Sir Benjamin Dawson, 1st Baronet (26 September 1878 – 25 September 1966) was a British textile manufacturer. Nun Appleton Hall, Nun Appleton Estate (geograph 4103714)

Nun Appleton Hall, Nun Appleton Estate (geograph 4103714)

He was the son of a textile manufacturer Joseph Dawson of Bradford, West Yorkshire and was educated at

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school g ...

. At 15 he worked for his father in the family textile business. He became chairman of Joseph Dawson (Holdings) Ltd. and of Joseph Dawson Ltd., cashmere dehairers, of Cashmere Works, Bradford. He bought Stackhouse Farm near Settle, where he pioneered the new technique of

silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage p ...

making as a method of animal fodder production. He bought the 1200 acre Nun Appleton estate near York in 1920 and moved into

Nun Appleton Hall Nun Appleton Priory was a priory near Appleton Roebuck, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded as a nunnery c. 1150, by Eustace de Merch and his wife. It was dissolved by 1539, when the nuns were receiving pensions. Nun Appleton Hall Subsequen ...

. He was appointed 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 the West Riding, created a

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 14th ...

Appleton Roebuck Appleton Roebuck is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 692 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 792 in the 2011 census and including Acaster Selby. The village is about ...

on 2 July 1929 and was

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere ...

for 1951–52. He was a Commissioner of the

Boy Scouts Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

, a member of the Council of Bradford Chamber of Commerce and a member of the

Federation of British Industries The Federation of British Industries (FBI) was an employers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by the Midlands industrialist Dudley Docker in 1916 as the United British Industries' Association, but renamed later that same year, it was ini ...

. He was also active in politics as a Conservative. He was elected vice-commodore of the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club and was formerly a Member of the York and Ainsty Hunt. He had married Annie Ellen Saville and was succeeded by their son Sir Lawrence Saville Dawson, 2nd Baronet. Their daughter Joan continued to live at Nun Appleton Hall before selling it.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Benjamin 1878 births 1966 deaths Businesspeople from Bradford People educated at Bradford Grammar School Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom High Sheriffs of Yorkshire Place of birth missing Place of death missing