Richard Thompson

Founding Senior Warden

Richard Thompson, JP, CC (1831-1913)

Richard Thompson was born in Blackburn and went into partnership with his sons William, John and Thomas, entering the cotton trade in Padiham (Britannia and Alma Mills), Blackburn and Great Harwood. John and Thomas were born in Padiham. He also had a partnership with William Birtwistle Junior with Woodfold Mill in Darwen and Nova Scotia Mill in Blackburn added to their business in 1881. The partnership was dissolved in 1895, with William Birtwistle retaining Woodfold Mills. Richard was also a building contractor who took on large civil engineering works including both Manchester and Glasgow Waterworks and Blackburn Railway Tunnel.

That the Thompson family were building contractors is borne out by a planning application to Lancashire County Council in the names of Richard Thompson (Senior), Solomon Longworth (Richard’s half-brother*) and James Thompson for a row of cottages in Billington. Solomon Longworth, James Thompson and this Richard Thompson bought the Clerk Hill estate including much of the town of Whalley in 1871. Richard Thompson (Senior), Solomon Longworth and James Thompson in partnership, built the Judge Walmsley Mill in Billington circa 1852. This was their first cotton mill.

The name Solomon Longworth is significant because two of his sons, Arthur and Thomas were also founder members of Abbey Lodge. As an aside, Number 8 bell in Whalley Parish Church was purchased by Solomon’s daughter, Sarah Green, in memory of her father and her husband who were both Church Wardens for several years.

In 1882 Richard built Bramley Meade in the style of Italian Renaissance which was one of a number of prestigious residences built north of Whalley in the late 19th century. He was a member of the Lodge of Perseverance No. 345 which meets in Blackburn and which was consecrated in 1815. Around the time that Abbey Lodge was consecrated in 1894 the Lodge of Perseverance had around 100 members. The opportunity to form a small Lodge in quiet surroundings in association with a number of other cotton magnates must have appealed to him.

Newspaper articles from around the turn of the 20th century indicate that the Thompsons took a significant interest in the life of the community of Whalley and surrounding villages contributing both financially and in kind to numerous projects of the time. Here are three articles to provide a flavour of the Thompsons’ involvement:-

There is a portrait picture of W. Bro Richard Thompson in the Lodge Room. He was 54 when Abbey Lodge was founded and its first Senior Warden. He held the office of Past Provincial Grand Warden.

Upon his death on 3rd February 1913 the Burnley Express published this statement about him:-

“A man of iron will and strong determination, gifted with foresight and an extraordinary capacity for business, one of the first of Lancashire’s captains of industry.”

One useful online resource that mentions Richard Thompson is Billington and Whalley Web that lists Mills in Billington and Whalley.

To find out a little more about the Thompson’s backstory including family tree click here.