John Grubb Richardson

John Grubb Richardson (13 November 1813 – 1891) was an Irish linen merchant, industrialist and philanthropist who founded the model village of Bessbrook near Newry in 1845, in what is now Northern Ireland. Five years later he founded a major Atlantic steamship line that significantly improved conditions for immigrant passengers fleeing Ireland after the Great Famine. He also founded Richardson Fertilizer Limited that remained in business under its original name until 2002. and the Grubb family also came from England in 1656. John and Helena had a son, James Nicholson Richardson before she died giving birth to a daughter, named Helena. In 1853, Richardson married Jane Marion Wakefield, of Moyallon House, County Down. His estate surrounding his Bessbrook home at The Wood House and Derrymore House (now a National Trust property) is a designated historic park.

Business career

In 1830, John Grubb Richardson entered the family linen export firm, JN Richardson Sons and Owden. In 1841, one of his younger brothers, Thomas Richardson was sent to New York as agent for the family's business. In 1845, John, along with his father and older brother Jonathan, decided to manufacture linen products and purchased a burned-out mill in Bessbrook, then a small village. John, the second eldest son in the firm, was the driving force behind the manufacturing venture. Bessbrook was selected for the new business because of the availability of water power and the large amount of flax grown in the area. John expanded the site with new manufacturing buildings constructed with local Mourne granite and dedicated housing for the workforce built to a high standard for the period. In planning the community, John refused to allow a public house, pawn brokers or a police station. He famously stated that a police station was unnecessary if there were no public houses or pawn brokers. His eldest son by Helena Grubb, J. Nicholson Richardson, was Liberal Member of Parliament for Armagh. His great-nephew was Sir Joseph Barcroft, whose family home, The Glen, Newry, was purchased by Richardson for the Barcrofts.