Samuel Courtauld (industrialist)

Samuel Courtauld (1793 – 22 March 1881) was an English industrialist who developed his family firm, Courtaulds, to become one of the leading names in the textile business in Britain.

Samuel Courtauld was the eldest son of George Courtauld, founder of George Courtauld and Co. The Courtauld family were descendants of Huguenot refugees who had settled in London and developed, over several generations, a highly regarded business as metalsmiths, working in both silver and gold.

Courtauld's father, a younger son, had made two innovations to the tradition. Firstly, George Courtauld founded a business in textiles rather than silverware and as this business is still a leading concern to this day, it is with textiles that most people associate the family. However, in the 18th century the family was as renowned for its silverware, as it would be in the 19th century for its silk and crepe and in the 20th century for its man-made textiles. The second change to tradition was that George Courtauld, baptised in the French Protestant church of the London Huguenots, would become a keen Unitarian. Samuel Courtauld would follow his father in both regards.

Samuel Courtauld adopted Louisa Ruth Lowe (née Harris) after her mother died of puerpural fever some eleven days after her birth. When he died in 1881, she inherited his Essex estate of Gosfield Hall and much of his fortune.

The Courtauld textile business was founded in 1794 in Pebmarsh in Essex. The business was originally "throwsters", that is producers of yarn, but later specialized in weaving as in silk and crepe fabrics. George Courtauld and his cousin Peter Taylor (1790-1850) developed the business over two decades, but faced difficulties in the lean years following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, when competition from the Continent was restored. In 1816, the father decided to retire from the business and hand over his share of the business to his son; it was to be the making of the firm.

After a couple of years getting to grips with the business and bringing it back to profitability, the new manager felt sufficiently confident to embark on a major programme of expansion and innovation. In 1818, Samuel Courtauld built two further mills, at Halstead and at Bocking. At the end of 1824 the Halstead Mill was sold to Stephen Beuzeville. In 1825, Samuel. installed a steam engine at the Bocking mill. An agreement dated 19 January 1825 was drawn up between Beuzeville and Samuel Courtauld and his partners for the conversion of the Halstead mill for silk throwing. Beuzeville was to provide the expertise, capital, and supply the silk; Courtauld was to erect the machinery power looms and operate the mill in return for a share in the profits; Beuzeville was to take delivery of the yarn and manufacture the crepe for which he was a technical expert of 20 years experience. The mill appears to have been in operation by the summer of 1825, with Joseph Ash as manager.

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