Jeremiah Colman (1777–1851) was an English

miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

who founded

Colman's Mustard Colman's is an English manufacturer of mustard and other sauces, formerly based and produced for 160 years at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Owned by Unilever since 1995, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited ran ...

, a business which merged into the conglomerate

Reckitt & Colman Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merge ...

, and is now owned by

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

Life

He was born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in 1777 to Robert Colman (1749-1807) and Mary (née Harmer). Trained as a

, Jeremiah Colman managed a mill at

Bawburgh Bawburgh () is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, lying in the valley of the River Yare about west of Norwich city centre. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 466, increasing to 595 a ...

before buying his own mill at Pockthorpe in 1803.Norwich since 1550 By Carole Rawcliffe, Page 393
Hambledon Continuum, 2004, In 1814 he bought the

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

business of ''Edward Ames'' and moved it to a mill at

Stoke Holy Cross Stoke Holy Cross is a village in South Norfolk which lies approximately south of Norwich. Geography Stoke sits on the River Tas. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,568 in 674 households at the 2001 census. The village is accesse ...

where he started crushing mustard seed. In 1823, having no children of his own, he went into partnership with his nephew James. By 1829 J & J Colman was selling mustard in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was elected Sheriff of Norwich in 1845 and

Mayor of Norwich This is a list of mayors and the later lord mayors of the city of Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north ...

in 1846. Colman died aged 74 in 1851. He had married Anne but had no children. Within 20 years of his death his mustard business had become a Victorian household name.

References

1777 births 1851 deaths British businesspeople Reckitt people English Baptists Mayors of Norwich Colman family {{UK-business-bio-1770s-stub