Manchester Business Entrepreneurs

Manchester Celebrities
Industry, Commerce & Business Entrepreneurs
(4 of 6)

Eddie Shah
Newspaper Publisher & Journalist

Eddie Shah sprang into public consciousness in 1983 as a result of an industrial dispute at his Messenger Newspapers group plant at Warrington. Shah intended to launch a brand new concept in newspapers - "Today", the first ever national daily newspaper to be printed in colour. Hitherto, Shah had been an obscure publisher based in Manchester.
This new concept required a revolutionary approach, which the print industry, hidebound with old traditions, was loathe to accommodate. Shah decided to print without the unions and employed "unqualified" printers, prompting violent "strike busting" protests and street fighting. His own house was fire-bombed on several occasions.
The new national tabloid newspaper was to use computer-driven technology instead of hot metal type, which had been used since the time of Gutenberg in the 15th century. Computerised reporting meant that later deadlines were possible and as a result news could be "fresher" and more up-to-date. Further, the new technology meant there would be no need for antiquated, labour-intensive machinery or many of the very costly staffing levels which had been kept in place by Fleet Street's powerful print unions and many of their outdated practices. Shah's innovation was revolutionary and world breaking news.
The design of the newspaper was overtly based on USA Today, an American colour broadsheet newspaper which had been launched a few years earlier. Computerised typesetting, or "desk top publishing" as it came to be known, meant that the idea of producing a newspaper from scratch without any of the traditional methods was practical and simple, though it took some getting used to by older more traditional journalists. Many failed to make the change and were sacked. Few had sat in front of a computer screen before and there were many teething troubles.
The first much-heralded edition failed to materialise on time, printing machines were new and unknown and their operators were inexperienced.
Early editions were often badly printed or poorly registered and became known in the trade as "Shah-Vision". In time however, the technology was mastered, though advertisers failed to bring in much needed revenues. It has been said that Shah failed to read the market well enough to ascertain whether it was capable of supporting yet another daily newspaper. In the event the business failed, was taken over in 1987 News International, and, later absorbed by Rupert Murdoch's News International empire within two years.
"Today" ceased publication in 1995, though its legacy lives on to this day, as we take for granted that our newspapers will be produced on computer screens and that they will be printed in colour. Shah also went on to publish another newspaper, "The Post", which also failed.

Samuel Oldknow
Cotton Manufacturer

(1756-1828)
Samuel Oldknow was born in Nottingham in 1756. He served an apprenticeship in his uncle's draper's shop before moving to live and work in Manchester where he became a cotton manufacturer.
In 1779 he purchased several of Samuel Crompton's spinning mules, and was to specialise in the weaving of fine muslin, and by the turn of the century probably the country's, if not the world's, largest manufacturer of muslin. These sold well in locally and in London so that in 1785 he was encouraged to open business premises employing over 300 weavers in Stockport.
By 1790 he had built a new mill in the town which was driven by a Boulton & Watt steam engine. In 1793 he opened another mill in Marple on the outskirts of Stockport.
Oldknow went on to operate his mills in the area for a further 40 years. Some time around 1798 and he formed a partnership with Richard Arkwright, after which Oldknow concentrated on running the mill at Marple.
His works were to change the face of Marple beyond all recognition and it was he who was largely responsible for the industrialisation of the area. Apart from the mill, he built roads, bridges, coal mines and housing for his workers.
He was also instrumental in the construction of the Peak Forest Canal, and as a mark of respect for his good local works, a monument was erected to him in the local church which he had built. In 1784, with a loan from Arkwright of £3,000 he purchased a house, warehouse and land on Upper Hillgate in Stockport. The house, built around 1740, still stands as offices today.
In 1824 Samuel Oldknow was appointed High Sheriff of Derbyshire. On his death in 1828, at the age of 72, he was considerably in debt to the Arkwright family and his estates became their property in settlement. He died, revered and much loved - over 3,000 people attended his funeral.

Samuel Brooks
Manchester Banker

(1792-1864)
Samuel Brooks made his name and fortune as an important Manchester banker. By 1846, he already owned more than 600 acres of land in Sale, almost a third of the town's area. An astute businessman, he ploughed a great deal of money into the purchase of land for suburban residential development which he sold on at considerable profit to emerging Manchester industrialists, of whom there were many in mid-nineteenth century Manchester.
In 1859 he agreed a deal with the Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway Company for land to build a new railway station to serve the wealthy residential area of Brooklands Road. Brooks's name still survives as the name on the station, which today is the Brooklands Metrolink Station on Marsland Road.

Joseph & Edward Holt
Manchester Brewers

Edward Holt

Joseph Holt was a weaver's son born in 1849 in Unsworth (a district in Bury Metropolitan Borough). Unsworth was one of the many small textile towns and villages that surrounded 19th century Manchester and were an integral part of its cotton industry.
As a young man Holt was carter at Harrison's Strangeways Brewery. He went on in 1849 to marry Catherine Parry, a schoolteacher from Wales. It was her astute business sense that persuaded Holt to mortgage his property in order to set up a small brewery in central Manchester. In 1855 the brewery was moved to the Ducie Bridge Brewery, by which time Holt was wealthy enough to be able to make loans at beneficial interest rates to help local publicans to set up in business in return for exclusive rights for the sale of his beers on their premises. In 1860 he bought land in Empire Street and built a brand new brewery.
By 1882 he had established a chain of 20 houses and was able to hand most of the day-to-day running over to his son Edward, who in his turn went on to further expand and develop the brewery business. By 1901 Edward had installed an automatic bottling production line.
Edward went on to become a successful local entrepreneur and became involved in local politics. He was instrumental in establishing Manchester's water supply directly from the Lake District, and in 1908 he was elected Lord Mayor of Manchester. Despite the anger that his election engendered in the growing northern temperance movement; Edward went on to be re-elected for a further two years.
The Holt family are probably best known in the region, apart from their fine beers, for their support and sponsorship of Christie Hospital in Withington (of which the Holt Radium Institute still records their family name). Christies has an international reputation as a leader in the fight against cancer and for research into its cure.
The Joseph Holt's Derby Brewery has remained in the family for over four generations and the company now own 127 pubs, mainly in and around North Manchester.

Nicholas Kilvert
Kilvert's Lard

(1822-1883)
Nicholas Kilvert (Senior) was born in Over in Cheshire in 1822, the eldest son of Thomas Kilvert, and was the founder of N Kilvert & Sons in Trafford Park, manufacturers of Kilvert's Lard, the world-famous brand of cooking fat. Kilvert lived at Ashton Lodge in Ashton on Mersey.
The origins of the family business had, in fact, begun earlier when Nicholas' father, Thomas Kilvert, (1799-1871), is recorded as having moved with his wife Sarah (Vernon) to Manchester in 1821 to set up a pork butcher shop at 13 New Market, Salford, and another later in Chorlton. He lived at White Cross Bank in Chapel Street, Salford.
One of Nicholas Senior's four sons, another Nicholas, (1859-1922), lived in Brooklands in south Manchester and became Managing Director of the company on the death of his father. This Nicholas went on to become a Manchester City Councillor for a time.
When he died, his younger son, Harry Vernon Kilvert, (born 1862) took up residence at Ashton Lodge. He too became MD of the company on the death of his brother Nicholas (junior). Harry Vernon was an important figure in local politics and was chair of Altrincham Conservative Association. He was Knighted by Queen Victoria for services to Business and the Community, and his wife, Annie, had a scout troup named in her honour - "The Lady Kilvert Own Scout Group".

We are indebted to Peter Kilvert for supplying much of this information.

Sir William Mather MP, LLD, MInstCE
Ironworks Manufacturing

(1838-1920)
Industrialist, entrepreneur, humanitarian and politician, William Mather was a resident of Woodhill House in Prestwich, and celebrated head of the Mather & Platt Salford Ironworks Engineering Company. He attended both Manchester and Bristol Universities and went on to become Liberal Member of Parliament for Salford for 1885-86, for Gorton 1889-98 and for Rossendale 1900-1904. He was knighted in 1902.
Mather was an influential man who regularly entertained contemporary celebrities at his residence at Woodhill House, including inventor Thomas Edison and Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. He became a respected Industrial Relations consultant and acted as arbitrator in many industrial disputes, notably in the national engineers strike of 1897-1898.. He surrounded himself with men capable of furthering his ideals in the efficient running of industry and improvement of working conditions for the common man. During his lifetime Mather would be responsible for many innovations in work management. As an enlightened man with a far-reaching vision he had a revolutionary humanitarian attitude towards business and industrial relations. Mather's philosophy placed the welfare of people alongside that of profit and in 1893 at his Salford Iron Works he took the unprecedented and controversial step of introducing an eight hour working day.
In 1845, the Mather family formed a partnership with John Platt at Salford Iron Works to serve the expanding business of textile finishing machines.
By 1883 William Mather had purchased the patent rights to the Grinnell Sprinkler Aystem for the rest of the world, excluding America. His company, Mather and Platt, became the leaders in the British sprinkler industry.
After Sir William's death, in 1920, he and his wife were buried at St Mary's Church in Prestwich, now within the Borough of Bury.