham, built

Bladon Castle Bladon Castle is a folly, partly converted into a country house, located some southwest of the village of Newton Solney in South Derbyshire, northeast of Burton-on-Trent and close to the point at which the River Trent forms the boundary with S ...

, a

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

which aroused bad feeling locally. Sarah's great-grandfather

George Hayne George Hayne (died 1723) was a merchant and entrepreneur who was responsible for the creation of the Trent Navigation in England and hence the development of Burton upon Trent as the pre-eminent beer brewing and exporting town. Hayne was the so ...

was responsible for establishing the Trent Navigation as an active concern.'Burton-upon-Trent: General history', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 9: Burton-upon-Trent (2003), pp. 5-20. Retrieved 31 May 2009
/ref> Bass died at the age of 66. His eldest son,

Michael Thomas Bass Michael Thomas Bass, Deputy Lieutenant, DL (6 July 1799 – 29 April 1884) was an English brewer and a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament. Under his leadership, the Bass Brewery became the largest brewery in the world, ...

continued to manage the brewery company and was MP for

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

for over 35 years. His third son Abraham Bass was an influential cricketer, known as the 'father of Midlands cricket'. ''Burton-upon-Trent: Social and cultural activities'', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 9: Burton-upon-Trent (2003), pp. 147-156. Retrieved 7 November 2009
/ref>

References

{{Commonscat, Michael Thomas Bass (1760–1827) 1760 births 1827 deaths Businesspeople from Staffordshire People from Burton upon Trent English businesspeople English brewers

Michael Thomas Michael or Mike Thomas may refer to: Entertainment * Michael M. Thomas (1936–2021), American novelist of financial thrillers * Michael Tilson Thomas (born 1944), American conductor, pianist, and composer * Michael Thomas (actor) (1952–2019), B ...