John Candlish
Encyclopedia
John Candlish was a British
glass bottle manufacturer and Liberal Party
politician.
, Northumberland
, the eldest son of John Candlish, a farmer, and his wife, Mary, née Robson. On the death of his wife in 1820, Candlish senior moved the family to Sunderland where the latter found work at Ayres Quay bottleworks, managed by his brother, Robert.
Candlish was educated at local Dissenter
schools and then at an academy in North Shields
before returning to Sunderland, aged eleven, to work in the bottleworks. Aged fourteen, his uncle secured him an apprenticeship
as a draper
and he began to study the French language
and joined a debating society.
exporting and shipbuilding
in 1844. His yard at Southwick was said to have produced "fine ships" but made little profit. In 1851, he returned to publishing by founding Sunderland News and was a secretary at the Sunderland Gas Company.
harbour with his childhood friend, Robert Greenwell. He later bought out his partner and patronage was given by nearby resident Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry
and the works renamed Londonderry Bottle Works, becoming the largest bottling business in Europe
. Candlish purchased a site at Diamond Hall in Millfield and by 1872, had six glasshouses at Seaham and four at Diamond Hall.
, Chairman of the Board of Guardians
and principal of the Orphan Asylum.
Candlish contested for one of Sunderland
's two parliamentary seats at the 1865 general election
but was defeated by Henry Fenwick
and James Hartley
. Fenwick's resignation a year later brought success for Candlish in the subsequent by-election
and he held the seat until he stood down from the House of Commons at the 1874 general election
.
.
, France
, and is buried in Sunderland Cemetery (Ryhope Road, Sunderland). In 1875, a statue of Candlish was unveiled in the centre of Mowbray Park
and John Candlish Road, near his glassworks at Diamond Hall, is named after him.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
glass bottle manufacturer and Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician.
Early life
Candlish was born in TarsetTarset
Tarset is a civil parish in Northumberland, England, created in 1955 from parts of Bellingham, Tarset West and Thorneyburn parishes, it is west-north-west of Bellingham.It has a population of 196. In 1831, its population was 169...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, the eldest son of John Candlish, a farmer, and his wife, Mary, née Robson. On the death of his wife in 1820, Candlish senior moved the family to Sunderland where the latter found work at Ayres Quay bottleworks, managed by his brother, Robert.
Candlish was educated at local Dissenter
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
schools and then at an academy in North Shields
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
before returning to Sunderland, aged eleven, to work in the bottleworks. Aged fourteen, his uncle secured him an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
as a draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
and he began to study the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and joined a debating society.
Early career
In 1836, Candlish's commercial career began when he became a partner in a drapery business. He purchased the newspaper, Sunderland Beacon that year, but it failed within six months. Other short-lived ventures followed into coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
exporting and shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
in 1844. His yard at Southwick was said to have produced "fine ships" but made little profit. In 1851, he returned to publishing by founding Sunderland News and was a secretary at the Sunderland Gas Company.
Bottle works
A turning point came to Candlish's career in 1855 when he acquired the lease of Seaham Bottle Works at SeahamSeaham
Seaham, formerly Seaham Harbour, is a small town in County Durham, situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. It has a small parish church, St Mary the Virgin, with a late 7th century Anglo Saxon nave resembling the church at Escomb in many respects. St Mary the Virgin is regarded as one of...
harbour with his childhood friend, Robert Greenwell. He later bought out his partner and patronage was given by nearby resident Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry
Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry
Frederick William Robert Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry KP, PC , styled Viscount Castlereagh between 1822 and 1854, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and Tory politician...
and the works renamed Londonderry Bottle Works, becoming the largest bottling business in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Candlish purchased a site at Diamond Hall in Millfield and by 1872, had six glasshouses at Seaham and four at Diamond Hall.
Politics
In 1848, Candlish had been elected to Sunderland Borough Council and was mayor of the town in 1858 and 1861 and held other public offices as a river commissioner, magistrateMagistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, Chairman of the Board of Guardians
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
and principal of the Orphan Asylum.
Candlish contested for one of Sunderland
Sunderland (UK Parliament constituency)
Sunderland was a borough constituency of the House of Commons, created by the Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election until it was split into single-member seats of Sunderland North and Sunderland South for the 1950...
's two parliamentary seats at the 1865 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1865
The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...
but was defeated by Henry Fenwick
Henry Fenwick
Henry Fenwick was a British Liberal Party politician.He first stood for election to the House of Commons in December 1852, when he was unsuccessful at a by-election for the City of Durham...
and James Hartley
James Hartley (MP)
James Hartley was a British Conservative Party politician.He was elected at the 1865 general election as a Member of Parliament for Sunderland, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1868 general election....
. Fenwick's resignation a year later brought success for Candlish in the subsequent by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
and he held the seat until he stood down from the House of Commons at the 1874 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1874
-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
.
Family
In 1845, Candlish married his first cousin, Elizabeth (the daughter of his uncle, Robert). Their daughter, Elizabeth Penelope, later married politician William Shepherd AllenWilliam Shepherd Allen
William Shepherd Allen was an English Liberal politician, who also farmed in New Zealand.Allen was born at Manchester, the son of William Allen and his wife Maria Shepherd. His father was J.P. for Staffordshire, residing at Woodhead Hall, Cheadle...
.
Death and legacy
Candlish undertook a parliamentary visit to India in 1870 (where he, incidentally, was presented with a bottle of beer manufactured by his own company), a trip which was blamed for the subsequent breakdown of his health. He died on 17 March 1874 in CannesCannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and is buried in Sunderland Cemetery (Ryhope Road, Sunderland). In 1875, a statue of Candlish was unveiled in the centre of Mowbray Park
Mowbray Park
Mowbray Park is a municipal park in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, located a few hundred yards from the busy throughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to the north, Burdon Road to the west, Toward Road to the east and Park...
and John Candlish Road, near his glassworks at Diamond Hall, is named after him.
External links
- Candlish Geneaology - Glensudi - Glensudi is owned by Benjamin Thomas O'Neill, descendant of John Candlish's brother, Robert