Bolckow, Henry William Ferdinand (1806 -1878)

Henry William Ferdinand Bolckow was born at Sulten, in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, the son of Heinrich Bölckow of Varchow, in the region of Western Pomerania, and his wife, Caroline Dussher. While working in a merchant’s office in Rostock, he met Christian Allhusen, who, in 1827, invited him to move to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to become his business partner in the corn trade. He became a naturalised British subject in 1841, and invested the fortune he'd amassed from corn into the iron industry with his partner John Vaughan. The rapid success of their business enabled them to expand their operations, acquiring coal mines, limestone quarries, brickworks, gasworks and a machine works. Middlesbrough became a centre of such importance that, in 1853, the town received a charter of incorporation, Bolckow becoming its first elected Mayor. When the town was granted parliamentary representation in 1867, Bolckow stood as Liberal candidate and in 1868 was returned unopposed. He held the seat until his death in 1878. Henry was twice married. In 1841, he married a widow Miriam Hay, whose sister was married to Vaughan. Miriam died the following year and Henry did not remarry until 1851, when he wed Harriet, only daughter of James Farrar, of Halifax. In his lifetime, Bolckow collected a fine gallery of pictures, nearly all of them by living French and English artists. A statue commemorating Henry Bolckow stands in Middlesbrough's Exchange Square. During his spell as Mayor, Bolklow erected a granite urn dedicated to Captain James Cook in the grounds of his residence, Marton Hall, near to the reputed former site of the cottage in which Cook was born.

Library Auction Details: Evans (18 November 1840)
Stamp(s) Stamp Information
Bolckow, Henry William Ferdinand (1806 - 1878) (Stamp 1) Title: Bolckow, Henry William Ferdinand (1806 - 1878) (Stamp 1)
Crest: A boar passant in front of seven acorns leaved and stalked
Motto: Suscipere et finire
Dimensions (height x width): 56mm x 24mm
Monogram: H W F B
Heraldic Charges: acorns (7), Heraldic Charges: boar