Sir Norman Moore, 1st Baronet - Early Life

Early Life

Moore was born in Higher Broughton, Manchester, in 1847. He was the only child of noted Irish political economist Robert Ross Rowan Moore, and his wife Rebecca. The couple had been estranged since before Norman's birth, and he was raised by his mother through the support of her circle of Liberal nonconformist friends at Manchester. He studied initially at Chorlton High School, but left at the age of 14 to work in a cotton mill. He studied at Owens College from 1862 until 1865, and then read natural sciences at St Catharine's College, Cambridge University, from 1865 to 1868, graduating in 1869. During his time in Cambridge he met and became friends with Francis Darwin, the son of Charles Darwin, and the Reverend Whitwell Elwin. During his childhood in Manchester he had developed a passion for walking, and had visited Ireland on a walking tour, cementing his affinity for the country's history, people and culture. In 1863 he had visited the natural history collection at Walton Hall, Wakefield, befriending the author and explorer Charles Waterton.