Hugh Hornby Birley
Portrait of Hugh Hornby Birley (unknown artist, after 1819)
Born	(1778-03-10)10 March 1778 Manchester, England
Died	31 July 1845(1845-07-31) (aged 67) Manchester, England
Burial place	St Peter's Church, Manchester 53°28′40″N2°14′37″W / 53.47778°N 2.24361°W /53.47778; -2.24361
Occupation	Merchant
Known for	Peterloo Massacre
Spouse	Cecily Hornby
Children	4
Parent	Richard Birley

Hugh Hornby Birley (10 March 1778 – 31 July 1845) was a leadingManchester millowner andTory who is reputed to have led the fatal charge of theManchester and Salford Yeomanry at thePeterloo Massacre on 16 August 1819.

He was the son of Richard Birley (1743–1812), merchant, who had four sons and four daughters. Hugh's brother, Joseph Birley (1782–1847), was the father ofHugh Birley who served asMember of Parliament forManchester from 1868 to 1883.^{[1][dubious –discuss]}

In 1814 he commenced the building of theCambridge Street Cotton Mill in Chorlton-on-Medlock. He was a local magistrate and one of the commanders of theManchester and Salford Yeomanry responsible for thePeterloo Massacre at St Peter's Field in 1819.^[2]

He assisted the Swiss inventor-engineerJohann Georg Bodmer by making space available to him at his Chorlton Mills and was instrumental in founding theRoyal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science in 1839.^[3] He was associated with theRoyal Manchester Institution^[4] and a moving force in the establishment ofOwens College.^[5] He was a director of the Manchester Gas Works and became a business associate ofCharles Macintosh with the intention of putting the works' waste products to profitable use in the manufacture of waterproof fabrics.^[6]

Hugh Hornby Birley died in 1845 and was buried in the family vault inSt Peter's Church, Manchester.^[2] The church was demolished in 1907 and today the Birley graves, along with other St Peter's burials, lie below street level under theManchester Metrolink tram lines crossingSt Peter's Square. The site of the crypt is marked by a stone cross.^[7]

Birley married Cecily Hornby (1797–1843) of Kirkham, with whom he had four sons, including:^[2]

• Joseph Hornby Birley (1827–1881)

His nephew wasHugh Birley (1817–1883), a businessman andConservative politician, and his great-grandson wasOswald Birley (1880–1952), theportrait painter androyal portraitist prominent in the early part of the 20th century.^[8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHugh Hornby Birley.

• Entry on Birley family genealogy
• Hugh Birley, at Spartacus International

• 1778 births
• 1845 deaths
• British people of English descent
• Businesspeople from Manchester
• British Yeomanry officers
• Birley family

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