John Peele Clapham

John Peele Clapham (7 July 1801 – 19 November 1875), from Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, was a justice of the peace for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and treasurer for the county courts of Yorkshire.

Although he abandoned a medical career in the 1820s, "lost a fortune" in 1842 and "in bodily health he was never strong," he was a philanthropist who commissioned, subscribed to or supported various religious buildings and causes in his lifetime. Among other achievements he edited the Sunday School Union Hymn Book in 1833, commissioned the building of Salem Chapel on his land in 1839–1840 and led the building committee of West Park Congregational Church, Harrogate in 1861–1862. The hymn book "passed through many editions, and ... had a very large circulation." was "one of the earliest Friends, a steady and liberal supporter of the Bible, Missionary and Religious Tract societies," and treasurer of the Leeds Infirmary. John Clapham and his eldest son William Clapham (22 February 1775 – 12 October 1810), known for their "uprightness and integrity," were cloth merchants working from Hunslet Lane, Leeds, England. was born in Hunslet Lane, Leeds, daughter of Leeds magistrate and merchant John Clapham, at St Peter's Church, Leeds, on 11 April 1827, William Henry (25 February 1833 – 19 August 1906) John Arthur (6 February 1835 – 28 December 1911), Anne (b.ca.1844), Frederick (ca.1846 – 14 May 1855), and Martha Clapham (b.ca.1848). When Mary Ann became ill in 1866, the couple moved to St Leonards-on-Sea, but came north again to the large villa of Brookside, Otley, where they both spent their last days. "In bodily health he was never strong; but by an active life and temperate living he survived the three score and ten." He had responsibility for the finances of 17 county courts, including Sheffield, York and Wakefield.

Public life Clapham was "one of the first aldermen and magistrates under the reformed municipal corporation." He was not a great public speaker, but "his cultivated mind and sound judgement more than compensated for any deficiency." He was "respected and trusted," and a "conscientious and honest worker." He took a "deep interest" in his work with the religious education of children. He was instrumental in the establishment of Sunday schools in the area, and he edited a compilation of hymns for children. he rented Burley Hall in Burley in Wharfedale from 1834, and commissioned Burley Grange in 1840 in the same village, where he lived between 1841 and 1849. Between 1849 and 1859 he was living in Hanover Street, Leeds, to be nearer his place of work as county court treasurer.

Sunday schools in Leeds, before 1835 Clapham founded several Sunday schools for the children of mechanics in Leeds. started a rival ecumenical Sunday school in Back Lane. Clapham later built the schoolroom close to the Salem chapel to replace his earlier one. The new one was commissioned by Claphem and completed in 1840, and closed again in 2006. Alan Hayes of Business Support and Development purchased Burley Grange in January 2009 with the intention of reopening it in the following August as a centre for business and education.

Salem Chapel, manse and Sunday schoolroom, Burley in Wharfedale, 1839–1840 This Dissenter chapel, manse and schoolroom, designed for £1,500 by James Pigott Pritchett of York, was commissioned by Clapham on part of the plot on Main Street, Burley in Wharfedale, where he was building Burley Grange. The building is now in use as a United Reformed church.

West Park Congregational Church, Harrogate, 1862

Clapham chaired the 1861–1862 building committee of West Park Congregational Church (Now West Park URC), Harrogate.

Ilkley Hospital, Ilkley, 1862 This building in Ilkley, West Riding of Yorkshire, had its origins in Ilkley Bath Charity, then in 1862 became Ilkley Hospital designed by Perkin and Backhouse, as part of the Hydro movement which involved health-giving spa baths. Clapham was one of the founders of this charity and building; he was a subscriber to the charity from 1842. As of 2020 the building was in use as Abbeyfield Grove House Care Home.

Nonconformist chapel at Grove Road Cemetery, Harrogate, 1863 The 4.5-acre site for Grove Road Cemetery, Harrogate, was purchased in 1862. It once had two chapels with spires, designed by Thomas Charles Sorby (1836–1924) of London, at a cost of £5,000. Clapham laid the foundation stone for the non-denominational chapel on 23 May 1863. One of the ministers who spoke at the ceremony was Rev. John Henry Gavin, the first minister of West Park Congregational Church, Harrogate. Gavin was to be buried there himself at age 38 in 1868. Having processed from the National School to the cemetery with interested parties including eleven clergymen and various Burial Board members, the Bishop of Ripon consecrated the episcopalian half of the cemetery and the Anglican chapel on 23 April 1864. Although the chapels formed an "attractive feature in the landscape," they were both demolished in 1958 to create more burial space.