Sir Joshua Walmsley (1794–1871) was an English businessman and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

politician. Joshua Walmsley

Life

The son of John Walmsley, an architect, builder and marble mason, he was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

on 29 September 1794, and educated at Knowsley,

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 ...

, and

Eden Hall Eden Hall is a historic plantation house located near McCormick in McCormick County, South Carolina. It was built about 1854, and is a large -story, white frame Greek Revival style dwelling. It sits on a high brick foundation and features a ...

, Westmorland. On the death of his father in 1807, Walmsley became a teacher in Eden Hall school, and after returning to Liverpool in 1811, he took a teaching position in Mr. Knowles's school. He entered the service of a corn merchant in 1814, and at the end of this engagement went into the same business himself. He was an early advocate of the repeal of the duty on corn, and was afterwards an active worker with

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a y ...

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

, and others in the

Anti-Cornlaw League The Anti-Corn Law League was a successful political movement in Great Britain aimed at the abolition of the unpopular Corn Laws, which protected landowners’ interests by levying taxes on imported wheat, thus raising the price of bread at a time ...

. In 1826 he took the presidency of the Liverpool Mechanics' Institution. At about the same time Walmsley got to know

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst f ...

, in whose railway schemes he was interested, and with whom he joined in purchasing the Snibstone estate, near

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordsh ...

, where rich seams of coal were found. He was elected a member of the Liverpool town council in 1835, and worked to improve the police, sanitation and education of the city. He was one of the 49 founder members of the historic Liverpool Chess Club in 1837 which was situated in the Lyceum building on Bold Street. Liverpool Chess Club - A short sketch of the club since its first meeting 1837 - JS Edgar He was appointed Mayor in November 1838, and knighted on the occasion of

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's marriage. With

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

, Walmsley unsuccessfully contested Liverpool in the Liberal interest in June 1841. He retired to Ranton Abbey, Staffordshire, in 1843, and at the general election of 1847 was elected M.P. for Leicester, but was unseated on petition. He started the National Reform Association about this time, and was its president and chief organiser for many years. In 1849 he was returned as M.P. for

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 ...

, but in 1852 exchanged that seat for Leicester, where his efforts on behalf of the framework knitters had made him popular. He lost his seat in 1857, and practically retired from public life, although he retained the presidency of the National Sunday League from 1856 to 1869. He died on 17 November 1871 at Hume Towers, his residence at

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

, leaving issue, of whom H. M. Walmsley wrote ''The Life of Sir Joshua Walmsley'' (London 1879). He was interred at All Saints Church, Edge Hill,

. His wife, whom he married in 1815, née Adeline Mulleneux, survived him by two years. Walmsley tomb, St Mary's Edge Hill 2

Footnotes

References

* ;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walmsley, Joshua 1794 births 1871 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Walmsley family People from Knowsley, Merseyside People of the Industrial Revolution UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 19th-century English businesspeople