Bradford People: the Moultons

Stephen Moulton (1794-1880) was the man who brought rubber production to Bradford on Avon. He was born in Whorlton, County Durham, but was living in New York in the 1840s when he met Charles Goodyear, who had discovered a method of vulcanising rubber -a process which turned rubber from a substance that was sticky when warm and brittle when cold into a stable elastic material. Moulton decided to start manufacture in Britain and was persuaded by a friend, Septimus Palairet, to set up in Bradford where there were mills available after the failure of woollen cloth companies and a skilled industrial workforce. With the backing of Palairet and the expertise of Goodyear he purchased The Hall estate and Kingston Mill in 1848.

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John Moulton (1839-1925) was a son of Stephen Moulton, the founder of the rubber industry. Besides his connection with the rubber company, he was a notable benefactor of the town, providing for the town’s baths and contributing to the foundation of the Technical School in 1897. He was the Chairman of the Bradford Urban District Council for many years.

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Alexander Eric Moulton (9/4/1920-9/12/2012) was the next generation of Moultons at The Hall. He was known especially for the Moulton bicycle, which became an icon of British design; the top-of-the-range models are still produced in Bradford today. He is also noted for his co-operation with Sir Alec Issigonis in the design of another icon of the 1960s: the Mini car, especially its rubber suspension.

> BBC News obituary

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