Charles Bray
| Charles Bray | |
|---|---|
| Born | 31 January 1811 Coventry, England |
| Died | 5 October 1884 |
| Occupation | philosopher |
| Nationality |
 United Kingdom
|
Charles Bray (31 January 1811 – 5 October 1884) was a prosperous British ribbon manufacturer, social reformer, philanthropist, philosopher, and phrenologist.
Charles Bray was a prosperous ribbon manufacturer who owned the Coventry Herald newspaper. His father had died in 1835, leaving him and each of his 7 siblings a very substantial inheritance. Charles married Caroline "Cara" Hennell (4 June 1814 – 21 February 1905) on 26 May 1836 at Hackney, Middlesex, England. Charles, a disciple of the great social reformer Robert Owen (1771–1858), used the wealth generated from his businesses to establish nonsectarian public schools and to try to bring about beneficial changes in many other aspects of society. Bray was a freethinker in religious matters and a progressive in politics. He was also a disciple of the phrenologist George Combe (1788–1858).
The Brays' home "Rosehill" (in Coventry, Warwickshire) was a haven for people who held and debated radical views. People who participated in the "Rosehill Circle" included (among many others) social reformer Robert Owen, philosopher/sociologist Herbert Spencer, Harriet Martineau, and transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Most of the people who participated in the Rosehill Circle tended to have theologies that were considerably more liberal than the average (for example, many participants cast doubt on the supernatural elements of Bible stories).
The core group of the Rosehill Circle consisted of Charles Bray, his wife Caroline, and some of the members of Caroline's immediate family along with several of their close friends. The core group members from Caroline's immediate family were her sisters Mary Hennell (23 May 1802 – 16 May 1843) and Sara Hennell (1812–1899), and her brother Charles Christian Hennell (1809–1850). Charles Hennell was a writer on theological and philosophical topics whose most important work was An Inquiry Concerning the Origin of Christianity (London, 1838). Although Caroline's father James Hennell (8 October 1782 – 30 January 1816) was a devout Unitarian who raised his children as Unitarians, his 3 children who were core members of the Rosehill Circle all entertained serious reservations about many Unitarian beliefs.
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