John Bradley (1769–1816) was an English
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
from the town of
Stourbridge who founded the family firm
John Bradley & Co John Bradley & Co was a company established in 1800 by John Bradley (ironmaster), John Bradley at Stourbridge in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands area of England. The company developed into a large industrial concern with Metallurgical furn ...
in the year 1800. The company was originally based on the side of the canal at
Stourbridge and included the Stourbridge Ironworks. John Bradley died in 1816 but the firm that he founded expanded greatly under the control of
James Foster, who was Bradley's half brother.
Early years
John Bradley was born in 1769 in the town of Stourbridge, the son of Gabriel and Mary Bradley (née Haden).
John's Bradley ancestors were
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
who had settled in Stourbridge in the 17th century.
John was still an infant when his father died and his mother remarried Henry Foster. Mary and Henry had several children including
James Foster.
Henry Foster died in 1793. The family home from the time of Gabriel Bradley was situated on the High Street in Stourbridge.
Gabriel had also owned Stourbridge Forge as well as an anvil shop, warehouses and various other buildings.
Career
John Bradley founded the firm of
John Bradley & Co John Bradley & Co was a company established in 1800 by John Bradley (ironmaster), John Bradley at Stourbridge in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands area of England. The company developed into a large industrial concern with Metallurgical furn ...
in 1800, taking a lease on land next to the canal at Stourbridge with the aim of constructing an ironworks. In 1802 a deed of co-partnership was drawn up between John Bradley, the businessman Thomas Jukes Collier, and the trustees of the estate of the late Henry Foster.
By this time the company had constructed a slitting and rolling mill and a forge at the site.
In 1807, John's half-brothers James and William Foster became equal partners in the company.
In 1809, the company took a lease on a forge at Eardington.
In 1813, William Foster left the partnership so that John Bradley and James Foster became equal partners.
Family life
John Bradley was married in 1799 to Priscilla, the eldest daughter of Bate Richards of Stourbidge,
and together they had six children.
Death
John Bradley's death on 13 January 1816, left James Foster in control of the company, which subsequently expanded, acquiring new sites in the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
and in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
. John's sole surviving son, Henry Bradley, joined John Bradley & Co as a partner in 1827 but left the company some ten years later.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, John
1769 births
1816 deaths
People from Stourbridge
English ironmasters