John Sadler (1 February 1820 – 22 December 1910) was an English industrialist and public figure associated with the town of Oldbury, Worcestershire (now
Oldbury, West Midlands
Oldbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It is the administrative centre of the borough and one of its six constituent towns.
At the 2011 census, the ward of Oldbury had a population of 13,606, w ...
), United Kingdom. As a result of his lifetime of service, Sadler became known as 'the Grand Old Man of Oldbury'.
Background
John was the youngest son of Benjamin Sadler (1777–1850) and Nancy Johnson (1776–1852) of Round's Green, Oldbury. Members of the Sadler family contributed greatly to their native district during the nineteenth century and rose to pre-eminence in the area. Further afield, John's
nephew
In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...
, Sir
Samuel Alexander Sadler (1842–1911), achieved renown in the town of
Middlesbrough in the
North East of England.
Career
Sadler was educated at
Himley and
West Bromwich, before entering into an apprenticeship under his elder brother Samuel Sadler (1807–1861) as a builder. Having reached the age of 21, he took over the
Brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
Manufacturing business established by his father, a pioneer of the industry in Oldbury, and came to found his own firm - eventually registered as John Sadler & Sons of Shidas Lane, Oldbury ("manufacturer of every description of Staffordshire brindled, red, blue and brown bricks and tiles"), established in 1847/1849 and converted into a
Private Limited Company in 1900. The site owned by Sadler and used for his enterprise was that portion of land bounded by Shidas Lane, Portway Road and Rounds Green Road, amounting to roughly seven acres, immediately outside Oldbury. It is currently under re-development. The
marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
hole on the site used for the extraction of clay eventually grew to such a size as to swallow Sadler's former place of residence.
[Old-Time Oldbury, collated by Terry Daniels, Oldbury Local History Group, 2000, p. 17.
]
Public service
In addition to his labours as an industrialist, Sadler consistently showed the greatest interest in the affairs of his home town. He served on the
Urban District Council, the
Board of Health
Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...
, the Burial Board and the West Bromwich
Board of Guardians, as a representative of Oldbury, from 1889 until his death.
Sadler was a strong supporter of the
Liberal Party and held Prime Minister
William Ewart Gladstone in the highest regard. As such, Sadler's final residence on Portway Road, Oldbury was named 'Gladstone House'.
Sadler was a
non-conformist associated with the
Methodist and
Tabernacle churches. He contributed to the cost of erecting the new Methodist Chapel at Round's Green and a stained glass window dedicated to his posterity was installed there following his death.
Marriages and issue
John Sadler married firstly Harriot Sturges (June 1820 – 27 June 1887), daughter of Theophilus Sturges and Ann Page of Brades,
Rowley Regis on 23 April 1839 in
The Parish Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Aston, by whom he had issue. He married secondly Phoebe Bridge, widow of Joseph Bridge, previously widow of Thomas Sadler Sturges, initially daughter of Joseph Grayer on 24 February 1891.
Burial
Sadler was buried in the family vault at the Parish Church of Christ Church, Oldbury. There sat an elaborate memorial to various members of the family in the churchyard, now dismantled but remaining in situ.
References
Principal source
*'Death of Mr. John Sadler', West Bromwich Free Press, 23 December 1910. A lengthy obituary of over 1,200 words, corroborated by other primary sources.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadler, John
1820 births
1910 deaths
People from Oldbury, West Midlands
19th-century English businesspeople