Sir William Henry Houldsworth, 1st Baronet was a British mill-owner in Reddish, Lancashire. He was Conservative MP for Manchester North West from 1883 to 1906, and sometime chairman of the Fine Cotton Spinners' Association. He was made a baronet in 1887.
William Houldsworth
Houldsworth caricatured by Ape in Vanity Fair, 1885
Reddish is an area in Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. 4.6 miles (7.4 km) south-east of Manchester city centre. At the 2011 census, the population was 28,052. Historically part of Lancashire, Reddish grew rapidly in the Industrial Revolution and still retains landmarks from that period, such as Houldsworth Mill, a former textile mill.
Houldsworth Square in central Reddish
Reddish Hall as drawn by James Croston (Booker, p211)
Houldsworth WMC. Also used as a church and school before dedicated buildings were built.
A lamp standard near Houldsworth square. It pictures the herons commonly seen in Reddish Vale, the railway viaduct, and the clock monument to Sir William Houldsworth