James Astley Hall

10 July 1793 to 8 June 1867

HAL00080

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General Sir Martin Farndale KCB

Newcastle under Lyme

1793

James Astley Hall, son of Robert and Catherine (nee Eldershaw) Hall (HAL00070), was born on 10 July 1793 and baptised on 21 July 1793 at the Anglican Church of St Giles, Newcastle under Lyme (PR).

1817

James Hall married Ann Caldwell at Norton in the Moors, Staffordshire on 18 February 1817 (MR).

James Hall was a hat manufacturer, and merchant in the iron market

The most notable industry in Newcastle during the 17th and 18th centuries was the making of felt hats. As early as 1570 a hatter, Richard Norton, is met with and another in 1612, John Riggs. The existence of hatters presupposes that of feltmakers, of whom, in the 17th century, there was a considerable number as may be gathered from parish register entries. Late in the century the trade encountered difficulties because 'servants and others of inferior quality' had ceased to wear felt hats; at that time (1699) it was stated that there were numerous master hat-makers in the town who each employed nine or ten journeymen and many other persons, i.e. feltmakers, in producing the materials for hat making. Despite temporary setbacks the hat industry continued to flourish. At a borough election in 1734 out of 436 burgesses on the roll 159 were described as hatters. In the late 18th century the number of hat manufacturers totalled 27, while in 1822 out of 1,000 householders in the borough, 307 were described as hat manufacturer, feltmaker, or hatter. In the early 19th century machinery was introduced, in particular a carding machine and a blowing machine for the separation of short and coarse hairs from the wool or nap. The latter was the invention of James Astley Hall, a native of Newcastle and one of the chief hat manufacturers. Although in 1844 the chief manufacture of the town was still described as that of hats which were prepared for the finishers in London, the growing popularity of the silk hat for the upper and middle classes and of the cloth cap for industrial workers brought about a decline in the demand for felt hats. By 1850 the number of hat manufacturers in Newcastle had fallen to nine and 40 years later there were only two. By the early 20th century the local manufacture of hats had ceased. The fact that in 1836 there were three straw-hat makers and in 1851 twelve may indicate an attempt to establish an alternative, though short-lived, headgear industry of a very different kind. (A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1963, Newcastle-under-Lyme: Economic history and social life and Anon. Hist. Sketch Newcastle, 10; Newcastle Register of Electors, 1840 and 1845 (copies at Inst. of Hist. Research, London)).

He was a freeman and Mayor of Newcastle under Lyme

1824

Henry Hall (HAL00080A), their son, was baptised on 13 October 1824, but died young.

1830

James Hall donated the Guildhall clock.

"The dignified, red brick and stone Guildhall in the High Street has presided over the busy market-place for more than 200 years and provides a fitting expression of the growth of Newcastle. In the 12th century, when Newcastle was beginning to establish itself as an important trading centre, the High Street would have been one big marketplace, covered with stalls on market days. The market prospered, and in 1235 the King recognised its importance by granting the townsmen the right to form a Guild, which quickly became the real authority in the town. Later, craft guilds came into existence, and these included journeymen and apprentices as well as employers. Members of craft guilds were skilled practitioners of a variety of trades, and by the 14th century they had taken control of local government, ousting the guild merchants. In the 16th century the guilds were gradually superseded by a new administration which continued to call its meeting place a Guildhall rather than a Town Hall. This building eventually became unsuitable and the present Guildhall was built on an adjacent site shortly after 1713. The clock tower was added later, as the inscription over the portico proclaims: This clock was presented to the town by James Astley Hall, J.P., Esq., MDCCCLXI (1861). In the rapidly expanding borough this building, too, became obsolete, and local government was transferred to the much larger and elaborate Municipal Hall following its completion in 1890." (Neville Malkin 14th May 1975)

1833

Deeds relating to land and premises in Bath Street, Salters Lane and Lower Street, Newcastle under Lyme. Includes: /1 Conveyance by lease and release of hatter's shops in Bath Street, Duke of Sutherland to James Astley Hall and Henry Hall, 16 Apr 1833 … (Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service: Staffordshire County Record Office, D4452/1/27/1/2)

Hat shop in Newcastle under Lyme, circa 1910

1861

1861 Census – Ashfield House, Liverpool Street, Newcastle under Lyme

James Astley Hall, hat manufacturer, 67

Catherine Hall, 54, his sister

Two servants

1867

James Astley Hall died on 8 June 1867 and his death was registered in the second quarter of 1897 at Newcastle under Lyme (GRO, Staffordshire Vol 6B Page 44).