Sir William Jackson, 1st Baronet

Sir William Jackson, 1st Baronet (28 April 1805 – 31 January 1876) was an English industrialist, Railway entrepreneur and Liberal politician.

Jackson was the 7th son of Peter Jackson of Warrington(himself a seventh son of an enterprising Middlewich businessman, James Jackson and his wife Martha Pickmore) and his wife Sarah Mather. Whilst Smiles says that Jackson was self-made, this is patently not true as his father was a very respected member of the business community of Warrington and his mother came from an old established family descended from the Mathers of Lowton. His maternal grand father was the owner of a large timber yard and brick yard and a very good friend of the founder of Parr's Bank.Peter Jackson, his father, was a surgeon, man-midwife and pharmacist who died in 1811 leaving his large family impoverished. Jackson was sent to work at an ironmongers in Ranelagh street in Birkenhead before he was twelve. There he had the chance to read and develop his own education, as well as buying up the shop when the business went bankrupt. Thwe shop was only a few doors away from the artist William Daniels. Jackson became a generous patron of art in Birkenhead and originated the associate of artists. Jackson became an African merchant trading in palm oil and made his first fortune by 1832. He played a major part in the development of Birkenhead and was one of the principal originators of the Birkenhead Docks. He was chairman of Birkenhead Improvement commissioners from 1842 to 1846 and invited Joseph Paxton to Birkenhead to design a park. Jackson's marriage to Elizabeth Hughes in 1828 was instrumental in his early fortunes as his father-in law, Thomas Hughes owned the Woodsdie Ferry and had various industrial interests in the locality. He and his older brother, John Somerville Jackson, went into partnership and gradually bought up land in and around Birkenhead. his interests in the locality led him into partnership with the celebrated Thomas Brassey, and with the financial help of Frederick Huth, the partnership of Jackson, Brassey, Peto and Betts was born.

More of an ideas man than an engineer, Jackson was the flamboyant salesman of the partnership. This created friction but made Jackson another fortune. His interests diverged to Newspapers ( he was heavily involved in the London press at one time, collieries ( he went into partnership with Robert Stephenson on his project at Claycross in Derbyshire) and heavy industry (metal and locomotives, as well as into politics.

In 1847 Jackson was elected MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme and held the seat until 1865. He then became MP for North Derbyshire until 1868. He was a parliamentary reformer and an uncompromising advocate of free trade. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire in 1852 and was created baronet of the Manor House, Birkenhead in 1869 - he had been offered a peerage but had refused it (Hansards). Jackson remained a good friend of Joseph Paxton and eventually became the sole proprietor of the Claycross Company, a company held by his family until 1966. He was once described as the ' richest commoner of England' - surprising as he only left £700, 000 in his will, but he had divested himself of many of his assets beforehand, settling estates and large sums to his large family. Jackson had ships sailing on almost every sea, and held commercial relations with nearly every country on the globe. He was in partnership with Thomas Brassey in building the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada in 1852 and was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Jackson died aged 70 and was succeeded by his son Henry Mather Jackson. His third son, Thomas Hughes Jackson, was to continue in the same enterprising spirit.

He married Elizabeth Hughes, daughter of Thomas Hughes, on 30 October 1829.