Constituency : Stafford 1868-69
Henry took over from Michael Bass at Stafford.
Henry was a yeoman's son from Leicestershire who began work as an apprentice to a manufacturing chemist in Manchester. He rose to be a partner in the firm and sole proprietor on his partner's death in 1858. Henry made his fortune from two innovations , a process which made white soap possible and a cheap alternative to alumstone for the production of paper. Exploiting the latter involved purchasing china clay mines in Cornwall. He later formed Manchester-based consortia to invest in iron, steel and coal aided by the accountant MP David Chadwick. Henry suffered from headaches and high blood pressure all his life which may have been linked to his work. Henry was a radical and wrote a "plan for Parliamentary Reform". He was a friend of Bright and mayor of Salford in 1866-68.
Henry's election was contested due to allegations of bribery and the Tories managed to win both seats at the by-election. Henry's son-in-law avenged his defeat in 1880.
In later life Henry relocated to Wales where he created Bodnant Gardens, now owned by the National Trust. In 1890 he had a mild stroke. The following year his son Percival and his wife were prosecuted by the NSPCC for maltreating their page boy. Percival was disinherited but whether solely due to this scandal is not known.
He died in 1895 aged 71.
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