Richard Birkin (6 July 1805 – 10 October 1870) was a British lace manufacturer.

Richard Birkin
Richard Birkin, taken from a Daguerrotype, c 1845
Born(1805-07-06)6 July 1805
Belper, Derbyshire, England
Died10 October 1870(1870-10-10) (aged 65)
Nottingham, England
OccupationLace manufacturer
TitleLord Mayor of Nottingham
Term1849/50, 1855/56, and 1861/63
Board member ofMidland Railway Company
Children2, including Thomas

Early life

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Richard Birkin was born in Belper, Nottinghamshire, on 6 July 1805, the eldest son of Richard Birkin, a calico handloom weaver, and started working in Strutt's Mill aged 7.[1][2]

Career

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In 1824, Birkin formed a partnership with Thomas Biddle in Hyson Green, having worked for him for two years.[1] By 1832, they had 50 employees, including Birkin's parents and two sisters.[1]

In 1850, his sons Richard and Thomas joined the partnership.[3]

In 1855, he had built the four-storey Birkin Building, a grade II listed warehouse in Nottingham's Broadway, by Garland & Holland, with Thomas Chambers Hine as the architect.[4]

He retired in 1856.[3]

Personal life

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Birkin was married and had two sons, Richard and Thomas.[3]

He was a magistrate, and a director of the Midland Railway Company.[3] He was Lord Mayor of Nottingham in 1849/50, 1855/56, and 1861/63. He bought Aspley Hall, Nottingham, for £60,000.[1]

He died on 10 October 1870, at Aspley Hall.[1][5][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "A Light-Hearted Look At The Birkin Family". The Mapperley and Sherwood History Group. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b Frederic Boase (11 August 2018). Modern English Biography (volume 1 of 4) A-H. ЛитРес. p. 1771. ISBN 978-5-04-126964-7.
  3. ^ a b c d "Nottinghamshire history > Nottingham & Notts Illustrated : "Up-to-Date" Commercial Sketches (1898)". www.nottshistory.org.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  4. ^ Historic England. "BIRKIN BUILDING, City of Nottingham (1246290)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Nottinghamshire history > Men of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (1924)". www.nottshistory.org.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2018.