Henry Cockbain
- Born: 6 December 1828
- Died: 31 August 1912
- Married: 6 October 1858 Mary Elizabeth Moxon, daughter of Charles Moxon at Chadderton
Born on 6 December 1828 in Manchester, Henry Cockbain was the son of John Hadwen Cockbain, and Mary Ann. With premises in Piccadilly, Manchester, John H Cockbain was a highly successful silk merchant and manufacturer, having amassed a sufficient fortune to invest the sum of £10,000 in the Manchester Cheshire and Staffordshire Railway in 1837. In the 1851 census Henry Cockbain is listed as a silk manufacturer and a decade later was employing two men, three women and 21 boys. On 6 October 1858 he had married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Moxon at Chadderton.
Henry Cockbain was seemingly a self-taught enthusiast, without any formal architectural training. His first architectural commissions were undertaken in 1867, at the age of 39. Whether he had retired from the manufacture of silk or whether the two businesses initially ran in parallel is unclear. However, by 1871 he was styling himself “architect.” His last recorded architectural commission was the rebuilding of the west front of East Crompton Church, Shaw, Oldham. In 1889 a presentation was made in Middleton Co-operative Hall on the occasion of his removal to Manningham, Bradford, where he remained until his death on 31 August 1912.
Address
1886: Henry Cockbain 100 Rochdale Road, Blackley (Kelly Directory of Building Trades - Lancashire)
Residence
1851-1853: Vernon Terrace Longsight Manchester.
1861: Mills Hill Oldham
1871-1890 : Middleton
1891-1912: Henry Cockbain, Park View Road Manningham Bradford