John Candlish

John Candlish
The statue of John Candlish in Mowbray Park, Sunderland
Member of Parliament for Sunderland
In office 1866–1874
Preceded by	Henry Fenwick
Succeeded by	Sir Henry Havelock-Allan, Bt
Personal details
Born	1815 Tarset, Northumberland, England
Died	17 March 1874(1874-03-17) Cannes, France
Political party	Liberal
Occupation	Glass bottle manufacturer
Religion	Baptist

John Candlish (bapt. 28 April 1816 – 17 March 1874) was a British glass bottle manufacturer and Liberal Party politician.

Candlish was born in Tarset, Northumberland, the eldest son of John Candlish, a farmer, and his wife, Mary, née Robson. On the death of his wife in 1820, Candlish senior moved the family to Sunderland where the latter found work at Ayres Quay bottleworks, managed by his brother, Robert.

Candlish was educated at local Dissenter schools and then at an academy in North Shields before returning to Sunderland, aged eleven, to work in the bottleworks. Aged fourteen, his uncle secured him an apprenticeship as a draper and he began to study the French language and joined a debating society.

In 1836, Candlish's commercial career began when he became a partner in a drapery business. He purchased the newspaper, Sunderland Beacon that year, but it failed within six months. Other short-lived ventures followed into coal exporting and shipbuilding in 1844. His yard at Southwick was said to have produced "fine ships" but made little profit. In 1851, he returned to publishing by founding Sunderland News and was a secretary at the Sunderland Gas Company.

A turning point came to Candlish's career in 1855 when he acquired the lease of Seaham Bottle Works at Seaham harbour with his childhood friend, Robert Greenwell. He later bought out his partner and patronage was given by nearby resident Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry and the works renamed Londonderry Bottle Works, becoming the largest bottling business in Europe. Candlish purchased a site at Diamond Hall in Millfield and by 1872, had six glasshouses at Seaham and four at Diamond Hall.

In 1848, Candlish had been elected to Sunderland Borough Council and was mayor of the town in 1858 and 1861 and held other public offices as a river commissioner, magistrate, Chairman of the Board of Guardians and principal of the Orphan Asylum.