Memorial to Caleb Wright, Chowbent Chapel

Caleb Wright (1 August 1810 – 28 April 1898) was an English mill owner and Liberal politician in

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

, north-west England.

Family and chapel

Wright was one of thirteen children of William Wright, bookmaker of

Tyldesley Tyldesley () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, southeast of Wiga ...

, near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

.''Obituary'', The Times, 29 April 1898, p. 10 The only education he received was by attending night schools. Wright, a

Unitarian Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present ...

, was a member of the congregation at Chowbent Chapel where he succeeded his father as organist in 1832. Wright played the trombone but learned to play the organ in a month so he could replace his father. In 1890 Wright donated a site for Chowbent

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. S ...

next to the chapel. When Wright was in London he attended Bedford Chapel in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

where Stopford Brooke was minister.

Cotton

At the age of nine Wright began work as a "piecer" in a local

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

.''Biographies of Candidates'', The Times, 29 June 1892, p.4 At the age of 15 he became a spinner and rose to become manager of the mill in 1830. In 1841 he became manager of Ormerod and Hardcastles Mill in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ce ...

. In 1845 he established his own cotton-spinning business in Tyldesley in partnership with Henry Barton. In 1855 the partnership was dissolved, and Caleb Wright and Company's Barnfield Mills was established. He retired from the company in about 1876.

Politics

Aware of his own beginnings, Wright was sympathetic with the workers, he promoted education, self-improvement and the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. In his home town he was president of the local Mechanics' Institute, campaigned to build the public baths and supported the Ten-Hours Movement to reduce working hours in factories. Wright became involved in Liberal politics, and became chairman of Tyldesley Local Board. At the

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 &ndash ...

general election Caleb Wright was invited to stand as the candidate for the newly created Leigh division by the Liberal party. His Tory opponent was Lees Knowles who polled 3,725 votes as against 4,261 for Wright. He was elected as the first

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for the new constituency of Leigh. He was re-elected at the next two general elections, before retiring from parliament in

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

. Politically Wright was an advanced

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

, and supported both

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

for Ireland and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

. He was also a member of the Liberation Society which sought the disestablishment of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

.''The Liberation Society'', The Times, 13 November 1885, p.7 Wright, "Owd Caleb", died at his home, Lower Oak, in

Shakerley Shakerley is a suburb of Tyldesley in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was anciently a hamlet in the northwest of the township of Tyldesley cum Shakerley, in the ancient parish of Leigh. The boundary between ...

, Tyldesley in 1898 aged 87. He is buried at Chowbent Chapel.

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Caleb 1810 births 1898 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 Textile companies of the United Kingdom People from Wigan People from Tyldesley Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Leigh