Hill, John, JP and Alderman

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Watercolour portrait by John Sowden of Alderman John Hill, JP, Manufacturer.

from John Sowden's notebooks:

"Mr Hill was the son of Thomas Hill, slater(?) of Thornton and was born in 1829. The family removed to Bradford in 1845 when John Hill began factory work at 13 years of age – hours, 6 am to 7:30 pm. His spare time he gave to self education, and working his way up gradually, began business as a manufacturer in 1858 and when he was 29 years of age in partnership with Mr James Gourlay(?). Nine years afterwards in 1867, Mr Hill built his own establishment, Apsley Mills.

Good trade following, the next six or seven years were very successful.

Mr Hill was a pronounced liberal and a Congregationalist. He was from early life connected with the Salem Chapel Sunday Schools and was a deacon of the church. He was district treasurer of the Yorkshire Congregational Union and was much interested in Bradford Town Missions(?). He was a lay pastor of the Denholme Independent Chapel. In course of time he became familiarly known as the “Bishop of Denholme” where he was the means of securing the direction of a new Sunday School.

He was first elected to the Bradford Town Council in 1870 as a representative of the West Ward and continued member till 1877 when he was elected an Alderman and at each recurring period he secured the position till 1895 when he was “sacrificed” after 20 years service today exigences of the compact entered into by the Tory and Labour members of the Council.

Whilst in the Council he was chairman of the Building and Improvement Committee as well as Chairman of the Finances & General Purposes Committee. He was also of the conversion scheme which affected a large annual saving in the city's finances. Mr Hill was elected Mayor in 1881 and during his Mayoralty the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Bradford to open the Technical College. Mr Hill was made Justice of the Peace during his Mayoralty and was a member of the Bradford School Board. He married a daughter of Mr George(?) Rawson, cotton spinner, by whom he had three sons and two daughters. He died in 1909."

Year

1889

Creator

John Sowden

Image filename

sowden-91