Sir David Radcliffe

Sir David Radcliffe (1834-1907) Mayor of Liverpool (1884-1886), was a well known businessman, magistrate and alderman in the city of Liverpool.^[1][2][3]

Sir David Radcliffe
Born	(1834-01-08)8 January 1834 Almondbury
Died	10 April 1907(1907-04-10) (aged 73) Knowsley
Burial place	Knowsley Churchyard
Occupation(s)	Engineer, businessman, magistrate and Mayor

David Radcliffe, Mayor of Liverpool, 1885 and 1886

Early life

Radcliffe was born in Almondbury, Yorkshire on 8 January 1834. He was the tenth child of eleven born to his father Amos and his mother Olive Jephson.

Career

Radcliffe trained as a plumber and intially he lived at home with his parents and was employed in an engineering business, which he later took over.^[1] By 1861 he ran a plumbing business employing 10 men and 4 boys, and by 1871 Radcliffe was running a Plumbing and Brass Foundry which employed 39 men and 13 boys.^[4] From the early 1870s he became involved in several railway companies including the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and was Chairman of Liverpool United Tramways.^[1] Radcliffe was involved in the Conservative Party and was elected to the City Council in 1877.^[1][3] He was a director of several companies including the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation and Andrew Handyside and Co.^[5]

Sir David Radcliffe, Mayor of Liverpool and his wife Lady Mary

Retirement

Radcliffe was a successful entrepreneur and retired in 1882 and focused on public service.^[3] He became a Justice of the Peace, and in 1884 was elected as an alderman of the City of Liverpool, and later that year elected as Mayor of Liverpool, and again in 1885.^[2][6][7] In 1885 he led a deputation to Osborne House, Isle of Wight and presented Princess Beatrice with a speech congratulating her on her forthcoming marriage and presented her on behalf of the Corporation of Liverpool with a wedding cake on a silver tray which had four liver birds as part of the decoration.^[8] Radcliffe instigated the 1886 Liverpool Exhibition and was chairman of the organising committee.^[9] He lived at Formby Hall, Formby when he was knighted by Queen Victoria when she opened the Liverpool Exhibition.^{[1][2][10][3]} He was reputed not to have heard Queen Victoria's first request that he should kneel at Lime Street Station in order that she could knight him.^[11] Radcliffe also started a scheme to give 1000 hot pots to 1000 poor families at Christmas.^[1] Each meal contained 7lbs of potatoes and 3 lbs of meat.^[3]

Family life

Radcliffe married Mary Elizabeth Clark, daughter of George Clark, a builder of Wootton Wawen, Warwickshire on 24 April 1860 at the Parish Church in Wooten Wawen, near Stratford upon Avon.^[1] They had 8 children; six sons and two daughters. Five sons survived to adulthood including Sir Frederick Morton Radcliffe, a lawyer who was chair of the building works for the new anglican Liverpool Cathedral and Harry Sydney Radcliffe who became Archdeacon of Lynn.

Death

Radcliffe died aged 73 at the family home, Rose Bank in Knowsley, Liverpool.^[1] He was buried at St Mary's Church, Knowlsey a few days later.^[3] He left his estate worth £65,000 to his three sons; Harry, Frederick and David.^[12] One of his grandsons, David Radcliffe was killed at Arras in the First World War, and grandson and grandfather are memorialised in a window in Liverpool Cathdedral.^[13]

Memorial window to David Radcliffe and his grandfather Sir David Radcliffe

Sir David's grave

Honours

1886- Knight Bachelor