James
Kay
was born
in Rochdale on 20th July, 1804. At the age of twenty-one he entered
Edinburgh University to study medicine.
While he student he worked with local doctors during a typhus epidemic.
Kay also studied in Dublin before becoming
a physician in Manchester.
Kay developed progressive political opinions and supported the repeal
of the Corn Laws and became involved in the
campaign that resulted in the 1832 Reform Act.
In 1832 Kay developed a reputation as a dedicated doctor during a
serious outbreak of cholera in the city. Kay was mainly involved in
treating people living in slum areas and as a result of his experiences
wrote the influential book, The
Moral and Physical Condition of the Working Classes Employed in the
Cotton Manufacture in Manchester.
Largely as a result of this book, it was decided to adopt a series
of measures to improve sanitation in Manchester.
After the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment
Act, Kay became a Poor Law Commissioner, working first in Norfolk
and Suffolk and later in Middlesex and Surrey.
Kay was a strong advocate of universal schooling and in 1839 was appointed
as secretary to the committee of the privy council on education. In
this post Kay was given responsibility for establishing a system of
government inspection of schools. With the help of his friend, E.
Carleton Tufnell,
Kay founded St. John's in Battersea, the country's first training
college for teachers.
In 1842 Kay married Janet
Shuttleworth, daughter and heiress of Robert Shuttleworth of Gawthorpe
Hall, near Burnley in Lancashire. After his marriage he adopted the
name Kay-Suttleworth.
John
Kay-Shuttleworth
wrote a large number of books and pamphlets on social reform including
Public
Education
(1853), Four
Periods of Public Education
(1862) and Thoughts
and Suggestions on Social Problems
(1873). He also had two novels published: Scarsdale
(1860) and Ribblesdale
(1874).
Kay-Shuttleworth was one of the leaders of the Liberal
Party in Lancashire and in the 1874 General
Election failed in his attempts to become the North-East
Lancashire
representative in the House of Commons.
James
Kay-Shuttleworth
died on 26th May 1877.
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