DIXON, John (1785-1857), of the Knells, near Carlisle, Cumberland

Dixon, who ‘had great claims on the Carlisle constituency’, was the eldest son of Peter Dixon, who in 1809 took over the lease at Longthwaite cotton mill near Carlisle, and thereafter built up one of Cumberland’s dominant manufacturing firms.1R.S. Ferguson, Cumberland and Westmoreland MPs from the Restoration to the Reform Bill of 1867 (1871), 348-49. Following an apprenticeship under the direction of his uncle George Ferguson, one of the original owners of Longthwaite mill, Dixon, along with his two younger brothers, became a partner in Peter Dixon and Sons. In 1832 he succeeded his father as head of the firm, and two years later began the process of buying up weaving shops and houses in Duke Street, Carlisle, to let to his workforce.2J. Godwin, ‘Duke Street, Carlisle, a street of handloom weavers’, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 88 (1985), 227. In 1836 the firm opened its immense cotton mill in Shaddongate, Carlisle, with its 300 foot chimney (the eighth tallest in the world) dominating the city’s skyline. At its peak in the late 1840s the firm employed over 8,000 weavers in the north of England, the south of Scotland and the north of Ireland.3F.C. Lawley, Life and times of “the Druid”: Henry Hall Dixon (1895), 41. As a director of the Newcastle and Carlisle railway and the Carlisle canal company, Dixon also took a leading role in connecting the east and west coasts of England and in opening up the transport of cheap coal to Carlisle.4Ibid., 40. A zealous advocate of free trade, he was a member of the council of the Anti-Corn Law League, playing a prominent role in their public agitations, and served two consecutive terms as mayor of Carlisle.5Ferguson, Cumberland and Westmoreland MPs, 348-49; The letters of Richard Cobden, 1848-1853, ed. A. Howe (2010), 13.

At the 1847 general election Dixon came forward as a Liberal for Carlisle. As a prominent manufacturer, he was reported to have ‘many warm supporters’ and following a closely fought contest in which he professed his unwavering support for the established church, he was returned at the top of the poll.6Morning Post, 13 July 1847; Standard, 27 July 1847. However, a petition was launched against his return, 7 Dec. 1847, on account of the Blenkinsop coal company, in which he was a partner, holding a contract with the board of ordnance. Dixon did not contest the charge and his election was subsequently declared void, 6 Mar. 1848.7PP 1847-48 (156), x. 567-9. In his brief tenure as MP for Carlisle he followed Lord John Russell into the division lobby, but made no known speeches.

Dixon subsequently cleared himself of his government contracts and offered again for Carlisle at the double by-election of March 1848, but his candidature was undermined by internecine struggles within local Liberalism, and following a bitter campaign he was defeated in third place.8Liverpool Mercury, 14 Mar. 1848. At the 1852 general election, his opposition to the Russell ministry’s ecclesiastical titles bill was reported to have induced the leaders of the Carlisle Liberal party to ignore his claims on the constituency.9Ferguson, Cumberland and Westmoreland MPs, 274-5. Thereafter he devoted his energies to his commercial interests, though the installation of power looms in his Carlisle factories caused significant unemployment amongst the local handloom weavers, which damaged his local standing.10Godwin, ‘Duke Street, Carlisle’, 229.

In March 1853 his extensive mansion at the Knells, near Carlisle, was burnt to the ground, with Dixon escaping in his night dress. Although most of the furniture was saved, jewellery, plate and other valuables were entirely destroyed, with losses estimated at between £10,000 and £14,000.11Morning Post, 29 Mar. 1853. Dixon died at his rebuilt home at the Knells in May 1857. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son Peter James, who along with his brother Robert Sturdy, took over the management of Peter Dixon and Sons. In 1872 the firm, which had been heavily reliant on supplying gingham to clothe the now emancipated slaves in the United States, went bankrupt with debts of £66,500.12D.J.W. Mawson, ‘Longthwaite cotton mill’, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 79 (1976), 161-8.