Thomas Barritt

Thomas Barritt (1743–1820) was an early British antiquary.

Life Barritt was born at Withy Grove,

He kept a saddle-maker's shop in Hanging Ditch, and gathered a collection of manuscripts and miscellaneous objects of antiquity. He travelled about the district and made sketches and memoranda which were of great use to subsequent writers.

He was one of the early members of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, and contributed several papers to its Memoirs.

He died 29 October 1820, aged 77, and was buried in the Manchester parish church. Barritt's claim to remembrance is that with great patience and skill he recorded many facts in the history of the district which would otherwise have been lost. He had a special interest in heraldry, and blazoning coats of arms. appears to have been extensive. One of the most interesting objects in his collection was a sword which he believed to have been that of Edward the Black Prince. John Parsons Earwaker wrote a monograph on the swords attributed to the Prince, which discussed the claims of Barritt and others. Two portraits of Barritt were engraved, in which he is represented with the famous sword and some other objects of his museum.