George Holt was born on the 24th of June 1790. His father, Oliver, had moved from Halifax after impressing the owner of Town Mill in Rochdale with his work ethic and skills as a woollen dyer that helped him rise to become a partner in the business before establishing his own mill and dye-works in the town. In 1807 during a visit by Oliver Holt to a Liverpool cotton broker Samuel Hope, George's father, heard that this Liverpool cotton broker needed an apprentice and soon the 17 year old George started what was to be a 5 year apprentice at Hope's office in Water Street, Liverpool. In 1812, having demonstrated similar qualities to those of his father, he became a partner in Hope's business, which would later also involve banking.
The prosperity that George enjoyed caused him for a while to enjoy the company of men who favoured sporting pastimes. However, his nonconformist background came to the fore again when he became friendly with William Durning, a wealthy Liverpool wine and spirit merchant of Upper House, Edge Lane around 1817, having rented a cottage from another member of the Durning family. On the 1st of September 1820 he married William's daughter, Emma and through the marriage George became part of a group of influential Unitarian business people. Due to his wife's influence, George became a convert to Unitarianism and the couple became active in local politics and educational and philanthropic schemes. They also collected art on a small scale. Their diary records some of their purchases, most of them made from local artists.
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| Renshaw Street Chapel |
The family worshipped at Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel which was 'the meeting house' for the network of Unitarian ship owners and merchants who frequently formed alliances by marriage, met socially, invested in one another's ventures, shared or exchanged practical skills, embarked on philanthropic (especially educational) schemes, and engaged fully in the politics of reform.
George became a successful cotton broker in his own right after ending his partnership with Samuel Hope on 30 June 1823 but maintained a keen interest in banking which he regarded as an essential for the growth of the seaport of Liverpool. He set up his own firm, George Holt & Co., which was based first next to that of Hope's on Water Street and then on Chapel Street. He returned to Water Street in 1834 to occupy newly built premises that he had financed which he named India Building in celebration of the ending of the East India Company's monopoly on trade in the Far East. In 1931 he founded, with others, the Bank of Liverpool also located on Water Street. He was also involved in founding the Liverpool, Fire and Life Insurance Company in 1836 that was intended to provide cheaper insurance for the handling and storage of merchants' goods. By 1837, he had capital of £76,000, including £26,000 in his business, £28,000 in India Building, and £7,800 in railway investments.
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| India Building |
He also helped establish the Necropolis Cemetery in 1825 and became a member of the Town Council in 1835, retaining that position until his retirement in 1856. A member of the Dock Committee and Chairman of the Sub-committee of Works, in addition, he had a long-term involvement with the city's docks and water committees and was president of the newly formed Liverpool Cotton Brokers Association in 1842. George also founded Blackburne House in the city, as a school for girls, in 1844.
George Holt died on the 16th of February 1861 and his wife, who was born on the 20th of February 1802, died on 7 July 1871. Three of their five sons became noted shipowners and merchants; Alfred, Philip and George Jnr. Their youngest son, Robert Durning Holt who worked in his father's cotton-broking business became Mayor of Liverpool.while another, Oliver, died in childhood. There were also two daughters, Anne, born in 1821 and Emma Jane, who also died in childhood in 1842.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/04/a-liverpool-exemplar-jane-brandreth-holt.html
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