Sir George Philips, 1st Baronet (24 March 1766 – 3 October 1847) was an English textile industrialist and politician. He was closely associated with Manchesterism and has been described as the "unofficial member for Manchester", though not formally representing it.

Biography

Philips came from an old

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

family that had held manors there since the reign of

Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

, and were seated at Heath House in the same county since the early seventeenth century, that continued to be lived in by his cousins. George's father, Thomas Philips (1728–1811) of

Sedgley Sedgley is a town in the north of the Dudley district, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, Sedgley is on the A459 road between Wolverhampton and Dudley, and was formerly the seat of an ancient ...

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 ...

, established a cotton manufacturing company in Manchester. George attended several schools, including Stand Grammar School. He was brought up in the dissenting tradition. Towards the end of the eighteenth century he joined forces with Samuel Boddington and "Conversation" Sharp (alias Richard Sharp) to form the West India company of 'Boddington, Sharp and Philips' which was based at 15 Mark Lane, London. As fellow Dissenters, the three partners shared many common interests. Philips enjoyed writing poetry and he was especially pleased with his ''Epistle from Windemere to Richd. Sharp Esq.'', which was proudly shown to such friends as

James Mackintosh Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a jo ...

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, and

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

. Boddington and Philips followed Sharp's example by becoming dissenting Whig Members of Parliament and in time Philips gained a reputation for his fine oratory, speaking in the House on several occasions in opposition to regulating

child labour Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

in the cotton mills. In Parliament he sat as a Whig and represented

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1812,

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...

1818–1820,

Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 13,570 at the 2021 Census. In the north of the county, it lies to the west of the town of Swindon and northeast of ...

1820–30. Philips was an MP for Warwickshire South following the

Reform Act The Reform Acts (or Reform Bills, before they were passed) are legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in the 19th and 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U ...

until 1835. He is pictured in a commemorative painting by Sir

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of the 1833 parliament.

Weston House

As his wealth grew (

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teasingly nicknamed him "King Cotton"), Philips left the family home in Manchester, Sedgley Hall, and built Weston House in Warwickshire. It was the work of James Trubshaw to the design of

Edward Blore Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. Early career Blore was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...

, constructed from 1826 to 1833, and was fitted out by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

. The building was demolished in 1932.

Works

Under the influence of Thomas Cooper, Philips wrote a pamphlet ''The Necessity of a Speedy and Effectual Reform in Parliament'', published 28 January 1793. It included advocacy of votes for women, and was criticised. Philips then retracted it.

Family

Philips married Sarah-Ann, eldest daughter of Nathaniel Philips of Hollinghurst. They had one son, George Richard.

References

External links