John Caldicott Cavell (12 January 1813 – 5 February 1887) was a department store proprietor and mayor of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. John Cavell was born in

Bardwell, Suffolk Bardwell is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Location Bardwell is located about ten miles north-east of Bury St Edmunds between the villages of Ixworth, Stanton and Honington. History The Do ...

, the son of Charles and Sarah Cavell, He married Sarah Elliston of Summertown, Oxford on 9 April 1835, at the age of 22. She was the sister of

Jesse Elliston Jesse Elliston (3 March 1806 – 26 July 1853) was a proprietor of Elliston & Cavell, which became the leading department store in Oxford, England. Elliston was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, to James and Mary Ann Elliston. He was baptised a Baptist. ...

, who owned a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

's shop in central Oxford. Elliston made John Cavell a partner and the shop became known as Elliston & Cavell. This went on to become the largest

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

in Oxford.

Mayor of Oxford

Cavell became a

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

in 1860 and an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in 1868. He was also Mayor of Oxford in 1865–6, 1877–8 and briefly in 1879–80. Cavell's funeral took place at St Mary Magdalen Church on 10 February 1887. It was attended by 1,500–2,000 mourners. He was buried in

St Sepulchre's Cemetery __NOTOC__ St Sepulchre's Cemetery is a cemetery located on Walton Street, Jericho, central Oxford, England. The cemetery was opened in 1848 as a cemetery for the Oxford parishes of St Giles, St Paul, St Michael, and St Mary Magdalen. It was ...

off Walton Street.

References

John Caldicott Cavell, Mayor of Oxford
1813 births 1887 deaths English businesspeople in retailing Debenhams Mayors of Oxford People from Bardwell, Suffolk 19th-century English businesspeople Burials at St Sepulchre's Cemetery {{England-mayor-stub