Joseph Ashby Gillett
Joseph Ashby Gillett | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1795-09-04 Brailes, Warwickshire, England |
| Died | 1853 |
| Occupation(s) | Industrialist, textile producer, banker |
| Known for | Plush textile manufacturing, banking in Banbury |
Joseph Ashby Gillett (1795–1853) was a prominent English industrialist, textile producer, and banker operating out of Banbury.
Background and early life
Gillett was born on 4 September 1795 in Brailes, Warwickshire, as the eldest child of William Gillett and Martha Ashby. He received his education at Ackworth School and completed an apprenticeship in Leicester before entering the family business specializing in plush textiles.
By 1821, Gillett was employed in Shipston at the Stratford-upon-Avon banking firm owned by John Whitehead, Jeffery Bevington Lowe, and others; this partnership ended in 1824. Simultaneously, he maintained involvement in the plush manufacturing industry. Early on, he also served as an agent for Cobb's Bank (also known as Banbury Old Bank, T. R. Cobb & Co.).
In 1823, Gillett moved to Banbury and became a partner in the Banbury New Bank together with his brother-in-law Joseph Gibbins and Henry Tawney.
Textile manufacturer
Operating from Neithrop, near Banbury in Oxfordshire, Gillett produced textiles including shalloon and shag, concentrating on worsted and plush fabrics. Their plush—sometimes referred to as Utrecht velvet—was characterized by a longer, less compact nap and was woven from worsted warp with silk or hair weft, or solely from one of these materials. During the late 1830s, plush production in Banbury relied mainly on handloom techniques, with Gilletts among the three leading local manufacturers. According to the Dictionary of Needlework (1882), Banbury plush was recognized as a warm and durable upholstery fabric; however, by mid-century the industry was experiencing decline.
In the mid-1830s, Gillett formed a partnership with Robert Lees, who managed a London office responsible for pattern sourcing. They marketed coloured tablecloths printed in France and gained recognition for printing on mohair. Subsequently, Gillett & Lees implemented Henry Bessemer's pioneering technique to produce "imitation Utrecht velvet," an embossed velvet upholstery fabric intended to substitute French imports. Bessemer described Utrecht velvet as a coarse worsted material and developed a stamping method to replicate "Genoa velvet on a satin ground." The company supplied embossed textiles to the House of Lords. While this innovation achieved some success, it only delayed the eventual downturn of Banbury’s plush industry. In 1842, tensions escalated into a significant weavers' protest outside Gillett's home.
Interests
During the 1830s, Gillett constructed 21 cottages aimed at working-class residents in central Banbury; these properties were sold following his passing. Coming from a Quaker heritage, Joseph Gillett served as secretary to the Banbury Monthly Meeting and was appointed a Quaker minister in 1841.
Gillett's Bank of Banbury and Oxford, 1825–1919
The bank that Joseph Gillett joined in 1825 originated in 1784 under the name Bignell, Heydon & Watt. After its acquisition by Richard and Charles Tawney in 1819, it operated as R & C Tawney until 1825 when it transitioned to Gillett & Tawney, commonly referred to as the Banbury Bank. Partners included Henry Tawney and Joseph Gibbins, who financed the bank’s 1822 purchase from the Tawneys amid difficulties caused by the Post-Napoleonic Depression.
Initially, the bank encountered challenges such as losing customers to the Banbury Old Bank and incurring substantial losses due to William Holbech JP, a key local landowner. During the Panic of 1825, it temporarily halted payments to prevent collapse but resumed operations within several weeks.
William Gillett (1797–1857), Joseph’s younger brother, was involved as a partner before departing in 1831. Henry Tawney also engaged in banking partnerships in Northampton alongside William Watkins and William Gillett; however, efforts to integrate the Banbury bank as a branch were unsuccessful. The commercial downturn of the 1840s adversely affected Banbury’s textile trade; J. E. & J. Gillett—the family’s plush manufacturing firm—was among the bank’s largest debtors. With support from Joseph Gibbins, the bank endured through the Panic of 1847.
In 1853, Joseph Ashby Gillett’s son Charles became a partner and later served as chairman of what became known as Gilletts Bank. The bank was ultimately acquired by Barclays Bank in 1919.
Gillett Brothers & Co, 1867–1983
Established in 1867 by Alfred and George Gillett, sons of Joseph Ashby Gillett, Gillett Brothers & Co. operated from 72 Lombard Street, London. In 1983, the firm combined forces with Jessel Toynbee, creating Jessel, Toynbee & Gillett, which was later taken over by the financial intermediary Mercantile House.
Family
In 1821, Gillett wed Martha Gibbins (1798–1882), a member of a Quaker family from Birmingham and sister to the banker Joseph Gibbins, junior. Together, they had six children, among them:
- Martha (1823–1895), a Quaker minister who married Joseph Bevan Braithwaite in 1851. Their offspring included Joseph Bevan Braithwaite the younger and William Charles Braithwaite, who became a partner in Gilletts Bank starting in 1896. A biography penned by their daughter Elizabeth Braithwaite Emmott appeared in 1896.
- Joseph Gillett, the eldest son, who remained unmarried.
- Charles Gillett (1830–1895), who married Gertrude Mary Tregelles; they had eleven children—four sons and seven daughters:
- Charles Edwin Gillett (1861–1919), married Mary Caroline Howitt.
- Joseph Ashby Gillett II (1867–1942), married Sarah Beatrice Lowe.
- Henry Tregelles Gillett MD (1870–1955), married Lucy Bancroft; he was active in community affairs in Tumble, Carmarthenshire and served as a Liberal councillor endorsing Labour policies in Oxford.
- Edward Gillett (born 1872), married Edith Martha Arnold.
- Gertrude Martha (died 1928), married surgeon Gabriel Sukias Dobrashian; their daughter Gertrude Margaret Dobrashian gained recognition as a physician.
- Mary Catherine, married banker John Padbury Gillett.
- Richenda, married Joseph Rowntree Gillett; their daughter Margaret wed Stephen Hubert Murray.
- Sarah Mabel, married Malcolm Warner of metal brokers French & Smith; Warner collaborated on rehabilitation projects with Peter Scott.
- Alfred Gillett (1834–1894), who married Frederica Isabella Augusta Lort Phillips.
- George Gillett (1837–1893), wedded Hannah Elizabeth Rowntree, daughter of Joseph Rowntree. A founding partner of the Lombard Street bank in 1867, he departed from the partnership in 1893. Their children included MP George Masterman Gillett and Joseph Rowntree Gillett.
- William Gillett (1839–1925), who died unmarried and was a co-founder of the Bachelors' Club in London in 1881.
This genealogy underscores the family's prominent engagement in banking, financial services, and progressive social initiatives throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.