Joseph Hepworth (1834–1911) was the clothing manufacturer who founded ''Joseph Hepworth & Son'', a company which grew to become the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's largest clothing manufacturer and which is now known as

Next plc Next plc (styled as NEXT) is a British multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer, which has its headquarters in Enderby, England. It has around 700 stores, of which circa 500 are in the United Kingdom, and circa 200 across Eu ...

Career

Born at Lindley in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

, Joseph Hepworth left school at ten to join George Walker's Mill in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in 1844.Joseph Hepworth at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> In 1864 Joseph Hepworth went into business with James Rhodes, his wife's brother, as a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

. By 1881 their factory in Wellington Street employed 500 people and, unusually, made all three pieces of a gentlemen's three-piece suit. In the 1880s they innovated further establishing shops to sell their suits direct to the public. By 1890 they employed 2,000 operatives who sold their stock through 107 shops. Joseph Hepworth died in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

in 1911 and within 6 years of his death ''Joseph Hepworth & Son'' was the largest clothing manufacturer in the

Family

Hepworth married Sarah Rhodes in 1855 they went on to have three sons and four daughters.

References

1834 births 1911 deaths British retail company founders English businesspeople in fashion English businesspeople in retailing 19th-century English businesspeople People from Huddersfield English Methodists Businesspeople from Yorkshire British tailors {{England-business-bio-stub