Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet (3 August 1821 – 3 May 1905) was a British clothing manufacturer and Liberal Party politician.

Public life

Barran was the son of John Barran and his wife Elizabeth (née Fletcher), and founded the firm of John Barran and Sons, clothing manufacturers, of

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 populati ...

. He was 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 Leeds and the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

and served as Mayor of Leeds from 1870 to 1871. In 1876 he was returned to Parliament as one of three representatives for

, a seat he held until 1885, and later sat for

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...

from 1886 to 1895. The latter year he was 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 ...

, of Chapel Allerton Hall in Chapel Allerton in the West Riding of the County of York and Queen's Gate, St Mary Abbots parish, in Kensington in the County of London.

Family life

Barran married Ann Hirst (died 1874) in 1842. He married secondly, to Eliza Bilton, née Brown, in 1878. He had six sons and four daughters. His youngest son Rowland also became a

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 of ...

. Barran died in May 1905, aged 83, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson John, his eldest son John Barran having predeceased him. Barran was buried in

Beckett Street Cemetery Beckett Street Cemetery (also known as Burmantofts Cemetery) is a closed cemetery in Burmantofts, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1842, the site was officially opened in 1845 and is recognised as being one of England's first municipal ...

in Leeds.

Clothing manufacture

John Barran was a pioneer in the manufacture of ready-to-wear clothing. He moved to Leeds in 1842, and soon opened his own tailoring shop at 30 Bridge End South. By 1851 he had moved to

Briggate Briggate is a pedestrianised principal High Street, shopping street in Leeds city centre, England. Historically it was the main street, leading north from Leeds Bridge, and housed markets, merchant's houses and other business premises. It cont ...

and in 1856 he had a factory with 20-30 sewing machines. After seeing a

bandsaw A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and lumb ...

being used to cut wood veneers in 1858 he introduced its use for cutting cloth, a major innovation. By the 1870s he had 2,000 machines, and in 1904 he employed 3,000 people. His son Charles took over as chairman of the company in 1903, and another son Rowland became chairman in 1918.

St Pauls House, Leeds St. Pauls House is a historic building situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1878 as a warehouse and cloth cutting works for Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet. History St. Pauls House was built in 1878 in Park Square, Leeds as ...

Park Square, Leeds Park Square is a Georgian public square in central Leeds, West Yorkshire. The square is grassed over and is a traditional Georgian park. The square is in Leeds' financial quarter and is surrounded by Georgian buildings, which are occupied as of ...

was built as a warehouse for Barran in 1878. It was designed by

Thomas Ambler Thomas Ambler (1838 – 1920) was an English architect, living and working in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Ambler was a friend of the Mayor of Leeds and Member of Parliament, Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet, John Barran, who became his patron. ...

, and is in Moorish style.

Artistic recognition

His bust sculpted by

Joseph Gott Joseph Gott (1785–1860) was a 19th century British sculptor. His terracotta groups and animal and children pieces were very popular in the 1830s. Life He was born at Calverley near Leeds in 1785 the son of industrialist Benjamin Gott, a ...

son of his rival

Benjamin Gott Benjamin Gott (24 June 1762 – 14 February 1840) was one of the leading figures in the industrial revolution, in the field of textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once the largest factory in the world and is now home to the ...

is in

Leeds Art Gallery Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance" ...

.dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1859 by Rupert Gunnis

Notes

References

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barran, Sir John, 1st Baronet 1821 births 1905 deaths Businesspeople from Leeds Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 Mayors of Leeds 19th-century English businesspeople English justices of the peace