Alderman John Joseph Mechi (1802–1880) was a

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

, banker, inventor and

Alderman of the City of London The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior Alderman during his or her year of office). T ...

. He experimented with new farming methods on his estate at

Tiptree Tiptree is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Essex, situated south-west of Colchester and around north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Tolleshunt Major, Layer Marney, Inwor ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Mechi was born in London 22 May 1802, the third son of Giacomo Mechi, a citizen of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, who had settled in England early in life, was naturalised, and obtained a post at

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence situated within Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has served as a residence for the British royal family since the 17th century and is currently the ...

in the household of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of J. Beyer of Poland Street, London. John at the age of sixteen was placed as a clerk in a house in

Walbrook Walbrook is a Ward of the City of London and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a River Walbrook, river of the same name. The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the ...

, trading with

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, a job he had for ten years. In 1828 he set up on his own account as a cutler in a small workshop at 130

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 ...

, from where he removed to No. 4 in the same street in 1830. Between 1830 and 1840 he made his fortune through the 'magic razor strop' which bears his name After the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and a fashion for beards, sales declined. On 10 November 1840 he took out a patent for 'improvements in apparatus to be applied to lamps in order to carry off heat and the products of consumption'. This was for the external shop-window lamps. From 1859 to 1869 he was in partnership with Charles Bazan, and then gave up his city business and moved to 112,

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 ...

. In 1841, after studying English farming, he became interested in improvements in agriculture, and accordingly purchased a farm of about 130 acres, including Tiptree Hall, at Tiptree Heath, one of the least productive districts in

. Here he tried deep drainage and the application of steam power, and made the farm profitable. The press acknowledged the services he had rendered to agricultural science by the introduction of modern processes into his model farm. He was appointed to the

shrievalty 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 ...

in 1856, and in 1858 elected an alderman of the city. He was a member of the council of the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, and was a juror in the department of art and science at

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

of 1851 and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855. His 1857 publication, ''How to Farm Profitably'', had in various forms a circulation of ten thousand copies. The failure of the Unity Joint Stock Bank in 1866, of which he was a governor, and an unfortunate connection with the Unity Fire and General Life Assurance Office, caused him such heavy losses that, instead of becoming

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 ...

, he was in August 1866 obliged to resign his aldermanic gown. Many bad seasons followed at Tiptree farm, particularly that of 1879, and at last, worn out with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and broken-hearted, his affairs were put in liquidation on 14 December 1880. He died at Tiptree Hall on 26 December 1880, and was buried in Tiptree Church on 1 January 1881. He was married twice; firstly, in 1823, to Fanny Frost, and secondly, in 1846, Charlotte, daughter of Francis Ward of

Chillesford Chillesford is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the B1084 road which runs east to west. Chillesford is 3 miles northwest of the small town of O ...

, Suffolk. A subscription was made for his widow and daughters.

Bibliography

* ''Letters on Agriculture'', 1844 * ''A Series of Letters on Agricultural Improvement'', 1845 * ''On the Principles which ensure Success in Trade'' 1850; another edition 1856 * ''How to Farm Profitably, particularly on Stiff Heavy Clays'' 1857; several editions * ''On the Sewerage of Towns as it affects British Agriculture'', 1860 * ''Mr. Mechi's Farm Balance Sheets, also his Lectures and Papers on Farming'', 1867 * ''Profitable Farming: Mr. Mechi's Latest Agricultural Sayings and Doings, with Balance Sheets'', 1869 * ''Profitable Farming: Being the Second Series of the Sayings and Doings of J.J. Mechi'', 1872 * ''How to Farm Profitably: Third Series'', 1876 * ''Mr. Mechi's Statement to his Visitors on Agricultural Improvements'', 1878. ** Some of Mechi's statements were replied to in publications by W. W. Good in 1851 and 1852, and by R. Rolton in 1853

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mechi, John Joseph 1802 births 1880 deaths English silversmiths English bankers 19th-century English farmers Aldermen of the City of London English people with disabilities English agriculturalists English non-fiction outdoors writers English investors 19th-century British inventors Sheriffs in the United Kingdom People from Tiptree 19th-century English businesspeople