He was born on 5 March 1807 in
Earl's Ditton, Shropshire, the son of Beriah Botfield (brother of
Thomas Botfield, F.R.S.) of Norton Hall,
Northamptonshire, (died 1813) and Charlotte, daughter of
William Withering. He was educated at
Harrow School and then
Christ Church,
Oxford University, graduating BA in 1828. He inherited the family's extensive coal mining and ironmaking business, which was based in Shropshire. Perhaps not so surprisingly, Beriah Botfield entered into political affairs. In 1831 he became High Sheriff of
Northamptonshire. He did manage to regain the position when he was re-elected in 1857, and continued to serve until his death in 1863. In 1858, he had erected a
stone cross near the Wales–England border on Shadwell Hill, to commemorate a pedlar named William Cantlin who was robbed and murdered there in 1691. Botfield was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society in January 1839. He was president of the
British Archaeological Association. He was made a knight of the
Order of Albert the Brave of
Saxony for presenting a collection of British minerals to the royal collection at
Dresden and a knight of the
Order of Leopold (Belgium) after presenting a taxidermy collection of British birds to
Brussels Natural History Museum. He served as a Cornet in the South Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1845, and was treasurer of the
Salop Infirmary in
Shrewsbury in 1859. Beriah Botfield died on 7 August 1863, at his home at
Grosvenor Square,
London, at the age of fifty-six. In his will he left a considerable bequest to the
Institution of Civil Engineers, ==Works==