John Derby Allcroft (19 July 1822 – 29 July 1893) was an English

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

entrepreneur,

evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or Evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1878 to 1880.

Early life

Allcroft was born on 19 July 1822, the only son of Jeremiah Macklin Allcroft, merchant of Worcester and his wife Hannah Derby, daughter of Thomas Derby and niece of William Derby. His father was in partnership with

glove A glove is a garment covering the hand, with separate sheaths or openings for each finger including the thumb. Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a ...

makers J W Dent & Co in a very successful business.

Career

Allcroft began work in his father's glove business which became Dent, Allcroft & Company. Under Allcroft, annual production quadrupled to over 12,000,000 pairs in 1884 and became the premier glove producer in the world. In 1867 he was able to buy the

Stokesay Castle Stokesay Castle is one of the finest surviving fortified manor houses in England, and situated at Stokesay in Shropshire. It was largely built in its present form in the late 13th century by Laurence of Ludlow, on the earlier castle (some of wh ...

estate in Shropshire.Stokesay Court History
/ref> In 1865, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

but contributed no papers. He was a Commissioner of Lieutenancy for the City of London, Lord of the Manors of

Onibury Onibury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Onny in southern Shropshire, about northwest of the market town of Ludlow. The parish includes the hamlets of Walton and Wootton and was extended in 1967 to include ...

and

Stokesay Stokesay is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Craven Arms, in the Shropshire (district), Shropshire district, in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is just south of Craven Arms on the A49 road, also fleetingly ...

and

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of five livings. He was considered an eminent philanthropist, and was Treasurer and a Governor of

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

. In 1874 he purchased a smaller estate, Stone House, Worcestershire. Allcroft was also Justice of the Peace for Shropshire.

Public service

Allcroft stood unsuccessfully for parliament for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

in 1874. He was elected Member of Parliament for Worcester at a by-election in 1878 but lost the seat in the 1880 general election. View of Stokesay Court from the lawn

Philanthropy

Allcroft built a number of London churches, including St Matthew's, Bayswater, St Jude's Church, Kensington and

St Martin's Church, Gospel Oak St Martin's Church is a Church of England church in Gospel Oak in London, England. Located on Vicars Road, the church building is Grade I listed. The church was built between 1864 and 1866 to a curious-looking design by Edward Buckton Lamb and w ...

. On 6 March 1878 he laid the foundation stone at St Simon's Church, Shepherd's Bush. Allcroft also had a house near today's

Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

called Harlington Lodge and was co-founder of the nearby Harlington, Harmondsworth and Cranford Cottage Hospital in 1884. Harlington, Harmondsworth and Cranford Cottage Hospital, report 1885. In 1889 Allcroft was able to begin work on his planned

Stokesay Court Stokesay Court is a country house and estate in the parish of Onibury (but named after Stokesay) in Shropshire, England. Described by John Newman, in the ''Shropshire'' volume of Pevsner's Buildings of England, as "the most grandiloquent Vic ...

on the Stone House estate. It was completed in 1892, six months before his death at the age of 71.

Family life

Allcroft married firstly in 1854 Mary Annette Martin, daughter of Rev. Thomas Martin, and secondly on 9 August 1864, Mary Blundell, daughter of John Blundell, of Timsbury Manor, Hampshire.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allcroft, John Derby 1822 births 1893 deaths Businesspeople from Shropshire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1874–1880 Politicians from Worcestershire Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society