James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey JP DL (4 April 1846 – 21 November 1936) was an English

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

, politician, and

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

known primarily for being a

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

magnate from

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

and a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Member of Parliament (MP).

Life

James Joicey was born on 4 April 1846 in

Tanfield Tanfield may refer to: People *Charlie Tanfield (born 1996), British racing cyclist *Elizabeth Tanfield (1585–1635), English poet and dramatist *Francis Tanfield (1565–?), Proprietary Governor of the South Falkland colony in Newfoundland *Lawr ...

, co. Durham, the second son of George Joicey, partner in an engineering firm in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, and Dorothy Joicey née Gowland. The family was living in Kip Hill at the time of Joicey's baptism in June 1846. He attended the Anchorage School,

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, and Gainford Academy, near

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. Joicey's father died when Joicey was ten years old. Joicey married Amy Robinson in 1879. They had two sons. Widowed in 1881, Joicey married Marguerite Smyles Drever in 1884 and they had two sons and a daughter.

Career

Aged seventeen years old, Joicey began as a clerk at his uncle James' mining company ''James Joicey & Co., Ltd,'' (founded in 1838, incorporated in 1886) which operated several collieries in the West Durham coalfield including pits at Beamish and Tanfield. Joicey became managing director in 1872. He purchased

Lord Durham Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Refo ...

's Lambton collieries in 1896 and the Hetton collieries in 1911. He was Chairman and Managing Director of both ''James Joicey & Co., Ltd,'' and the ''Lambton & Hetton'' ''Collieries, Ltd''. From late 1924, steps were taken to merge both companies to form the ''Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Collieries''. Popularly known on

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

as "Jimmy Joicey" and "Old King Coal", Joicey was reputed to have been the largest coal-owner in the world. Baron Joicey worked in government held posts in England, working as Deputy Lieutenant for County Durham, and Justice of the Peace for Northumberland, Montgomeryshire and Newcastle Upon-Tyne. Joicey was elected as Member of Parliament for

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street () is a market town in County Durham, England. It is located around north of Durham and is close to Newcastle. The town holds markets on Saturdays. In 2021, the town had a population of 23,555. The town's history is ancient; ...

at the 1885 general election, and held the seat until the 1906 election. 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 Longhirst and of Ulgham, both in the County of

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, on 3 July 1893 and then elevated to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Baron Joicey, of Chester-le-Street in the County of Durham, on 13 January 1906. From 1887 his seat was Longhirst Hall near Morpeth, Northumberland. In 1906 he bought the Ford Castle estate, Ford, Northumberland, and in 1908 the Etal Castle estate in Northumberland.

Death

Joicey died at his home, Ford Castle, on 21 November 1936, aged 90, and was buried at St Michael's Church, Ford. He was succeeded by his son

James Arthur James Andrew Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's " Impossible", was released by Syco Music aft ...

References

External links

* *
St Michael's Church, Ford, gravesite
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joicey, James 1st Baron Joicey 1846 births 1936 deaths British mining businesspeople Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs who were granted peerages People from Tanfield, County Durham People from Ford, Northumberland Peers created by Edward VII British businesspeople in the coal industry