Urban Hanlon Broughton (1857-1929)

Sir Oswald Hornby Joseph Birley, RA (Auckland 1880 – 1952). Oil painting on canvas, Urban Hanlon Broughton (1857-1929) by Sir Oswald Hornby Joseph Birley, RA (Auckland 1880 – 1952), 1931. A half-length portrait, turned three-quarters to the right, gazing at spectator, arms folded, wearing a black coat and waistcoat, a white shirt with a high collar and a black cravat with a pin, white cuffs show on left sleeve, white handkerchief showing from top pocket, receding hair, brushed back, moustache, sombre appearance. Urban Hanlon Broughton (1857-1929). Born Worcester, 12 April 1857; son of John Broughton, Railway Manager. He was educated at Grove Park School, Wrexham and then studied engineering at the University of London. He became a pupil of Low & Thomas, Civil & Mining Engineers, 1875-78; student and a Miller Prizeman of Institution of Civil Engineers, 1877; Associate Member, 1883; Lieutenant in Volunteer Forces, also during this period he helped to construct the Felixstowe docks,1883-85; British Juror, World’s Columbian Exposition, 1892; employed on railway, drainage and dock works in England and Ireland, 1878-87; In 1887 went to the U.S.A due to his involvement with the Shone Sewer System. Henry Huttleston Rogers (1840-1909) a millionaire industrialist, wished to provide a sewer and water project for his hometown of Fairhaven, Massachussets, where his family had a summer house. He chose the English Shone Sewer system and Urban Hanlon Broughton was assigned to direct the work. Whilst directing the work he became acquainted with Henry Huttleston Roger’s daughter, Clara Leland (née Rogers) Duff the widow of Bradford Ferris Duff (d.1891) and in 1895 when the work was almost completed they were married in New York. They spent their honeymoon in Europe. They returned to the USA where in 1896 Huttleston Rogers Broughton was born in Fairhaven followed by another son in 1900 - Henry Rogers Broughton. In the USA Urban became engaged in engineering, manufacturing, mining, financial, and railway works, 1887-1912. After the death of his father-in-law in 1909 he became President and Director of Virginian Railways; Vice-President, Director and General Manager of United Metals Selling Co.; President and Director of Utah Consolidated Mining Co.; President and Director of Shone Co.; Vice-President of National Copper Bank of New York, etc. In 1912 the brought his family to settle in England and took up residence in Mayfair. In 1915 Urban became a Member for Parliament for Preston, a seat he held until 1918. He became a close friend of the Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law. M.P. During World War I, both Urban and his wife were active in the war effort and Urban was closely consulted on many important issues. He also published a pamphlet designed to appeal to the good will of America entitled The British Empire at War. Like his father-in-law, Broughton used his wealth for the public good, in 1928 buying the neo-Gothic mansion at Ashridge in Hertfordshire and the surrounding 235 acres of woodland. He gave the estate to the Conservative Party as a training college (it is now a management college) and also ‘to give enjoyment to the public by admitting it to the gardens once a week’. In 1929 he also bought the site at Runnymede in Surrey, where King John had signed the Magna Charta, because it was threatened by development. Urban died in January 1929, at the age of 71. Just a few weeks earlier, his name had been pending for elevation to the peerage by George V. On 2 May 1929, the king declared that Cara Leland Broughton, widow of Urban Hanlon Broughton, may henceforth enjoy the same style and title as if her husband.. had survived and received the title and dignity of Baron Fairhaven. ’ In December 1929, the historic Runnymede Meadow, with adjoining lands totalling 182 acres, was presented to the National Trust by Lady Fairhaven and her two sons in memory of Urban Hanlon Broughton; they also commissioned the architect Edwin Lutyens to design memorial lodges on the site. Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire (Accredited Museum)