Sir William Coddington, 1st Baronet (1830 – 15 February 1918) was an English cotton manufacturer and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician who sat in the

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from 1880 to 1906.

Biography

Coddington was born at

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, the eldest son of William Dudley Coddington, a Manchester merchant, and his wife Elizabeth Hopwood. In 1842 his father settled in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

as a cotton spinner and manufacturer. Coddington was a business man, and when his father died in 1867, he was left the management of the mills. Under his supervision the firm flourished, and he was able to take full advantage of the trade boom which followed the cotton famine. He erected two mills, Ordnance and Wellington New Mills.Cottontown Blackburn with Darwen
In 1875, he was Mayor of Blackburn and in that year, he presented an organ to the Parish Church at a cost of £3,000. He was elected as

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(MP) for

at the 1880 general election. He held the seat until his retirement in 1906. In Parliament Sir William was remembered for his work as chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for widening the streets of London. He became a baronet in 1896. In 1912, his services to the town of Blackburn were recognised by presenting him with the Freedom of the Borough. In 1864 he married Sarah Catherine, daughter of William Thomas Hall, of Wakefield, and they had one daughter. They lived firstly at Spring Mount and later at Wycollar, which had been built by his father.

Personal life and death

Sir William married again in his 83rd year, his second wife being Aimee Josephine Barber-Starkie. He died at Wycollar in his 87th year.

References

*Oxford Dictionary of National Biography J. Geoffrey Timmins, ''Coddington, Sir William, baronet (1830–1918)'', first published Sept 2004

External links

* 1830 births 1918 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 People from Salford Mayors of places in Lancashire Politics of Blackburn with Darwen British textile industry businesspeople {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1830s-stub