John Maberly (1770–1839) was a British businessman and Member of Parliament. John Maberly was born in London in 1770, the second child of London currier (leather finisher) Stephen Maberly and Mary (née Boot) Maberly. In 1796 he married Mary Rose Leader, the sister of

William Leader William Leader (19 October 1767 – 18 January 1828) was a prosperous malt merchant and British Member of Parliament for Camelford and Winchelsea He represented Camelford from 1812 to 1818, and Winchelsea from 1823 to 1826. His father, William L ...

, with whom he was to have six children. After originally joining his father in the family business, a large legacy in 1798 from his father-in-law enabled him to branch out on his own as a very successful military contractor, supplying uniforms to the Army. In 1811 he purchased the large Broadford linen works in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Around this time he also formed an alliance with steam engine pioneer

Jabez Carter Hornblower Jabez Carter Hornblower (21 May 1744 – 14 July 1814) was an English pioneer of steam power, and the son of Jonathan Hornblower (1717), Jonathan Hornblower. Early life Hornblower was born in Broseley, Shropshire, England. He was the eldest chi ...

, who had designed an improved steam engine. Sued by

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was f ...

and

Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton ( ; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and silversmith. He was a business partner of the Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the par ...

for breach of Watt's extensive patents, their business soon foundered. In 1813 he remarried, this time to Anne Baillie, with whom he had a further five children. In May 1816 he was elected to the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

as MP for the Tory-sponsored seat of

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

. He subsequently returned as MP for

Abingdon, Berkshire Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in the Vale of the White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. The historic county town of Berkshire, the area was occupied fr ...

, in 1818, 1820, 1826, 1830 and 1831. His growing fortune enabled him to acquire a country estate at Shirley Park in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and a large London town house, St John's Lodge, in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

(1826). He became an enthusiastic huntsman: the Old Surrey Foxhounds, of which he was Master for eight years (1812–20), were kennelled at Shirley. He was a liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Curriers The Worshipful Company of Curriers is one of the ancient livery companies of London, associated with the leather trade. The curriers, or "curers of leather", of London formed an organisation in 1272; this merchant guild was recognised in 1415 b ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, of which he was Master in 1817. Introduced into banking circles by the marriage of his daughter Jane to George Robert Smith, a member of the Smith banking family, he decided to start up his own bank in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, where banking was somewhat inefficient and expensive. He formed in 1818 the Exchange and Deposit Bank, based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and offered cut price banking. Successful at first, by 1832 this business had also foundered as a result of a price war with the other Scottish banks and some large bad overseas debts. The Broadford factory and Shirley Manor had to be sold and he was forced into bankruptcy, thereby having to relinquish his parliamentary seat. He moved to Amiens, France, where he founded a large flax spinning mill in 1838, before he died on 6 October 1839. His funerary column in Amiens has the following inscription: 'Sacred to the Memory / of John MABERLY esquire / Formerly Member of Parliament / for the Borough of Abingdon / Born July the 14 1770 / Died at Amiens October the 6 1839.Picardie, Somme Amiens rue Saint-Maurice , 44bis plaine E Cimetière de la Madeleine - Tombeau (colonne funéraire) de John Maberly [concession Maberly-Bailey] - Références du dossier, Numéro de dossier : IA80007171, Date de l'enquête initiale : 2007, Date(s) de rédaction : 2007, 2012 - Cadre de l'étude : enquête thématique départementale le cimetière de la Madeleine His eldest son, William Leader Maberly, became Joint-Secretary of the General Post Office. He is remembered by Rue Maberly, Amiens and Maberly Street, Aberdeen.

References

External links

*
The Father of Maberly Street

Shirley Heath

Villa in Regents Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maberly, John 1770 births 1845 deaths Masters of foxhounds in England Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832