James Sanderson (mayor)
| James Sanderson | |
|---|---|
St Magnus-the-Martyr church, where Sanderson is buried
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| Born |
30 December 1741 York, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 21 June 1798 (aged 56) |
| Resting place | St Magnus-the-Martyr church in the City of London |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Politician, social reformer |
| Employer | Sanderson & Co, Southwark |
| Known for | Lord Mayor, Social reform |
| Title | Baronet of the City of London |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Judd Elizabeth Skinner |
| Parent(s) | James Sanderson |
Sir James Sanderson, 1st Baronet (30 December 1741 – 21 June 1798) was a banker, a member of parliament, an alderman and Lord Mayor of London. He also served as president of Bridewell Hospital (now a school), and was a member of William Wilberforce's Proclamation Society for the Discouragement of Vice.
After he died his widow married William Huntington S.S., an eccentric and polemical preacher who regarded himself as a prophet. Huntington used his new riches to build a £10,000 chapel.
James Sanderson was born in 1741. He was the only surviving son of James Sanderson of York. He started business buying and selling hops before becoming a banker at Mansion House Street in Southwark.
In 1785, by which time he was an alderman, he was elected Sheriff of London and knighted whilst in office. In 1792 he was elected Lord Mayor of the City of London. It was reported that this was a time:
... when the principles of the French Revolution were contaminating the minds of men, opinions which required to be counteracted by a firm, prudent, and constitutional chief magistrate.
In the same year he was one of the three men returned as Members of Parliament for the Parliamentary constituency of Malmesbury.
In 1793, Sanderson became president of Bridewell Hospital where he is acknowledged to have transformed the way it was managed. The hospital took in poor people and was a cross between a prison and a school. Later the institution's two roles were split, and in time the school became King Edward's School, Witley. Sanderson was a member of William Wilberforce's Proclamation Society, which had been founded following a 1787 royal proclamation instituted by Wilberforce via the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Proclamation for the Discouragement of Vice was intended to be a remedy for a perceived rise in immorality. Sanderson was also a member of the Philanthropic Society and the vice-president of Magdelen Hospital.
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Wikipedia