Handley family

The family's first direct ancestors appear in baptism records for the area of Bramcote and Wilford (now part of modern day Nottingham) dating between 1590 and 1594.

[1] In 1781 Benjamin was the clerk of a committee set up to work on the conception of the Sleaford Navigation, in 1824 he became treasurer of the project and later advanced an interest free loan of £1,000.

[1][2][3] Benjamin appears to have been involved chiefly in conveyancing property in the area until he co-founded the Bank of Peacock, Handley and Kirton, which opened on 2 April 1792 in Sleaford market place.

[6] Frances was unimpressed with Sleaford at the time of her marriage; in a letter the same year she referred to it as "a very badly built town, chiefly belonging to one person and not likely to amend".

In 1832, at the request of local freeholders, he was elected again to parliament, this time representing South Lincolnshire (along with Gilbert Heathcote) and a member of the Whig party.

[9][nb 1] In 1835 he helped revive Nicholas Cundy's proposal for a "Grand Northern Railway", running between London and York.

As well as forming a company for the project, Northern and Eastern, Handley obtained the services of engineer James Walker to survey the proposed route.

[10] Handley's support of the Liberal government in an 1840 vote of no confidence caused a falling out with his party and he decided not to stand in the 1841 general election.

The following year Sleaford townspeople began raising a subscription to construct a memorial in the town, eventually obtaining £942.

Edward Handley (21 October 1842 – 1 February 1904) was the youngest son of Henry and Caroline and an ordained minister of the Church of England.