Joseph Frederick Ledsam (16 April 1791 - 28 December 1862) was a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Warwick,

High Sheriff of Worcestershire This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire. The High Sheriff, Sheriff is the oldest Secularity, secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but ove ...

(1848-1849) and deputy chairman of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

(1849-1862).

Background

He was born on 16 April 1791 in Birmingham, the son of Joseph Moreton Ledsam (1767-1816) and Mary Bullock. He married Elizabeth Ann Ashton Goddington on 4 December 1817 in St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Aston. They had nine children: Frederick Goddington; Joseph; Mary Elizabeth; Frederick George; Anne Julia; Thomas Moreton; William; Emily Agnes; and James Goddington Ledsam.

Career

He had an involvement in railways from an early stage, and became a director and deputy chairman of the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

. He was also chairman of the Warwick and Leamington Union Railway. In 1846 it was reported that he had invested £186,000 () in railway speculation. In 1848 he was chairman of the

Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway The Stour Valley Line is the present-day name given to the railway line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, in England. It was authorised as the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway in 1836; the title was often shortened to the ...

. In 1849 he succeeded Charles Lawrence as deputy chairman of the London and North Western Railway. He was also involved in other commercial undertakings holding the position of director of the

Birmingham Banking Company The Birmingham Banking Company was a bank that operated in Birmingham, West Midlands from 1829 to 1889, and as The Metropolitan and Birmingham Bank from 1889 to 1892, the Metropolitan, Birmingham and South Wales Bank from 1892 to 1893, and the M ...

and the Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Light Company. He acted in a philanthropic context being a governor of King Edward VI School, Birmingham and chairman of the

Birmingham Triennial Music Festival The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784, was the longest-running European classical music, classical music festival of its kind. It last took place in 1912. History The first music festival, over th ...

. He was a significant contributor to the cost of building St Mary's Church in

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harbor ...

, a district of Birmingham here he had major land holdings, including

Weoley Castle Weoley Castle is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is part of the Weoley local authority electoral ward, and also comes under the Northfield local council constituency. The suburb of Weoley Castle is ...

. He died on 28 December 1862 and was buried on 3 January 1863 in Christ Church, Birmingham. His will was proved on 23 February 1863 and his estate was valued at under £60,000.

Recognition

There is a street named after Ledsam in

Ladywood Ladywood is an inner-city district next to central Birmingham. Historically in Warwickshire, in June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a citywide "Ward Boundary Revision" to round-up the 39 Birmingham wards to 40. As a result of this, La ...

, Birmingham, as was another in

Wolverton Wolverton ( ) is a constituent town of Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban ar ...

, since demolished.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledsam, Joseph Frederick 1791 births 1862 deaths High sheriffs of Worcestershire Businesspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands Directors of the London and North Western Railway Deputy lieutenants of Warwickshire English justices of the peace