John Kennedy (manufacturer)
Encyclopedia
John Kennedy was a Scottish-born textile industrialist in Manchester.
John Kennedy was born in 1769 in Knocknalling, Kirkcudbrightshire
, Scotland. In 1784 he moved to Chowbent, near Leigh in Lancashire, to be apprenticed to William Cannan, the son of a neighbour of the Kennedys. His training covered the manufacture of textile machinery including carding engines, jennies, and water frames. On the completion of his apprenticeship in 1791, he moved to Manchester and went into a long-lasting partnership with James McConnel, a nephew and former apprentice of Cannan, to manufacture textile machinery and undertake cotton spinning. Benjamin and William Sandford provided the financial backing. Kennedy was a skilled and inventive engineer and is credited with devising a crucial improvement to fine spinning machinery, called double speed, which enabled much finer thread to be manufactured.
In 1795 McConnel and Kennedy, now financially independent, moved to a new factory in the same Canal Street, where they remained for six or seven years. Initially the firm made cotton-spinning machinery for sale, but this part of the business ended around 1800. Then they built the first of their three spinning mills in Union Street (now Redhill Street) in Ancoats, Manchester which formed the basis of Kennedy's working life for the next thirty years. The Sedgewick Mill was eight stories high and the largest cast iron framed building in the world. The spinning of yarn, the most profitable activity in the cotton trade, became the company's sole activity and it became the largest such business in Manchester, concentrating on producing the highest quality yarn.
Kennedy spent much of his later life pursuing his technical and mechanical interests. He was consulted about the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
, for which he was a leading advocate. He was also appointed a judge, together with the steam engineers John Urpeth Rastrick
, a locomotive engineer of Stourbridge and Nicholas Wood
, a mining engineer from Killingworth, at the Rainhill locomotive trials
in 1829. He was an active member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
and had four papers published in the transactions of the society on various industrial and social issues.
He died in 1855 at Ardwick Hall, Manchester and was buried at the nearby Rusholme Road cemetery. He was succeeded by several children, including barrister John L Kennedy.
John Kennedy was born in 1769 in Knocknalling, Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire was a county of south-western Scotland. It was also known as East Galloway, forming the larger Galloway region with Wigtownshire....
, Scotland. In 1784 he moved to Chowbent, near Leigh in Lancashire, to be apprenticed to William Cannan, the son of a neighbour of the Kennedys. His training covered the manufacture of textile machinery including carding engines, jennies, and water frames. On the completion of his apprenticeship in 1791, he moved to Manchester and went into a long-lasting partnership with James McConnel, a nephew and former apprentice of Cannan, to manufacture textile machinery and undertake cotton spinning. Benjamin and William Sandford provided the financial backing. Kennedy was a skilled and inventive engineer and is credited with devising a crucial improvement to fine spinning machinery, called double speed, which enabled much finer thread to be manufactured.
In 1795 McConnel and Kennedy, now financially independent, moved to a new factory in the same Canal Street, where they remained for six or seven years. Initially the firm made cotton-spinning machinery for sale, but this part of the business ended around 1800. Then they built the first of their three spinning mills in Union Street (now Redhill Street) in Ancoats, Manchester which formed the basis of Kennedy's working life for the next thirty years. The Sedgewick Mill was eight stories high and the largest cast iron framed building in the world. The spinning of yarn, the most profitable activity in the cotton trade, became the company's sole activity and it became the largest such business in Manchester, concentrating on producing the highest quality yarn.
Kennedy spent much of his later life pursuing his technical and mechanical interests. He was consulted about the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
, for which he was a leading advocate. He was also appointed a judge, together with the steam engineers John Urpeth Rastrick
John Urpeth Rastrick
John Urpeth Rastrick was one of the first English steam locomotive builders. In partnership with James Foster, he formed Foster, Rastrick and Company, the locomotive construction company that built the Stourbridge Lion in 1829 for export to the Delaware and Hudson Railroad in America.-Early...
, a locomotive engineer of Stourbridge and Nicholas Wood
Nicholas Wood
Nicholas Wood was an English colliery and steam locomotive engineer. He helped engineer and design many steps forward in both engineering and mining safety, and helped bring about the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, holding the position of President from its...
, a mining engineer from Killingworth, at the Rainhill locomotive trials
Rainhill Trials
The Rainhill Trials were an important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways, run in October 1829 in Rainhill, Lancashire for the nearly completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway....
in 1829. He was an active member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, popularly known as the Lit & Phil, is a learned society in Manchester, England.Established in 1781 as the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, by Thomas Percival, Thomas Barnes and Thomas Henry, other prominent members have included...
and had four papers published in the transactions of the society on various industrial and social issues.
He died in 1855 at Ardwick Hall, Manchester and was buried at the nearby Rusholme Road cemetery. He was succeeded by several children, including barrister John L Kennedy.