Thomas Henshaw (benefactor)
Thomas Henshaw (founder of Henshaws Society for Blind People) Thomas Henshaw was born in 1731 at Prestbury in Cheshire. His father, John Henshaw, owned and farmed a small estate in Butts Lane, Prestbury, where he and his wife, Martha, lived with their seven children. When his father died, Thomas was only two years old and the youngest surviving child.
At an early age he was put to work with his brother Henry on a farm in Derbyshire. He subsequently left his brother in possession of the farm, and in or about the year 1755 he became an apprentice to John Fletcher, a hat manufacturer in Oldham. After serving his apprenticeship, Thomas left Oldham for Manchester, where he became part-owner of a dye works.
In about 1770 Thomas returned to Oldham and entered into a partnership with his old master, John Fletcher. His brother, Henry Henshaw, joined the partnership a couple of years later. In time the two brothers set up their own business in the hatting trade and established a manufacturing works on what is now Henshaw Street, Oldham.
It is recorded that the Henshaws "were remarkable for their habits of industry and frugality" and as a result of their "almost unceasing attention to business" their Hat Works became the largest in the district, employing some 300 operatives. They became importers of beaver and fur, which were used extensively in the hatting trade, and developed other subsidiary interests. In fact, from an initial capital of £2,000, the Henshaws eventually accumulated a fortune of £154,000, which no doubt translates into multi-millions in today's terms.
The Henshaws first lived in Church Lane and later at Higher Groves, Oldham. As employers, they were considerate towards their workpeople; they established schools for the education of their children, and they encouraged their attendance at church. They were liberal benefactors of local charities and undertakings; they made regular donations to the ‘Manchester Infirmary’ and the ‘Lunatic Hospital’ and they were associated with the construction of new roads.
The brothers were also the first people to establish Sunday Schools in Lancashire. They engaged schoolmasters and reading and writing were taught on a Sunday. For most of the children at this time, this would have been the only formal education that they received.
In 1754 Thomas Henshaw married Hannah, daughter of John Taylor of Prestwich. Their only child, Henry, who was born the following year, died at the age of ten. Mrs Henshaw died in 1775 and in 1799, at the age of 68, Thomas Henshaw married Mrs Sarah Mayers Taylor. From that time until his death in 1810, Henshaw and his wife lived either at Higher Groves or at his wife's house at Hamer Hill in Blackley.
Thomas had a severe attack of paralysis in 1800, and thereafter there were times when he was depressed and irresponsible.
Despite his state of health, he was often to be seen riding on horseback in the neighbourhood of Blackley, and he continued to deal with his business at Hargreaves Works. His main preoccupation, however, was the framing of his will.
In 1807 Thomas made his will in which he bequeathed the sum of £20,000 to establish a Bluecoat School in Oldham and another £20,000 for the foundation of a Blind Asylum in Manchester. In a codicil dated May 1808, he appointed trustees for both the School and the Blind Asylum. Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). tags which will then appear here automatically -->
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