Sir Isaac Holden, 1st Baronet (7 May 1807 – 13 August 1897) was an inventor and manufacturer, who is known both for his work in developing the Square Motion wool-combing machine and as a Radical Liberal Member of Parliament.
Life
Holden was born in the village of
Hurlet
Hurlet (or The Hurlet) is a small semi-rural district and former mining village,Hurlet at
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. He was largely self-educated: his formal education was often disrupted. He was apprenticed for a short period as a draw boy for two hand weavers, but attended
grammar schools
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, ...
run by the 'Old Radical' John Fraser. He became a pupil teacher and then sought to become a Wesleyan Minister, before teaching at schools in
Slaithwaite
Slaithwaite , locally ''Slawit'' (Old Norse: Timber-fell clearing), is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies in the Colne Valley, lying a ...
and
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 popula ...
.
In 1829 Holden obtained a post at the Castle Academy in
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...
. It was here that he developed a version of the Lucifer
match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
, but his invention was superseded by John Walker of Stockton-on-Tees in 1827, who did not patent the invention. The following year Holden returned to Scotland to set up a night school in Glasgow, but after a brief period of teaching he moved in 1830 to become a bookkeeper at Townsends'
worsted
Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham ...
factory in Cullingworth near
Bingley
Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census.
Bingley railwa ...
. Transferring to the technical side and becoming a manager, he spent his time at seeking to improve the process of
combing
Combing is a method for preparing carded fibre for spinning. Combing is divided into linear and circular combing. The Noble comb is an example of circular combing. The French comb is an example of linear combing. The process of combing is acco ...
wool.
Holden left Townsends in 1846 to set up a factory making Paisley Shawl middles at Pit Lane in Bradford. When the business failed two years later he formed a partnership with
Samuel Lister
Samuel Cunliffe Lister, 1st Baron Masham (1 January 1815 – 2 February 1906), was an English inventor and industrialist, notable for inventing the Lister nip comb.
Early life
He was born in Calverley Hall (now Calverley House Farm- not to be ...
. They worked together to develop the square motion wool-combing machine, which was patented by Lister in 1848, although Holden had drafted the patent. The origins of the machine became the subject of a lifelong dispute between the two men.
In 1848, trading as Lister & Holden, Isaac Holden set up a factory at St Denis near Paris, where over the next few years he perfected the square motion machine. He then set up factories in France, at Croix near
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
and at Reims, run by his nephews Isaac Holden Crothers and Jonathon Holden. In 1857 he bought out Lister and the firm was renamed Isaac Holden et Fils. In 1860 he and his sons, Angus and Edward, set up an experimental factory at Penny Oaks in Bradford and then in 1864 they opened the massive Alston Works at Bradford.
By the 1870s Holden's factories in England and France had become the largest wool combers in the world. He celebrated his success by building a large Italianate mansion at Oakworth near
Keighley
Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish
in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford.
Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...
in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
. As a leading Wesleyan, Holden's philanthropy was largely concentrated on building Wesleyan chapels. He pledged £5000 to build 50 chapels in London.
In 1865 Holden was elected to serve as a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for
Knaresborough
Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate.
History
Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...
Keighley
Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish
in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford.
Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...
from 1885 to 1895. In his political life he campaigned for electoral reform, church disestablishment and Irish Home Rule. In 1893, at the age of 86, he was created a Baronet, of Oakworth House in the County of York.
Holden died in August 1897, aged 90, and was buried in
Undercliffe Cemetery
Undercliffe Cemetery is located between Otley Road and Undercliffe Lane in the Bolton and Undercliffe ward, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
The cemetery stands atop a hillside overlooking the city and contains some very impressive Victoria ...
, Bradford.
He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son Angus Holden.
His daughter Margaret had married
Alfred Illingworth
Alfred Illingworth (25 September 1827 – 1907), was an English worsted spinner and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1868 and 1895.
Illingworth was born at Bradford, Yorkshire, the son of Daniel Illingwo ...
who succeeded him as MP for Knaresborough.
In 1908 his son was raised to the peerage as
Baron Holden
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
.
Oakworth House burned down in 1907Houses by Kate Lycett accessed 28 Mar 2016 and in 1927 its grounds were given by the family to the people of
Oakworth
Oakworth is a village in West Yorkshire, England, near Keighley, by the River Worth. The name "Oakworth" indicates that the village was first established in a heavily wooded area.
Oakworth railway station is on the route of the Keighley and ...
as a public park. It is called
Holden Park
Holden Park is the only park in the village of Oakworth, West Yorkshire, England.
The park is also known locally as Oakworth Park.
History
The park was the former grounds of Sir Isaac Holden's house (Oakworth House) and garden.
Oakworth ho ...
.
References
*
*''Holden's Ghosts, The Life and Times of Sir Isaac Holden: Inventor, Woolcomber and Nonconformist Radical Liberal M.P.'' by Tony Holden, published by Leen Editions 2015,