OUR
FORGOTTEN VICTORIAN ENTREPRENEUR
JOHN
DELANEY
John
Delaney came to Langcliffe in the 1860s from Stalybridge, Derbyshire, one of the
many workers brought in by Lorenzo Christie, and soon rose to the position of
Overlooker. He met another
millworker, Annie Calver, whose father was a shoe maker in the village having
come from Norfolk and they were married in Langcliffe Church on 5th December
1870. He was 25 years old and she
22. In the 1871 Census they are
shown as lodging in the village centre with John Jackson: a daughter the
redoubtable Carrie (registered Carry) was born on 12th August 1871 and another,
Constance in 1873 although she only survived for 3 months.
In
the 1881 Census John and Annie are shown as living in Barbary Fold, now
disappeared but apparently between Middle and Low Fold. He is shown as Coal Merchant and Grocer, she is Grocer's wife. So what happened in those 10 years?
Apparently
with energy to spare John started trading in his spare time in various goods,
primarily paraffin and coal. This expanded to the stage where Christie said
'either work fully for me or work for yourself', John chose the latter. With a loan of £40 he bought a horse and cart to start selling coal
which with the advent of the railway was readily available. There is some
uncertainty here as to the sequence of events, whether this is the loan from a
Quaker banker or this came later. Certainly
in 1876 he joined the Society of Friends and at this time opened a shop,
presumably in the village. Villagers now deceased told of Carrie playing on the
doorstep.
At
some point he left his wife to run the shop and went to Manchester University to
study Geology in order to exploit the limestone which surrounded him. We know that he had the support and guidance of a Quaker banker in
Sheffield who would be aware of the importance of lime in steel production. Presumably after University he concentrated on his coal business so that
'at one stage he was selling thousands of tons of coal in the north and his
wagons were running over most of the railway systems of the country'. They were still to be seen until nationalization as he had large
interests in West Riding and Durham coalfields.
In
1888 he leased land at Horton and opened what is now Beecroft quarry and his
wagons took lime on their return journeys. In 1899 he started a quarry at Broughton near Gargrave for road stone and
tar macadam though this was never very successful due to flooding. Then in 1905 another large limestone quarry at Threshfield which made him
the largest individual employer of labour in the area. His only failure was in searching for coal in the Threshfield
area.
By
1891 he and his family had moved to Craven Terrace, Settle, then one of the best
areas and he was described as Stone Quarry Owner and Coal Merchant. His offices were in what is now the Town Hall, moving to Undercliffe,
Duke Street, in 1915. His next
domestic move was to build, in limestone, the very large semi-detached houses
now known as Penmar Court, originally Overdale. He followed this by building the
large detached house with extensive grounds next door also known as Overdale.
As
a Quaker he was a man of peace and was deeply affected by the 1914-18 war
speaking and writing against it, making financial contributions to conscientious
objectors and their families. He
died on Christmas Day 1921 and was interred in the Friends Burial ground,
Kirkgate it being said at the service that it was no mere coincidence that such
a man of peace had died on the day of peace. In his will he left every employee £5. His obituary said 'Exceptionally
well read, he was a self-educated man and well know for his optimistic outlook.
Success never spoiled him, yet he possessed a wide circle of friends. Mr Delaney
was a lover of the highest type of home life.' This was no doubt provided by his wife Annie who always stayed quietly in
the background, surviving him by 5 years, dying on 8th March 1927.
On
his death his daughter Carrie who had since childhood been his right hand 'man'
took over the running of the business, renewing leases, forming companies and
pushing ahead until the formation of Settle Limes Ltd, an amalgamation of
several local quarries in the early 1930s. This in turn was swallowed by ICI Ltd in the 1960s. As a matter of interest the offices were moved to the original Overdale
after the Second War.
Carrie
never married but adopted a daughter in the early 1930s. She gave Settle one of its first motor ambulances - a Rolls-Royce and
amongst bequests after her death aged 86 in 1958 was money for what is now
Delaney Court in Chapel Street, Settle. A
connection with Langcliffe was that the Nanny and Governess for her daughter was
Miss Parker of the New Street family.
References.
Bill
Mitchell and The Dalesman, June 1975.
Gordon
Clark, Arnside. Skipton Library.
Author Chris Ellis
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