John Edward Crowther (1863–1931) was a businessman and philanthropist who ran a large operation based at
Bank Bottom Mill and made a number of charitable donations to the village and people of
Marsden,
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
.
Early life
Crowther was born in 1863 in the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
.
[www.marsdenhistory.co.uk](_blank)
Retrieved 4 January 2014 He was the son of
John Crowther, a clothier (c1820-1865) and his wife Martha. He had, four brothers,
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, William, Elon Crowther, all of whom would go into the mill business.
Career
Crowther owned and ran the family company
John Edward Crowther Ltd based at
Bank Bottom Mill, which in the early part of the 20th century was one of the largest cloth producing mills owned by a single individual in the world.
He was responsible for a number of charitable donations to the town of Marsden, such as the purchase and donation of an ambulance in 1912. After the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, in 1930, Crowther donated land for the clubhouse of the local chapter of the
British Legion. He also helped to maintain a curate at the parish church and helped pay for the peal of bells in the church tower.
[Pearson, p.44]
Death and legacy
On 7 April 1930 his wife died. In 1931 the economic downturn caused by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
caused the mill to work short time, and on 4 July 1931 Crowther took his own life. When he was cremated on 8 July, the mills in Marsden closed, shops shut and drew their blinds, and flags flew at half mast on the mills and other buildings in the town.
The company that bears his name, John Edward Crowther Ltd, remains in business today, manufacturing textiles and also dealing in real estate.
John Edward Crowther Ltd at Companies House
Retrieved 6 August 2018
Notes
Further reading
* Armstrong, Thomas; ''The Crowthers of Bankdam'', HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
(1991).
* Marsden History Group, ''Marsden – Then and Now: A Photographic Journey'',
* Pearson, Irene E., ''Marsden Through the Ages'', (1984),
External links
www.marsdenhistory.co.uk
Retrieved 4 January 2014
Crowthers at Marsden History
Retrieved 30 December 2018
"Picture of the Week: John Crowther mill memories in the shadow of the moors"
'' Huddersfield Daily Examiner'', 24 May 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2013
Pearson, Irene E., ''Marsden Through the Ages''
(1984), Retrieved 4 January 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, John Edward
1863 births
1931 deaths
People from Marsden, West Yorkshire
Businesspeople from Yorkshire
1931 suicides
Suicides in England