Story
Henry was born in Middleton near Leeds in 1854 but his family were originally from the North East. His grandparents were Thomas Embleton from East Chevington and Ann Cawood from Alwinton, who married in 1804 and Henry’s father, Thomas William Embleton, was born in Newcastle in 1809. Thomas William Embleton (1809-1893), was a mining engineer, educated at University of Edinburgh, and then apprenticed to his uncle George Hill of Kenton, a leading mining engineer in the North of England. In 1830, aged only 21, Thomas succeeded John Blenkinsop as manager of the Brandling Collieries at Middleton, which brought the family to West Yorkshire. Thomas was colliery agent to the Reverend R. H. Brandling, and the Embletons lived at Middleton Hall, a Georgian mansion once the home of the Brandling family. The Embleton family owned the Cedars in Methley, Layton Manor in Yorkshire and Nest House in Felling on Tyne where Henry resided when visiting the North East. They are likely related to Thomas Embleton who built Embleton Hall in 1730. On 1st October 1833, Thomas Embleton returned to the North East to marry Caroline Annie Easton (1812-1875), daughter of Mr. Thomas Easton, a colliery proprietor. In 1865 Thomas became Manager for J. and J. Charlesworth Collieries, a position he held until Christmas 1888. Thomas was also a partner for Monk Bretton Colliery near Barnsley, and was one of the rescuers at the Oaks Colliery explosion on 12th December 1866, in which he rescued the sole survivor in what was the United Kingdom’s worst mining disaster of the time, killing 361 men. In 1872 Thomas was appointed by the Home Secretary to be one of the examiners of mining students for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, before becoming President of the Federated Institution of Mining Engineers towards the end of his life in 1891. He also joined the Freemasons, Friendly Lodge in Barnsley, and continued to attend regularly into his 80s.
Henry was educated in Leeds and London before following in his father’s footsteps, entering a career as a mining engineer with the firm of Embleton, Barton, and Stancliff. His work led him to travel widely, particularly in the Middle and Far East. Over time he developed financial interests in the coal industry in Yorkshire and the North East, becoming chairman of the Bedlington Coal Company, Northumberland, director of the Barnsley Main Colliery Company, and director of the Wallsend and Hebburn Coal Company Limited. After the death of his father on 18th December 1893, Henry inherited much of his father’s estate, valued at £8.5m in today’s money, along with his older brother Thomas William Embleton jnr. (1843-1921), and they registered as Messrs Embleton Mining Engineers at 13 Old Bank Chambers, 9 Park Row, Leeds. Like his father, Henry became a free-mason on 5th April 1894 with the Lodge of Fidelity.
Henry attended the Peckfield Colliery Disaster, and led a rescue party of 8 men. At the Pit top, Henry commented to a journalist: “I have seen many a colliery explosion, but never seen the top of a pit so much wrecked. The force of the explosion must have been tremendous to have caused such terrible havoc. Down below, too, are to be seen the most striking evidences of the severity of the explosion. The bottom of the main shaft is a complete wreck. One of the cages of the lift is smashed to pieces, and the workings near the bottom are considerably damaged.”
Returning to The Cedars, Methley (pictured below), which the Embletons had bought from Rev. Philip Saville of St. Oswald’s Church, Methley, Henry set about spending his fortune. He was a great benefactor of St Oswald’s Church and it was largely due to his generosity that the 1926 renovations were possible.
Henry was also a great benefactor of the arts and music. The composer, Sir Edward Elgar, was his personal friend, and Henry financed much of his music. The two men frequently met at the Cedars. Spending a great deal of time and money promoting Elgar’s music worldwide, Henry nearly bankrupted himself because of this love of music and his generosity towards the promotion of Edward Elgar as a new composer of the day. In 1904, the two men were at the Albert Hall to meet King Edward VII, who conferred a Knighthood on Elgar shortly after at Buckingham Palace on 5 July 1904. Elgar dedicated ‘The Reveille’ to Henry in 1907.
Henry also had some musical training and studied the piano, cello and harp, and was sufficiently accomplished on the organ to take afternoon services and occasional Sunday services at Leeds Parish Church. Henry was the prime mover in the formation of the Leeds Choral Union in 1895, and for 34 years acted as its honorary secretary and treasurer. In recognition of this he was awarded the freedom of Leeds in 1926. He also gave generously to the Newcastle and Gateshead choral society. In his memoirs Henry Coward left a thumbnail portrait of Embleton which hints perhaps at a mildly eccentric figure: “His somewhat careless dress, thoughtful, preoccupied look and massive head, give him the air of a university mathematical don. But although immersed in large schemes and high finance, he has one soft spot, and that is choral music, of which he is a devotee.”
His finances were boosted again, as he inherited some of his maternal aunt’s estate. Emily Matilda Easton (1818-1913) left £87m in modern money. Henry donated the painting of his aunt (below) to Durham College of Medicine, which is now part of Newcastle University:
In 1923, Henry was listed as being the chairman of Bedlington Coal Co. Ltd and Wallsend and Hebburn Coal Co Ltd., and on 29th September 1926, Henry purchased a 99-year lease from the Duke of Northumberland for the land that Embleton Terrace is built on. Henry never married, and died at Nest House, Felling, Co. Durham on 7th February 1930. He left monies worth £8.3m today, and land worth £1.4m in today’s monetary values.
30th April 1896. The Peckfield Colliery Disaster at Micklefield 