Most of the persons featured on this page were prominent members of the local community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as featured in two volumes produced by Edwin Trueman, both entitled Portrait Gallery of its Principal Inhabitants. The first being published in 1887, to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the second in 1911 as a souvenir of the Coronation of King George V.
The persons featured on this page were those actually born in Ilkeston. Portrait Gallery 2 features persons, though born elsewhere, came, lived and worked in the town. Please contact us if you would like a little more information.
Isaac AttenboroughIsaac was born at Ilkeston on April 2nd 1826, the son of Mark and Alice Attenborough. His brothers and sisters were named Jane, William, Thomas, Alice and Ann. His grandfather was Isaac Attenborough who died in 1847 age 87. | William Ball He was born at Ilkeston in 1809, the son of Francis Ball. William Ball was the founder and head of Messrs Ball and Sons, Lace Manufacturers. William died on February 2nd 1886. |
| Frederick Beardsley Born at Ilkeston on January 14th 1839, the son of William and Mary Beardsley. He was a partner in the firm of W Beardsley and Sons, Lace Manufacturers. | Soloman Beardsley He was born at Ilkeston on October 27th 1831, the third son of Jonathon and Catherine Beardsley. His first wife was Eliza Mellor, who died in 1858. He afterwards married Matilda Sudbury. |
| John Fish Born at Ilkeston on July 15th 1822, the son of John and Esther Fish. He began work as a framework knitter and was employed by Messrs Sudbury & Sons for many years. He became the manager of their establishment in 1858. In 1863 he was appointed Parish Clerk and was also a Freemason. | Isaac Gregory He was born at Ilkeston on October 17th 1824, the second son of Isaac Gregory. He served an apprenticeship as a lacemaker but later commenced business on Bath Street as a grocer and seedsman. He married Sarah Marshall, daughter of Thomas and Catherine Marshall. |
Arthur Henshaw Born at Ilkeston on August 10th 1864, the son of John Henshaw. When this portrait was taken 1911, he was living on Vernon Street, Ilkeston. He was elected to the Town Council in 1900. | Tom Nichols Lissett He was born at Ilkeston on December 2nd 1864, the son of Wright Lissett, barrister and the first Town Clerk of Ilkeston. He married in 1892 to Lucy Susan Spendlove, the daughter of John James Spendlove. He became Borough Acccountant in 1898. When this portrait was taken in 1911, he lived at Park Road, Ilkeston. |
Robert Marshall He was born at Ilkeston on December 25th 1826, the son of Robert and Catherine Marshall. His sister Sarah married Isaac Gregory (above). He began work as an apprentice to Isaac Potter, a butcher of Smalley but in 1862 he took possession of the White Lion Inn where he remained for 23 years. He married Annie Bentley in 1858. | John Mellor Born at Ilkeston on October 11th 1811, the second son of William and Rhoda Mellor (or Mellors). He was apprenticed as a butcher to William Crichley of Ilkeston and commenced his own business in 1835. He retired in 1881, having never married. |
Horace Moss Born at Ilkeston on August 22nd 1868, the son of John and Mary Moss (see below). Following his father’s footsteps, he entered into local politics and was elected to serve as a member of the Town Council in 1894 and in 1897. Horace Moss also served as the Mayor of Ilkeston during 1905-6. He married Maria Dickenson Wood. | John Moss He was born at Ilkeston on June 26th 1824, the son of Joseph Moss. He commenced business in 1845 as a draper and in 1854 became a licensed pawnbroker. John Moss served as the Mayor of Ilkeston from 1891-2. |
William Noon He was born at Ilkeston on April 17th 1860, the son of William and Mary Noon. He married in 1887 to Adeliza Stirland, the daughter of Herbert Stirland. At the time this portrait was taken in 1911, he was residing at Lynden Villa on Bennerley Avenue, Ilkeston. | Dr Harry Potter Born at Ilkeston on August 14th 1854, the son of Samuel and Ann Potter of Millfield House. He was educated at Spondon and later at Trent College Long Eaton. He entered into the medical profession in 1879 and studied at St George’s Hospital, London. He married Frances Savage of London in 1881. |
| Samuel Richards He was born at Ilkeston on June 9th 1828, the eldest son of Samuel and Mary Richards. Samuel followed the same career as his father, that of a mining contractor, until a serious accident at the age of 22. Following this he began business as a grocer. In 1853 he married Martha, daughter of Mr William Mellor. | Francis George Robinson Born at Ilkeston on 5th May 1878, the son of Samuel Robinson (see below). When this portrait was taken in 1911, he was residing at Wandesley Lodge on Wharncliffe Road, Ilkeston. He was a solicitor and was married in 1902 to Alice Mary, the eldest daughter of George Maltby and granddaughter of William Sudbury. He served in WW1 in France as an officer with the Sherwood Foresters Regiment. |
Samuel Robinson Born at Ilkeston on November 24th 1855, the son of William Hallaway Robinson and his wife Jane. His father was a needlemaker but Samuel began business as a painter and plumber. In 1878 he became licensee of the Poplar Inn, Bath Street. He served as Mayor of Ilkeston in 1898. He married Annie Rebecca Ebbern of West Hallam. | Samuel Shaw He was born at Ilkeston on May 16th 1862, the son of Samuel Shaw, a local brick manufacturer. He became Mayor of Ilkeston 1910. He married in 1885 to a daughter of Thomas Evans of South Street, Ilkeston. When this portrait was taken in 1911, he was living at Fern Hollow on Station Road, Ilkeston. |
| Albert Sisson He was born in Church Street, Cotmanhay on March 10th 1850, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Sisson and grandson of ‘Giant’ Thomas Sisson. He was once Under-manager at Carr Close Colliery. In 1911, he was living on Lower Granby Street where he carried on the business of a grocer and baker. | Charles Alan Sudbury He was the son of Francis Sudbury – five times Ilkeston’s Mayor – and his wife Elizabeth. He was born on December 1st 1872. Charles was made an Alderman in 1908 and himself served as the Mayor of Ilkeston during 1909-10. He married in 1896 to Mary Hobson, the youngest daughter of Matthew Hobson. |
Francis Sudbury He was born at Ilkeston on October 6th 1842, the youngest son of Francis Sudbury, a hosiery and glove manufacturer. In 1866 he married Elizabeth Bennett. In 1887 he was elected as Ilkeston’s first Mayor and served in total five terms, dying in office. | William Sudbury He was born at Ilkeston on March 9th 1829, the eldest son of Francis Sudbury and brother of Francis – Ilkeston’s first Mayor. He married in 1851 to Mary, the daughter of Robert Gamble of Ilkeston. |
Edmund Tatham He was born at Ilkeston on April 26th 1854, the second son of Edmund Tatham of Nottingham. He married Eliza Ann, the daughter of Samuel Goodacre of Trowell, a member of a family who had lived there for over two hundred years. | Walter Tatham Born at Ilkeston on February 24th 1851, the eldest son of Edmund Tatham and grandson of Benjamin Tatham, he was also the younger brother of Edmund. His mother was the daughter of Robert Burgin Richardson, a descendant of a very old Ilkeston family. His residence in 1887 was on Market Street. |
John Trueman He was born at Ilkeston on August 8th 1831. John began work as a miner before he had reached the age of nine-years-old and later worked at the Stanton Ironworks. In 1854 he married Ann, the daughter of Samuel Cope of Ilkeston. In 1859 he opened the Durham Ox of which he was landlord for nearly 22 years. | William Wade He was born at Ilkeston on May 30th 1830, the son of Benjamin Wade. By 1887 he had been in business as a grocer for over 37 years. In 1857 he married Betsy, the daughter of John Chapman of Coningsby, Lincolnshire. He served as the second Mayor of Ilkeston in 1888-89. |
John Attenborough Walker Born at Ilkeston on September 25th 1854, the eldest son of Robert Walker. He began his career as an apprentice in the printing trade and from 1875 to 1880 was managing director of the Colne and Nelson Times. He married Mary Elizabeth Weston of Denby. | John Flint Walker He was born at Ilkeston on April 22nd 1839, the son of Paul and Eliza Walker. He began his career in the printing business, being apprenticed to the Ilkeston Pioneer office. In 1873 he began business as a printer on his own account. He married Mary, the daughter of Edward Severn of Stanton by Dale. |
George William Wooliscroft He was born at Ilkeston on January 17th 1865, the son of Charles Wooliscroft. He married in 1898 to Sarah Wallis, the daughter of William Wallis of Long Eaton. Founder of Ilkeston’s first department store (later the site of Woolworth’s), at the time this portrait was taken in 1911 he was residing at Highfield on Market Street. |
