Budgett, Samuel, 1794-1851

Samuel Budgett (27 July 1794 – 29 April 1851) was an English merchant. Rising from humble origins, Budgett built up a wholesale grocery business called H.H. & S. Budgett, based in Kingswood Bristol, covering a large area of Southern and Western England and South Wales, which outlasted him by over a century. He was a devoted Wesleyan Methodist, who came close to offering himself as a missionary. Having chosen instead to work as a grocer to support his impoverished parents and siblings, he applied Christian principles to his business, setting improving standards in food purity and working conditions. He also began each day's business with a short Christian service for all staff. With his elder brother, Samuel Budgett made a big difference to Kingswood. Having arrived in 1809 with nothing but his apprenticeship, he never left the place, even when he could afford to do so. He built a strong business, providing many jobs. He built a house and laid gardens and a farm. These provided more employment, as well as space for meetings and parties. He was a watchful but gentle employer, seeking above all to help people to increase their own self-mastery and usefulness. He led efforts to build chapels and schools where ordinary people could gain knowledge and learn the art of citizenship. He gave much of his money to these causes and to individuals in trouble. Shortly after his death a biography – The Successful Merchant, by William Arthur – was published which went into over forty editions in the UK alone and made him well known. Robert Louis Stevenson, in his book Virginibus Puerisque, mentions Samuel Budgett in passing, apparently confident that he requires no introduction. NOTE: Both Samuel Budgett and his biographer William Arthur were devout Methodists at a time when Methodism was very strong in the UK. Arthur's book says much about Samuel's Christian principles and actions as well as recommending that the reader should treat him as an example. It has been suggested that Arthur's account is biased. However it is an account of how Samuel (and others) thought and acted, written by the man with the best access to those who knew and it is now the only account we have. Arthur himself wrote, “... an effort has been made to insert, with a firm hand, every real scar. Some will say they are too slight; others will say they are too deep, and these they who most intimately knew the original." In this article both the religious and secular aspects of the man are presented using Arthur as the guide.