Sir Henry Barber, 1st Baronet

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Sir William Henry Barber, 1st Baronet (9 November 1860 – 2 July 1927), known as Henry Barber, was a wealthy solicitor and property developer who helped expand Birmingham’s suburbs. He built and rented about 5,000 homes in areas including Sparkbrook, Hay Mills, Acocks Green, Bordesley Green and Aston.

He was born in Handsworth, the eldest son of a master jeweller, and grew up in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter before training as a solicitor. In 1893 he married Martha Constance Hattie Onions, an heiress from a Birmingham family involved in bellows making and engineering. The couple moved into Culham Court on the River Thames near Henley and rented it.

Barber kept strong ties to Birmingham. He donated a marble statue of Queen Victoria to Victoria Square in 1897; designed by Thomas Brock, it was unveiled in January 1901, shortly before the Queen’s death. In 1924 he was made a baronet, of Culham Court in the County of Berkshire, for political services to Birmingham. He died in 1927, and the baronetcy became extinct.

After his death, his widow founded the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham to promote art and music. Her inheritance helped expand the collection and fund a new art deco building designed by Robert Atkinson, opened in 1939 by Queen Mary. The building is now a Grade I listed landmark.