Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | J M Porter & Co |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 1912 |
| Died: | |
| Bio Notes: | John Merry Porter (1863-1942) moved to Colwyn Bay, aged three years, when his father, John Porter, was appointed the local agent for the Manchester and Glasgow businessman, Sir John Pender. Pender, a leading promoter of transatlantic cables, had purchased the Pwllycrochan estate of Lady Erskine in 1865 intending to develop it as a seaside resort. Following the breaking of a cable in mid-Atlantic in 1875, Pender was forced to sell the Colwyn estates, the bulk of the property being purchased by a Manchester syndicate the Colwyn Bay and Pwllycrochan Estate Company. A member of this syndicate was the Manchester architect Lawrence Booth (1835/6-1894) who continued the planning and development of the resort, later in partnership with Thomas Chadwick (1851-1923). J M Porter trained as an architect and surveyor in Manchester. After qualifying, he returned to Colwyn Bay, entering into partnership with Booth and Chadwick about 1889 and opening an office in the town under the style of Booth, Chadwick and Porter. When the Manchester connection ended the firm was re-named Porter and Hunter in 1905, becoming J M Porter and Elcock when Charles Ernest Elcock was taken into partnership in 1906 or 1907. Following the departure of Elcock five years later, the firm was re-styled J M Porter and Company, and kept this name until its closure in 1973. J M Porter married Catherine M Hawksworth (1875-1935) in 1891. They had three children, Graham Hawksworth, who was killed in action in France, 1916; John Lawrence, who joined his father's practice and Catherine Margaret, who married Norman Milne Harrop of Garth Gynan, Llanfair Dyffryn Clywd. In 1973, the partners in J M Porter and Company, (John Lawrence Porter and Leonard Mosely) who had joined in 1920 and became partners in 1940, decided to close the business and retire. records J. M. Porter and Co., estate agents, architects and surveyors, records 1864-1972 Reference code(s): GB 0209 DD/PO Held at: Denbighshire Record Office |
Private and Business Addresses
| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | |||||
| Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | |
 | Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire, Wales | Business | 1940s * | ||
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and Training
Employees or Pupils
| The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details): | |||||
| Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | |
| William ('Bill') Gillespie | July 1943 | August 1944 | Apprentice | |
References
Archive References
| The following archives hold material relating to this : | ||||
| Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | |
| Courtesy of William Gillespie | Interview of William Gillespie by Jessica Taylor, 2 February 2009 at ECA | ||