Chance Monument West Smethwick park (4565999608)

Sir James Timmins Chance, 1st

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

(22 March 1814 – 6 January 1902''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Chance, James Timmins, first baronet'', by Charles Welch), was an English industrialist, philanthropist, director of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lon ...

, and an expert in

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

optics. He served in public office, including as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Counties of England, county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which ...

in 1851, Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire in 1856 and for Worcestershire in 1859 (in which time he set up the first Volunteer Rifle Corps in the country), and High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1868. He was a nephew of Lucas Chance, the founder of the family firm, glassmakers,

Chance Brothers Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology. The Chance fa ...

, of which James was, like his father, also William, a partner and eventually head, until his retirement in 1889, when the company was formed into a public company and the name changed to ''Chance Brothers & Co. Ltd''. He was educated at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, then

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford ...

. He gave West Smethwick Park to the public in 1895, and donated £50,000 to the endowment fund of

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

in 1900. The park includes a memorial to him, in brick and

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terraco ...

, with a bronze bust by Hamo Thornycroft. Beneath the bust is a plaque reading: He was awarded a Baronetcy in 1900, to which he was succeeded by his son, Sir William Chance, 2nd Baronet (1853–1935). He sat for a portrait by

John Callcott Horsley John Callcott Horsley RA (29 January 1817 – 18 October 1903) was an English academic painter of genre and historical scenes, illustrator, and designer of the first Christmas card. He was a member of the artist's colony in Cranbrook. Chil ...

in 1851. Another, by Joseph Gibbs, may have been painted posthumously. It was presented to Smethwick Borough Council in December 1902, eleven months after the subject's death. It is now in Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chance, James Timmins 1814 births 1902 deaths People from Smethwick English industrialists Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom London and North Western Railway people 19th-century English businesspeople