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

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politician who sat in the

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from 1880 to 1906.

Biography

Coddington was born at

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, 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 River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

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 Member of Parliament (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