Robert William Bilton Hornby

Robert William Bilton Hornby (January 5, 1821 - September 28, 1888) was an antiquarian, priest and Lord of the Manor of Heworth York, England.

Ancestry

Hornby was born on January 5, 1821 at Heworth Manor, the son of William Hornby and Sophia nee Motte or Matt, and was baptized at St. Michael le Belfrey within the City of York on the following day.

His father served the Office of Sheriff in the city, and was called a gentleman. Yet curiously he was also recorded as a shoemaker of Blake Street in the city.

Schooling

Young Hornby initially attended a local school run by a Mr Watson of Gillygate York, prior to being admitted to St Peter’s School on January 19, 1829 as a "free scholar" aged 8 years old. He left for Durham University at Easter 1838, and was one of its first undergraduates.

He passed his Bachelor of Arts at Easter 1841, gaining a 4th in classical and general literature, and then passed his Licence in Theology at Easter 1842 and took it on June 22, 1842. In due course he took a Master of Arts on January 28, 1845, to which he was entitled 9 terms after his Bachelor of Arts, and then a Bachelor of Divinity on January 27, 1852, to which he was entitled 21 terms after his Master of Arts, and finally a Doctorate of Divinity on January 29, 1856, to which he was entitled 33 terms after his Master of Arts.

Church career

Hornby was ordained a deacon at Norwich in 1844, and priest at Ripon in 1845. He held a curacy at Wakefield, and then one at Flaxton in 1847, but never held a living anywhere or an appointment in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Established Church. From photographs of him in his clerical robes, he was probably a high-church man which may explain why he never held a living. York was nearly all low-church at the time. So he clearly had substantial private means.

Family life

Hornby married Ann(e) nee Smales (1825-1902) at Saint Mary Bishophill within the city on November 27, 1844. They had one son and three daughters, Annie (b. 1846), William (b. 1847), Rosalie (b. 1851) and Beatrice (b. 1857). The family settled nearby at Clifton Garth at 4 St Olaves Road in Clifton, which he extended. This property has been extensively altered since his time.

Public Affairs

Hornby was an active Director and Trustee of the York Cemetery Company, which was founded in 1837 to establish a 24 acre civil cemetery outside the city walls and relieve pressure on the historic ecclesiastical cemeteries. Both grounds and chapel were designed by James Pigott Pritchett. The company was liquidated in 1966, and after several years of neglected was obtained by the York Cemetery Trust in 1987.

He was also a manager of the York Savings Bank, which was established in 1816 for the working classes, and operated out of offices in Blake Street which were built in 1819.

He was also a noted local antiquarian, being primarily interested in the Minster, churches and City of York.

He also succeeded to the Lord of the Manor of Heworth, which included the parishes of Saint Cuthbert and Saint Olave just east of the city. The Manor Hall lay off Heworth Road outside of the city walls.

Death

He continued to be very active until shortly before his death on September 28, 1888, when he was aged 67.

His widow placed a window by Charles Eamer Kempe in the York Minster in his memory. It is dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle, and is inscribed: "To the glory of God and in loving memory of Robert William Bilton Hornby, and William and Sophia his father and mother." This window may be found behind the astronomical clock in the right rear corner of the main hall.

She died at Overdene, Moseley, Birmingham on February 18, 1902.

Papers

Many of his private papers are deposited with the York Minster Archives. The Hornby collections and scrapbooks are extensive and unorganized, and rarely note sources.

Some surviving official papers of the York Cemetery Company and the York Savings Bank are found in the North Yorkshire County Record Office and York City Archives.

References

* "York Savings Bank: Its History, Formation and Growth", by William Camidge. Yorkshire Gazette Office, York 1886.
* "This Garden of Death: A History of the York Cemetery", by Hugh Murray, Ebor Press, York 1991. See an [http://www.framland.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/yorkct.htm extract] .
* "Master of Glass: Charles Eamer Kemp 1837-1907", by Margaret Stavridi, John Taylor Book Ventures for the Kempe Society, Hatfield 1988.
* "Notice of Death", Durham University Journal, vol. 8 (1888), p. 100.
* "York. St. Peter's School Register", Northern Genealogist, vol. 2(1896) pp. 18, 79, 130 & 160.
* "York. St. Peter's School Register", Northern Genealogist, vol. 3(1897) pp. 13 & 67.

External links

* [http://www.northyorks.gov.uk North Yorkshire County Record Office]
* [http://www.yorkminster.org York Minster] Library and Archive
* [http://www.york.gov.uk/libraries/archives/index.html York City Archives]