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Peter Taylor, the son of William Taylor and Catherine Courtauld, was born in 1790. As a young man he worked as a clerk in the family tin and hardware form of Jones, Taylor & Co.
In 1817 Taylor borrowed money from his brother-in-law, William Bromley, and invested it in George Courtauld & Co, a company owned by his cousin, George Courtauld. The following year, George left for America and his son, Samuel Courtauld, joined Taylor in expanding the business. Over the next few years Courtauld & Taylor purchased steam-engines and power-looms for its mills in Braintree, Halstead and Bocking.
Taylor was a Unitarian, who favoured social reform. In 1842 he joined with Colonel Perronet Thompson, John Bright and Richard Cobden in forming the Anti-Corn Law League . For a while was chairman of the organisation as well as the leader of the Metropolitan Anti-Corn Law Association. His business partner, Samuel Courtauld, was also a supporter of the organisation and during the 1840s the Courtauld & Taylor was a generous contributor to the League's funds.
In 1849, Taylor's son, Peter Alfred Taylor joined the Courtauld & Taylor company as a partner. Peter Taylor, who was already seriously ill, died on 14th March 1850. He left some £35,000 in the company and after his death, this shareholding was controlled by his wife, Catherine Taylor.
Bocking Mill in the 19th century.
(1) The Quarterly Review reported on a Anti-Corn Law League on 5th July, 1842.
The Chairman, the same as at the former London conference, Mr. Peter Taylor, said "The cry of suffering and distress would make itself heard, and if that distress were not speedily relieved, he believed this distress would make itself heard in a voice of thunder which would frighten the government and the legislature from its propriety.
(2) Peter Taylor, letter to George Courtauld II on the subject of income-tax (1842)
I don't know whether you and Sam (Courtauld) feel justified in paying as little as possible to our ruling tyrants - but looking upon them as an unprincipled set of scoundrels - who have neither honour, honesty or truth, who plunder us for their own sordid advantage by violating every constitutional safeguard, and every political right, who unblushingly purchase their power in the Legislature by the most corrupt and demoralizing means. I consider them as having morally broken the political compact between themselves and the people - because to preserve their own rents they have refused to liberate trade by abolishing the Corn Laws.
(3) Power-looms at Courtauld's Halstead Mill.
| Year |
Power-Looms |
| 1829 |
10 |
| 1836 |
106 |
| 1838 |
178 |
| 1840 |
243 |
| 1845 |
477 |
| 1850 |
570 |
(4) Courtauld & Co Profits (1835-1850)
| Year |
Profits (£) |
| 1835 |
2,075 |
| 1840 |
5,112 |
| 1845 |
26,520 |
| 1850 |
39,518 |
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