81:, and presided at a meeting of the livery in common hall on 23 February 1815, when he made a vigorous attack upon the intended prohibition of the free importation of foreign corn. The course he took on this occasion is commemorated by a medal struck in his honour on the obverse side of which is the bust of the lord mayor, and on the reverse a representation of a wheatsheaf, with the legend, 'Free Importation, Peace and Plenty.' During his mayoralty the marble statue of George III by Chantrey, the inscription on which was written by Birch, was placed in the council chamber of Guildhall.
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In May 1807, he was elected alderman of the
Candlewick ward in the place of Alderman Hankey. When young he devoted much of his leisure time to the cultivation of his mental powers and the improvement of his literary taste; he was a frequent attendant of a debating society which met in one of the
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He was the son of Lucas Birch, who carried on the business of a pastrycook and confectioner at 16 Cornhill. This shop, though the upper portion of the house had been rebuilt, still (1885) retains its old-fashioned front, and is probably the oldest shop of the kind in the city. The business was
74:(x. 124-36). It was, however, highly commended by the king, and the freedom of the city of Dublin was twice voted him at the midsummer quarter assembly of the corporation of that city on 19 July 1805 and 18 July 1806, for his advocacy of the Protestant ascendency in Ireland.
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large rooms formerly belonging to the King's Arms Tavern, Cornhill, and there, in the winter of 1778, he made his first essay in public speaking. In politics he was a strenuous supporter of Pitt's administration, though he vigorously opposed the repeal of the
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Finsbury Circus (then called the Amphitheatre, Moorfields) on 4 November 1815. In 1836 Birch, who had for many years carried on his father's old business in Cornhill, disposed of it to Messrs. Ring & Brymer, the present proprietors.
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Early in life, in 1778, he married the daughter of Dr. John
Fordyce, by whom he had a family of thirteen children. He was elected one of the common council on 21 December 1781, and in 1789 became deputy of the Cornhill ward.
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In 1811, he was appointed one of the sheriffs of London, and on 9 November 1814 Birch entered on his duties as lord mayor. Tory though he was, he opposed the
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He retired from the court of aldermen in 1810, and died at his house, 107 Guildford Street, London, on 10 Dec. 1841, aged 84.
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by a Mr. Horton, the immediate predecessor of Lucas Birch. Samuel was educated at a private school kept by Mr. Crawford at
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Almost his last act as lord mayor was to lay the foundation-stone of the
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Barker, G. F. R.; Baylis, Gail. "Birch, Samuel (1757–1841)".
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