Sir John Pound, 1st Baronet (27 June 1829 – 18 September 1915), was an English businessman, the owner of luggage manufacturer and retailer John Pound & Co. of London, and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

in 1904/05.

Early and personal life

John Pound was born in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

on 27 June 1829, the son of Henry Pound and Alfred Victor Allen. He married Harriet Lulham, daughter of Thomas Lulham, on 3 December 1856. The couple had six children: John (died after six months); Harriet; John; Annie; Jessie; and Percy.

John Pound & Co.

The business of John Pound & Co. was started by John Pound's father, Henry Pound and his partner Mr. Tasker, in

Leadenhall Street __NOTOC__ Leadenhall Street () is a street in the City of London. It is about and links Cornhill, London, Cornhill in the west to Aldgate in the east. It was formerly the start of the A11 road (England), A11 road from London to Norwich, but th ...

, London in 1823. ''Pound & Tasker'' was founded as a manufacturer high-quality trunks and packing cases, selling via a single manufacturing premises/shop. After the death of Mr Tasker in 1857, Henry apprenticed his eldest son John and renamed the business ''Henry Pound & Son.'' After the death of his father in 1861, John renamed the business ''John Pound & Co.'', and began building it into the biggest business of its kind in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. By 1871 the company had: three factories; eight distribution warehouses; and five shops in central London at Leadenhall Street,

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

, and

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

. Now, as well as luggage and dressing cases, the company made hunting bags, hat cases, writing cases and purses. After he became Lord Mayor of London in 1904, John handed the business over to his two elder sons. The business continued to trade as an independent retailer, until it was taken over by the

John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

in the early 1950s. Stuart Eggleton acquired the John Pound brand from John Lewis in 2013.

Other positions

As well as his successful business, Pound built up a series of civic positions. A member of the

Worshipful Company of Leathersellers The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The organisation originates from the latter part of the 14th century receiving its Royal Charter in 1444, and is therefore the senior leather industr ...

, he became its master, as well as that of the Fan Makers and latterly the Fruiterers. This led to him becoming an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of London between 1892 and 1915, for the Ward of Aldgate, and then a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of the

. He was elected

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

for 1895–96. Pound became a director of the

London General Omnibus Company The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal bus operator in London between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer. Overview The London General Omnibus Company was f ...

, and was its chairman for over 30 years. He oversaw the switch of London's mass public transport from horse-drawn trams to self-propelled omnibuses. On 29 September 1904, it was announced that he would replace Sir James Ritchie as Lord Mayor of London. On 3 August 1905, he was created 1st Baronet Pound, of

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. He died at his home in Highbury New Park on 18 September 1915, aged 86, and was buried at Ilford Cemetery.

Awards

From foreign monarchies and governments, he received the following decorations: *Grand Officer,

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

of Spain *Commander,

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

of Japan *

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

*Grand Officer, Order of Christ of Portugal

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pound, John 1829 births 1915 deaths Businesspeople from London English businesspeople in retailing Sheriffs of the City of London 20th-century lord mayors of London 20th-century English politicians Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun British recipients of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 19th-century English businesspeople