725:(UMFC). He attended Baillie Street Chapel and later Castlemere, William Street Chapel when it was built. He was a leading figure in the UMFC denomination. In 1894 he was made president of the Annual Assembly. As a layman he was one of only two to be given this honour. He was the first Rochdale mayor to observe 'Mayoral Sunday' and on Sunday 13 November 1892 he and the Corporation attended the morning service at St Chad's Parish Church and in the evening at Castlemere UMFC.
484:
valleys and on our hillsides, where in earlier days dense forests grew, showing signs of stunted growth and more dead than alive. Sometimes I have met the companions of former days. They are younger than I am, but they are grey and bent, and show unmistakeable evidences of the hardships they have gone through.
553:, but he died in 1937 and the business transferred to his sons Geoffrey, Alan and Roger. The brothers added further stores and by 1948, when the business became a public company, it had 180 stores. The company also owned fellow grocery chains of Wallaces and Globe Tea Company. In 1958, North East based
537:
Duckworth attributed the success of his business to selling for cash at the lowest margins possible, and to selling goods "not because they were cheap but because they were good value". He claimed to be "the first to open shops in country districts and sell goods at the same prices as we sold them at
625:
North ward, but did not win a seat. He was defeated a few weeks later at a council by-election in
Castleton West, but finally made it onto the council in December 1887 when he was elected unopposed at another by-election in Castleton West. He became mayor of Rochdale for two years in 1891, and held
541:
He retired as chairman and managing director in 1905, but retained his seat on the board. On his retirement, he entertained the company's employees at the Town Hall, where he announced a plan to place £2,000 with the company to start a benevolent fund for the benefit of ill or injured employees, or
533:
formally called "James
Duckworth Ltd", with his only son, also called James Duckworth, as vice-chairman. By 1900, when the company moved its operations to a new four-storey warehouse, it had 80 stores. The firm moved beyond grocery to include bakery, confectionery, general provisions, bookselling,
483:
farmers, who endowed me with a stock of vitality which all the hardships of my early life could not kill. But I often ask myself—where are the companions of my youth? With a few exceptions they are gone, and those exceptions are like the solitary trees now standing here and there in our
Lancashire
525:
Duckworth started with one pound of tea divided into two-pounce packets, and the business thrived while his health recovered. In 1868 he and his wife opened their first shop on the Oldham Road, followed in 1876 by a warehouse on
Whitehall Street from where he started as a wholesale business. More
449:. His father Ralph was a poor weaver who had been the youngest of fourteen children, and found work in Rochdale. In his autobiography, Duckworth recorded that three weeks after his birth his mother carried him in her arms to join her husband, "begging her way over Ashworth Moor".
505:
devastated the local economy in 1862, Duckworth had a wife and child to support. Having considered emigration to the United States, he escaped unemployment with a job in the warehouse of a wool merchant, and later described this as the turning point in his career.
498:, but served only for about eight months. In his teens he attended a night school, but irregularly, and did not study seriously until he was 20, when he began to attend evening classes and to study arithmetic, writing, grammar, composition and elocution.
1436:
471:, when he spoke in favour of the Education of Children Bill, which raised the minimum working age to 12. In a speech which was widely circulated, he attributed his own good health and six-foot stature to the "
557:
purchased the business. During the 1960s
Duckworths moved into supermarkets, but by the 1970s stores were either closed or transferred to another brand owned by Wright's or its sister company Moores Stores.
817:
570:, and chairman of the National Tea Union, of Smallmans Limited in Manchester and of Belfield Limited in Rochdale. His other business interests included involvement in the cotton industry in the
1421:
1376:
606:
represented the town for six years, and
Duckworth was present for Cobden's last speech, delivered in November 1864 in Robinson's warehouse in Rochdale. When the Liberal Party split over
517:, but his health collapsed and he had to relinquish the job. He was advised that an active, outdoor life would restore his health, so on the suggestion of a friend he began selling tea.
650:
1411:
825:
1441:
1242:
708:
866:
534:
and even hotel and coffee-house keeping. Duckworth said that when he started wholesaling, he had to bribe Co-operatives to get them to order from him.
460:. He worked half-time until the age of eleven, when he began full-time work, (The doffer's job was at the end of the spinning process, replacing
1141:
Minutes of proceedings of the Forty First Annual
Assembly Representatives of the United Methodist Free Churches 1905, Andrew Crombie London p194
1233:
1195:
704:
673:
123:
65:
434:
119:
61:
1238:
1204:
700:
685:
662:
586:
and to create in each of the taverns a large room fitted with cubicles for the accommodation of working men who needed temporary lodgings.
899:
959:
928:
446:
360:
1045:
938:
594:
Duckworth had been a reformer since his youth, driven by own impoverished beginnings and inspired by attending the speeches of the
47:
452:
Ralph's father died when James three years old, who as the eldest of three sons was set to work at the age of six-and-a-half as a
1178:
696:
494:
By the age of fourteen he was earning 15 shillings per week and was the main support of his family. At seventeen, he joined the
1401:
1064:
745:
626:
the office for a further two terms from 1901 to 1903. He was mayor for a final term from 1910 to 1911. He was also a member of
722:
646:
1386:
1381:
621:
He had entered local political politics, standing at the
November 1884 elections to Rochdale Town Council in the Tory-held
1396:
1090:
771:
631:
622:
327:
1010:
977:
421:
who rose from poverty to start a large chain a grocery shops known popularly as "Jimmy Duck's" and entered politics as a
1426:
1406:
1211:
1187:
689:
681:
514:
158:
146:
1200:
1132:
The United
Methodist Free Churches - A Study of Freedom, Rev Dr Oliver A. Beckerlegge 1957 Epworth Press London p73
669:
1225:
529:
The business (which was popularly known as "Jimmy Duck's") continued to prosper and was incorporated in 1895 as a
96:
1391:
627:
177:
1431:
1416:
642:
502:
468:
874:
677:
607:
472:
788:
654:
615:
566:
Duckworth's commercial involvement extended beyond his own family firm. He was a long-serving director of
1169:
1150:
A Dictionary of
Methodism in Britain and Ireland, John A. Vickers,2000, Epworth Press, Peterborough p100
526:
shops followed, as did more warehouses: the second opened in John Street 1878, and the third in 1891.
1371:
1366:
1256:
611:
554:
418:
108:
582:
He also bought the Rochdale Coffee House Company, partly for commercial gain but also in support of
510:
583:
1109:
422:
392:
538:
in the town", and said that his methods reduced prices by "five to seven-and-a-half per cent".
1084:
1041:
934:
765:
1104:
658:
17:
715:
530:
1123:
Centenary History 1837 - 1937 Baillie Street Methodist Church, Ernest C. Cryer 1937 p 32
1321:
1033:
603:
382:
274:
1360:
1260:
1248:
1040:(2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 194, 203, 322.
595:
495:
112:
69:
1221:
684:. Duckworth won the seat by only 300 votes (less than 3% of the total), but at the
92:
599:
457:
546:
402:
323:
173:
46:
417:(14 February 1840 – 1 January 1915) was a self-made English businessman from
571:
550:
1340:
1311:
1284:
567:
479:
I happen to come from an ancestry not composed of cotton weavers, but of
430:
285:
241:
199:
721:
Sir James Duckworth was a committed Christian, a lifelong member of the
688:
he was unseated by an even smaller margin by the Conservative candidate
1164:
904:
635:
480:
461:
453:
1336:
1307:
1280:
426:
281:
237:
195:
618:, but Duckworth broke with his mentor and supported Gladstone.
545:
His son James grew the business so it went to 170 shops across
445:
Duckworth was born on 14 February 1840 at Balladin Brook, near
930:
Behind the Counter Shop Lives from Market Stall to Supermarket
1437:
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stockport
1065:"House of Commons constituencies beginning with "S" (part 5)"
746:"House of Commons constituencies beginning with "E" (part 2)"
614:, Bright and many of the other Radicals joined the breakaway
894:
892:
861:
859:
857:
855:
853:
851:
849:
847:
845:
843:
489:
House of Commons debates, 1 March 1899, vol 67, cc920-93
467:
Fifty years later, he described his experiences to the
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810:
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783:
781:
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152:
140:
118:
102:
86:
60:
34:
1422:19th-century British newspaper publishers (people)
574:area, and to newspapers as proprietor of both the
1377:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
1028:
1026:
1024:
1038:British parliamentary election results 1885–1918
752:. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017
661:. He did not contest the seat at the subsequent
791:Link4Life (Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust)
718:on 18 December 1908 and died in 1915, aged 75.
477:
464:which had filled with thread with empty ones).
1170:contributions in Parliament by James Duckworth
1071:. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009
1011:"New Service Parade Feniscowles nr Blackburn"
707:. However, he did not defend the seat at the
8:
997:Investors Chronicle and Money Market Review
960:"Retail giant who grew from a pound of tea"
900:"House of Commons debates vol 67, cc920-93"
818:"Retail giant who grew from a pound of tea"
1174:
867:"Sir James Duckworth 1840 – 1915 Obituary"
703:, when he won one of the two seats in the
45:
31:
668:However, two years later he stood at the
665:, when Lyttelton was returned unopposed.
734:
542:those force to retire through old age.
1082:
1069:Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages
763:
750:Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages
954:
952:
950:
711:, by which time he was 70 years old.
7:
1412:Members of Lancashire County Council
1442:19th-century English businesspeople
1017:. Vol. 206. 1968. p. 551.
999:. Vol. 199. 1958. p. 826.
641:He first stood for election to the
824:. 29 November 2006. Archived from
447:Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancashire
361:Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancashire
25:
1113:. 18 December 1908. p. 9650.
1179:Parliament of the United Kingdom
995:"New Preference Shares Issued".
873:. 2 January 1915. Archived from
674:Middleton division of Lancashire
27:British politician (1840 - 1915)
905:Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
723:United Methodist Free Churches
1:
709:January 1910 general election
692:, his predecessor's brother.
676:, following the death of the
663:general election in July 1895
433:, and was elected twice as a
1226:Beresford Valentine Melville
670:by-election in November 1897
521:James Duckworth, the grocers
97:Beresford Valentine Melville
789:"Sir James Duckworth, M.P."
690:Edward Brocklehurst Fielden
576:Manchester Weekly Chronicle
425:. He served three times as
18:James Duckworth (1840–1915)
1458:
1347:
1334:
1328:
1318:
1305:
1299:
1291:
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1272:
1267:
1253:
1232:Member of Parliament for
1230:
1218:
1208:
1194:Member of Parliament for
1192:
1184:
1177:
1089:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
770:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
628:Lancashire County Council
408:
345:
334:
291:
247:
205:
183:
178:Lancashire County Council
129:
75:
56:
44:
699:six years later, at the
580:Cheshire and County News
562:Other business interests
503:Lancashire Cotton Famine
964:Manchester Evening News
933:. Amberley Publishing.
653:, where he lost to the
647:by-election in May 1895
630:from 1892 to 1898, for
608:William Ewart Gladstone
473:survival of the fittest
1402:People from Haslingden
695:Duckworth returned to
651:Warwick and Leamington
492:
978:"James Duckworth Ltd"
701:1906 general election
686:1900 general election
602:. Bright's colleague
1397:People from Rochdale
1257:Spencer Leigh Hughes
984:. 1947. p. 325.
927:Pamela Horn (2015).
705:Borough of Stockport
612:Irish Home Rule Bill
435:Member of Parliament
419:Rochdale, Lancashire
120:Member of Parliament
109:Spencer Leigh Hughes
66:Borough of Stockport
62:Member of Parliament
1015:The Estates Gazette
509:He later he became
415:Sir James Duckworth
1427:English Methodists
1407:Mayors of Rochdale
1110:The London Gazette
1355:
1354:
1350:Sir Samuel Turner
1348:Succeeded by
1319:Succeeded by
1292:Succeeded by
1254:Succeeded by
1209:Succeeded by
966:. 13 August 2007.
877:on 7 October 2011
871:Rochdale Observer
822:Rochdale Observer
616:Liberal Unionists
555:Wright's Biscuits
412:
411:
232:Sir Samuel Turner
51:Duckworth in 1900
16:(Redirected from
1449:
1392:Knights Bachelor
1387:UK MPs 1906–1910
1382:UK MPs 1895–1900
1329:Preceded by
1300:Preceded by
1273:Preceded by
1222:Sir Joseph Leigh
1219:Preceded by
1185:Preceded by
1175:
1151:
1148:
1142:
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1124:
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1115:
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1101:
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956:
945:
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837:
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814:
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798:
796:
785:
776:
775:
769:
761:
759:
757:
742:
659:Alfred Lyttelton
655:Liberal Unionist
643:House of Commons
590:Political career
490:
469:House of Commons
373:
358:14 February 1840
350:Personal details
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315:
305:
296:
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261:
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155:
143:
134:
105:
93:Sir Joseph Leigh
89:
80:
49:
32:
21:
1457:
1456:
1452:
1451:
1450:
1448:
1447:
1446:
1432:Textile workers
1417:British grocers
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1356:
1351:
1344:
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1324:
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1224:
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1199:
1190:
1160:
1155:
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1149:
1145:
1140:
1136:
1131:
1127:
1122:
1118:
1103:
1102:
1098:
1081:
1074:
1072:
1063:
1062:
1055:
1048:
1034:Craig, F. W. S.
1032:
1031:
1022:
1009:
1008:
1004:
994:
993:
989:
976:
975:
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957:
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921:
911:
909:
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897:
890:
880:
878:
865:
864:
841:
831:
829:
828:on 16 June 2008
816:
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753:
744:
743:
736:
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592:
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549:, Cheshire and
531:limited company
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389:Political party
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40:
39:James Duckworth
37:
28:
23:
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12:
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5:
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1434:
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1384:
1379:
1374:
1369:
1359:
1358:
1353:
1352:
1349:
1346:
1333:
1331:Wilson Dunning
1330:
1326:
1325:
1322:Henry Fishwick
1320:
1317:
1304:
1302:Ormerod Topper
1301:
1297:
1296:
1294:James Cheetham
1293:
1290:
1277:
1274:
1270:
1269:
1268:Civic offices
1265:
1264:
1255:
1252:
1229:
1220:
1216:
1215:
1212:Edward Fielden
1210:
1207:
1191:
1188:Thomas Fielden
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1158:External links
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908:. 1 March 1899
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682:Thomas Fielden
604:Richard Cobden
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374:(aged 74)
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1306:
1279:
1247:
1231:
1193:
1163:
1146:
1137:
1128:
1119:
1108:
1099:
1073:. Retrieved
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1037:
1014:
1005:
996:
990:
982:The New Dawn
981:
972:
963:
929:
922:
910:. Retrieved
903:
879:. Retrieved
875:the original
870:
830:. Retrieved
826:the original
821:
793:. Retrieved
754:. Retrieved
749:
720:
713:
694:
678:Conservative
667:
640:
620:
593:
579:
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565:
544:
540:
536:
528:
524:
508:
500:
493:
478:
466:
451:
444:
414:
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372:(1915-01-01)
336:
314:Succeeded by
293:
270:Succeeded by
249:
228:Succeeded by
207:
185:
154:Succeeded by
131:
104:Succeeded by
77:
29:
1372:1915 deaths
1367:1840 births
1168:1803–2005:
1105:"No. 28206"
657:candidate,
600:John Bright
598:politician
475:", noting:
458:cotton mill
379:Nationality
304:Preceded by
260:Preceded by
218:Preceded by
142:Preceded by
88:Preceded by
1361:Categories
1345:1910–1911
1316:1901–1903
1289:1891–1893
729:References
697:Parliament
584:temperance
547:Lancashire
441:Early life
403:Politician
399:Occupation
324:Councillor
174:Councillor
1275:E. Taylor
1243:Jan. 1910
1234:Stockport
1196:Middleton
1036:(1989) .
632:Castleton
623:Castleton
572:Stockport
551:Yorkshire
501:When the
341:1887–1915
337:In office
328:Castleton
308:E. Taylor
298:1891–1893
294:In office
254:1901–1903
250:In office
212:1910–1911
208:In office
190:1892–1898
186:In office
136:1897–1900
132:In office
124:Middleton
82:1906–1910
78:In office
1341:Rochdale
1312:Rochdale
1285:Rochdale
1085:cite web
766:cite web
716:knighted
578:and the
487:—
431:Rochdale
286:Rochdale
242:Rochdale
200:Rochdale
165:Majority
1165:Hansard
714:He was
672:in the
636:Milnrow
596:Radical
515:Heywood
462:bobbins
423:Liberal
383:British
1246:With:
1044:
937:
481:yeomen
454:doffer
437:(MP).
1337:Mayor
1308:Mayor
1281:Mayor
1075:4 May
912:4 May
881:4 May
832:4 May
795:4 May
756:4 May
645:at a
456:in a
427:Mayor
282:Mayor
238:Mayor
196:Mayor
111:with
95:with
68:with
1239:1906
1205:1900
1201:1897
1091:link
1077:2009
1042:ISBN
935:ISBN
914:2009
883:2009
834:2009
797:2009
772:link
758:2009
634:and
367:Died
355:Born
330:West
326:for
176:for
122:for
64:for
1339:of
1310:of
1283:of
680:MP
649:in
610:'s
513:in
429:of
284:of
240:of
198:of
168:300
36:Sir
1363::
1241:–
1107:.
1087:}}
1083:{{
1067:.
1056:^
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768:}}
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1203:–
1093:)
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20:)
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