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James Hibbert 1831-1905

James Hibbert was a prominent man of the nineteenth century, through whose efforts New Mills got its town hall, free library and secondary school. He was one of several children of surgeon John Hibbert. At the age of 15 James went to Dr Ebenezer Adamson’s school in Hayfield. In 1850 he started work as an under clerk in Manchester. In 1871 he was a representative and manager of the Baxenden Turkey Red Dyeing and Printing Company.

In his twenties James was involved with his friend Edward Godward in the founding of the Mechanics Institute, and he helped raise funds to build the public hall. It was opened in 1871 by the Duke of Devonshire, with whom James carried out regular correspondence. In 1871 James became a Justice of the Peace and like his father before him, campaigned for New Mills to have its own ’lock up’.

 In 1896, he gave five hundred pounds towards the library extension in the town hall and when it opened in 1900 he was given the first borrowers card. He was generous in other ways; despite being a non conformist, in 1898 he gave a peal of six bells to St George’s church and three years later made it an octave..

James married Elizabeth Yates, the widow of Charles Yates a well known calico printer of Rock Mill. They lived at Fern Bank on what is now White Road. Elizabeth had entertained Richard Cobden during the Free Trade agitation's in 1862 during the cotton famine. They had no children and when Elizabeth died in 1881 James was left a widower for the next 20 years, until in 1903 he married his house keeper Ann Grimstone.

 In the early 1870’s, he promoted the formation of a local board for New Mills and was its second chairman. In 1901, at the annual meeting of the school board, where he presented the prizes, he is reported to have said he wanted ˜the people of New Mills to take a greater interest in the educational concerns of the locality”. That same year, to celebrate James 70th birthday and to honour his services to New Mills, he was presented with his portrait by the council, this was hung in the Town Hall.

James left us a collection of six leather bound volumes of newspaper cuttings, clippings, pamphlets, letters and many notes in his own hand, the whole of which may prove important to the reader in years to come