View source for Benjamin Heywood

{{Short description|British politician (1793–1865)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name                      = Sir Benjamin Heywood
| honorific_suffix          = [[Baronet|Bt]] [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]]
| image                     = 
| caption                   = 
| birth_name                = 
| birth_date                = 12 December 1793
| birth_place               = [[Manchester]], England
| death_date                = 11 August 1865
| death_place               = 
| death_cause               = 
| resting_place             = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| nationality               = 
| other_names               = 
| known_for                 = 
| education                 = 
| alma mater                = 
| employer                  = 
| occupation                = Banker
| title                     = 
| term                      = 
| predecessor               = 
| successor                 = 
| party                     = 
| boards                    = 
| spouse                    = 
| children                  = 3 sons
| parents                   = Nathaniel Heywood<br />Ann Percival
| relatives                 = [[Thomas Percival]] <small>(maternal grandfather)</small><br />[[James Heywood (philanthropist)|James Heywood]] <small>(brother)</small>
}}

'''Sir Benjamin Heywood, 1st Baronet''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|Bt|FRS}} (12 December 1793 – 11 August 1865) was an [[England|English]] [[bank]]er and [[philanthropist]].

==Early life==
Benjamin Heywood was born on 12 December 1793 in [[St Ann's Square, Manchester|St Ann's Square]], [[Manchester]]. He was the grandson of [[Thomas Percival]], the son of Nathaniel Heywood and Ann Percival, the brother to [[Thomas Heywood (antiquarian)|Thomas Heywood]] and [[James Heywood (philanthropist)|James Heywood]], and the nephew to [[Samuel Heywood (chief justice)|Samuel Heywood]]. He lived at "Claremont" to the north west of the [[Manchester city centre|city centre]] in [[Irlams o' th' Height]].<ref name="ODNB">McConnell (2004)</ref> He graduated from the [[University of Glasgow]].

==Career==
Heywood entered his father's bank becoming a partner in 1814 and sole proprietor in 1828. He was an enthusiast for workers' education and was a founder of the [[Manchester Mechanics' Institute]], serving as its president from 1825 until 1840. Heywood briefly served as [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)|Lancashire]] from 1831 until 1832, receiving his baronetcy in recognition of his work in support of the [[The Reform Bills#1832 Reform Act|1832 Reform Bill]]. He was also active in the [[Manchester Statistical Society]].<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Personal life==
The family had a strong affinity with the south [[Derbyshire]] and [[Staffordshire]] area and bought a summer retreat at Dove Leys, near [[Denstone]] (When the Claremont area ([[Irlams o' th' Height]]) of [[Pendleton, Greater Manchester|Pendleton]], [[County Borough of Salford|Salford]], was built up, many of the streets were given names such as Duffield Road, Doveleys Road, Denstone Road, among others.){{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}

He was the father of:
*[[Sir Thomas Heywood, 2nd Baronet|Sir Thomas Percival Heywood, 2nd Baronet]];<ref name="ODNB"/>
*[[Oliver Heywood]];{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}} and
*Rev. R.H. Heywood.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}

==Philanthropy==
In 1864, Heywood provided the gift of £100 ({{inflation|UK|100|1854|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) to the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] (RNLI), to be used towards the construction of a boathouse for the new [[Lifeboat (rescue)|lifeboat]] station in Blackpool. The building, at the junction of Lytham Road and Bolton Street, was in use by the RNLI until 1936, but still stands to this day.<ref name="Decision">{{cite journal |title=Summary of the Meetings of the Committee |journal=The Lifeboat |date=1 July 1864 |volume=V |issue=53 |page=513 |url=https://lifeboatmagazinearchive.rnli.org/volume/05/53/summary-of-the-meetings-of-the-committee |access-date=6 June 2025}}</ref><ref name="History">{{cite web |title=Blackpool's station history |url=https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/blackpool-lifeboat-station/station-history-blackpool |publisher=RNLI |access-date=6 June 2025}}</ref>

==Honours==
*[[Baronet]], (1838)<ref name="ODNB"/><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=19631 |date=3 July 1838 |page=1488}}</ref>
* Elected to the [[Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society]] on 27 January 1815.<ref>{
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/74442#page/32/mode/1up
</ref> Treasurer of the  Society 1815–50
*Fellow of the [[Royal Society]], (1843)<ref name="ODNB"/>

==See also==
*[[Heywood's Bank]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}
*{{Rayment-bt|date=March 2012}}
*{{cite book | author=Heywood, T. | title=A Memoir of Sir Benjamin Heywood | year=1888 }}
*McConnell, A. (2004) "[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/13179 Heywood, Sir Benjamin, first baronet (1793–1865)]", ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', Oxford University Press, Retrieved 10 Aug 2007 (subscription required)

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef  | before = [[John Wilson-Patten, 1st Baron Winmarleigh|John Wilson-Patten]] and<br />[[Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby|Edward Smith-Stanley, Baron Stanley]] }}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)|Lancashire]]
  | with   = [[Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby|Edward Smith-Stanley, Baron Stanley]]
  | years  = [[1831 United Kingdom general election|1831]]–[[1832 United Kingdom general election|1832]]
}}
{{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished }}
{{s-reg|uk-bt}}
{{s-new | creation}}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = [[Heywood Baronets|Baronet]]<br />'''(of Claremont, Lancashire)'''
  | years  = 1838–1865
}}
{{s-aft  | after  = [[Sir Thomas Heywood, 2nd Baronet|Thomas Percival Heywood]] }}
{{s-npo|pro}}
{{s-bef|before= Nathaniel Heywood }}
{{s-ttl|title=Treasurer of the [[Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society]] |years=1815–50 }}
{{s-aft|after= George Wareing Ormerod }}
{{s-bef|before= Creation}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Manchester Statistical Society]] |years=1833–34}}
{{s-aft|after= Lt-Col. Shaw Kennedy }}
{{s-end}}

{{Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society|state=collapsed}}
{{Portal bar|United Kingdom|Biography}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heywood, Benjamin}}
[[Category:English bankers]]
[[Category:English philanthropists]]
[[Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom|Heywood, Benjamin, 1st Baronet]]
[[Category:Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Lancashire]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Politicians from Manchester]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1831–1832]]
[[Category:1793 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:Heywood family|Benjamin]]
[[Category:19th-century British philanthropists]]
[[Category:Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:19th-century English businesspeople]]