The son of a Nottingham cotton-spinner who moved to Cranstonhill and worked in Kelvinbridge, Houldsworth was educated in Glasgow, Geneva and Heidelberg. He entered the family business, and rose to become the head of spinning. The company expanded into iron, establishing the Anderston Foundry and Machine Works, later known as the Anderston Foundry Company.
Houldsworth's leisure time was devoted to art and to sailing. He was also an accomplished musician and had a piano on his yacht. With friends, he cruised the Firth of Clyde and sailed to the Western Isles. A supporter of the Royal Northern Yacht Club, he was its vice-commodore at the time of his death.
He was a member of the Town Council, and became Senior Bailie. He married Eliza Muir in 1836.
FEW Southrons could at any time boast that they had invaded Scotland with success, but Henry Houldsworth the first not only did so, but founded a family that for nearly ninety years has increased and prospered in our midst. Towards the end of last century cotton spinning had begun to take its place among our industries; but skeely men were scarce, so Henry the first, a Nottingham man, was brought to Glasgow by William Gillespie, of Woodside and Anderston, to manage a small cotton mill which then stood on the Kelvin, a little below the present Great Western Road Bridge. Houldsworth must soon have got this mill into his own hands, for in the Directory of 1801 William Gillespie & Co. are described simply as calico printers in Anderston, and Henry Houldsworth & Co. appear as cotton spinners at Woodside. This business he afterwards removed to Cheapside Street, Anderston, where he carried it on in partnership with his two sons, William and John, under the firm of Henry Houldsworth & Sons. Cotton spinning was then the great Glasgow industry, but with the insight of true business genius the Houldsworths saw that iron was to be the mainstay of Glasgow, and accordingly the Anderston Foundry and Machine Works was started also in Cheapside Street. This work, it is understood, was begun for the purpose of making and repairing machinery for their mill. Gradually Glasgow fell out of the cotton machinery trade, and that branch of the business was given up, but the foundry business, now carried on by the well-known Anderston Foundry Company, has grown apace. In the year 1836 Thomas Houldsworth of Farnsfield, M.P. for Nottingham, Henry's brother, bought Coltness from General Sir James Stewart Denham, Bart., and in 1837 the great Coltness Iron Works were started. These works were built under the direction of Mr. James Hunter, to whose skill and energy a great part of their success has been due, and who is still the managing partner. At first the new works suffered under various drawbacks, the chief of which was the difficulty of transport. That was soon got over by the construction of railways, and the "Coltness" brand early acquired the high character which it has ever since retained. There are now twelve blast furnaces at Coltness. More recently the Dalmellington Iron Works, with eight furnaces, were built and worked. The cotton mills were given up some years ago, and the Houldsworths are now interested solely in iron. This short, bare statement explains how for nearly ninety years they have been princes among Glasgow merchants. They have always kept their minds open. If a branch of trade seemed to languish, they dropped it; if it promised to become a success, they dashed at it. And their sagacity and enterprise have had their reward. They floated on the top of the tide when cotton was the great Glasgow trade. They took up iron founding just when it was beginning to be a good thing, and their foundry has grown into one of the greatest in the kingdom. They became ironmasters when the hot blast and improved railway communication were combining to make it really profitable, and their brand is now second to none in the market. They have succeeded because they put brains and pluck into every enterprise they undertook; because they deserved to succeed.
Early in the century Henry Houldsworth bought Cranstonhill, then a pretty villa a little to the west of the village of Anderston. Now the site of the villa, pleasure ground, and garden is covered with works and houses, and every year is bringing nearer the fulfilment of the prophecy that Glasgow Cross would stand on Cranstonhill. When Anderston was a burgh Henry Houldsworth was its perpetual Provost, and its last Provost was John, his son.
By his marriage with Jane, daughter of John Richardson, of Glasgow, Henry Houldsworth had three sons: (i) Henry, born 1797, died 1867, second of Coltness, a partner in the great cotton spinning business in Manchester founded by his uncle, Thomas Houldsworth; (ii) William, born 1798, died 1853; (iii) John Houldsworth, of Cranstonhill, the subject of this sketch, born at Cranstonhill, 1807, died at Glasgow, 1859. After receiving part of his education in Glasgow, John Houldsworth had the then unusual good fortune to be sent abroad to finish it, first at Geneva and afterwards at the University of Heidelberg. On his return he entered his father's business, and ultimately became the head of the spinning business. In 1836 he married Eliza, daughter of John Muir, one of the founders of the well-known firm of Muir, Brown & Co., and by her he had the following children - viz., (i) Henry, of Carrick House, Ayr; (ii) John Muir, also of Ayr; (iii) the Rev. William Houldsworth, a clergyman in London; and two daughters - Jane, married to Colonel Edward Shaw, and Lillah, married to Lieut.-Col. George Wingate Oldham, R.E. Early as he was entered to business, and closely as he stuck to it, John Houldsworth was more than a mere man of business. His hours of leisure were given up to two of the most delightful pursuits in the world. He was devoted to art and he was a keen yachtsman. In many ways did he show his love of art. Not only had he a fine collection of modern pictures, which may or may not prove much, but he knew a good deal more about pictures and art than most amateurs. He loved artists, and was the friend of Roberts, Stanfield, Thomas Faed, John Philip, Leech, Sir Edwin Landseer, and our own lamented Macnee. He carried his love of art into every detail of life. Two years before his death he bought No. 1 Park Terrace, and resolved to have it furnished and decorated in the most artistic way known at the time. With this view he employed John Thomas, sculptor, London, to design the furniture a scheme of decoration. The magnificence of the furniture, &c., was so much talked about that the Queen and Prince Albert paid Mr. Thomas' studio a visit to see them. On leaving Her Majesty said, "You say the gentleman's name is Houldsworth. It ought to be Goldsworth." These designs were never carried out, for Mr. Houldsworth died before the house was finished. He was also a great lover of music, and was himself an accomplished musician. He sang a good song, and had a piano even in his yacht. Probably his happiest days were spent when in his yacht with some artist friends and others he explored the Firth of Clyde, or sought those far-off Western Isles where rise up grimly the bones of the old world. Mr. Houldsworth was an ardent supporter of the Royal Northern Yacht Club, and Vice-Commodore at the time of his death. Not content with supervising three large businesses and occupying himself with art, music, and yachting, Mr. Houldsworth was a member of the Town Council, and at his death Senior Bailie of the city. Had he lived he would doubtless have been chosen Lord Provost, and a good Provost he would have made.
There were few more popular men in Glasgow than kindly, genial John Houldsworth. It is said by one who knew him well that he was never seen out of temper, and as the deponent had frequently been away yachting with him the evidence is weighty. In business also he was liked for his uprightness and fairness, while he was respected for his ability.
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