Lives in Cricket No 29 - AN Hornby

16 Chapter Two Born with a silver spoon He is a most brilliant and punishing hitter, his scores in the great contests of the day being very large – Scores and Biographies on Hornby The Hornby family Hornby’s cricketing, indeed his sporting curriculum vitae, was outstanding, but he did get off to a rather good start in life. Albert Neilson Hornby was born in Blackburn on 10 February, 1847, the sixth son of William Henry Hornby. He probably took his middle name from Robert Neilson, a fellow-magistrate of his father’s. Hornby senior was the founder of W.H.Hornby & Co., cotton spinners and manufacturers, who provided work for about 1,400 people at Brookhouse Mill, one of four major mills in Hornby’s home town. Hornby & Co.’s competitors were William Eccles & Co, Robert Hopwood & Sons, and Pilkington, Brother & Co. The source of the Hornby family prosperity: Brookhouse Mill with its glory days long since gone.