James Mellor (died 18 August 1860) was a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

merchant, local politician, and friend of Richard Cobden.

Life

Mellor was a brewer, wine and spirit merchant, and maltster. The brewery James Mellor & Sons was founded in 1823, in Hunter Street, Liverpool. The wine and spirit dealers John Mellor & Co., involving John, James and Thomas Mellor, was dissolved in 1835. The brewery business survived to 1974, when it merged with

Higsons Brewery Higsons was a brewery in Liverpool, England, founded in 1780 and closed by Whitbread in 1990. Higsons beer was brewed in Sheffield and Durham after closure before being discontinued. The brand has been revived in the 21st century. The beginning ...

. In the 1835 Liverpool Town Council election, the first for the council following the

Municipal Corporations Act Municipal Corporations Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating to municipal corporations. List *The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76) *The Municipal Corporation (Bou ...

, Mellor was one of six candidates for the Exchange ward. He polled third, and was elected, with Henry Holmes and Lawrence Heyworth. The burgess roll for 1846 places his counting house in Exchange Alley North. In 1840, Mellor was one of two Liverpool delegates to a large Anti-Corn Law League rally in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, in a large temporary structure on the site of the future

Free Trade Hall The Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, Manchester, England, was constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. It is now a Radisson hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. T ...

. He was prominent in the Liverpool Anti-Monopoly Association, allied to the League, and at the Liverpool free trade rally of 1843 proposed

William Rathbone V William Rathbone V (17 June 1787 – 1 February 1868) was an English merchant and politician, serving as Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Life The notability and prosperity of the Rathbone family of Liverpool was tied to the growth of that city as a ma ...

as chair. In November 1845, he was one of a delegation, with

Thomas Thornely Thomas Thornely, sometimes spelled Thornley, (1 April 1781 – 4 May 1862) was a British Member of Parliament who was one of the elected representatives for Wolverhampton between 1835 and 1859. Early and business life Thornely was born on 1 ...

, David Brown and James Mullaneux, calling on the Mayor of Liverpool, and asking what steps were being taken over the potato crop failure affecting Ireland. Mellor was a member of the Financial Reform Council. Cobden paid him a visit in Liverpool in 1848, meeting there other members of the Council. He was at this time, possibly, a cotton broker. At the end of Mellor's life, his address was Cleveland Square, Hyde Park, London. His daughter Martha and husband were living with him. He died at Ilkley in Yorkshire.

Family

Mellor's children: *Alice, married in 1839 William Hargreaves, seventh son of the calico spinner Thomas Hargreaves, and a close friend of Cobden. Their daughter Mary Constance married

Sir Joseph Leese, 1st Baronet Sir Joseph Francis Leese, 1st Baronet, (28 February 1845 – 29 July 1914) was a British judge, Liberal politician and first-class cricketer. Background The second of eight children, Joseph was born in February 1845 to Joseph Leese (1815–1 ...

. *Martha (1815–1906) married

Abraham Walter Paulton Abraham Walter Paulton (1812–1876) was an English politician and journalist. Life He was son of Walter Paulton of Bolton, Lancashire, where he was born into a Roman Catholic family. He was sent to Stonyhurst College to be educated for the prie ...

and was mother of James Mellor Paulton Relationship Unknown, not a son. *George Henry (1853–1910), barrister.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellor, James Year of birth missing 1860 deaths English merchants English brewers Businesspeople from Liverpool