Hazlehurst & Sons was a company making soap and alkali

Alkali

In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...

 in Runcorn

Runcorn

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England in the 19th century and in the early years of the 20th century. The family was also largely responsible for the growth of Methodism

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 in the town during the 19th century.

Soap and alkali business

In 1816 Thomas Hazlehurst senior (27 February 1779–18 February 1842) established a soapery (a factory making soap) on the north bank of the Bridgewater Canal

Bridgewater Canal

The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...

 between the canal and High Street in Runcorn, called Camden Works. Initially the alkali

Alkali

In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...

 necessary for the production of soap would have been made from natural sources, such as kelp

Kelp

Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....

. However by 1830 it was manufactured synthetically by the Leblanc process

Leblanc process

The Leblanc process was the industrial process for the production of soda ash used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: Production of sodium sulfate from sodium chloride, followed by reaction of the sodium sulfate with coal and calcium...

. In 1836 an enormous chimney at least 102 yards (93 m) high was built at the factory to disperse the pollution resulting from the use of this process. The business was very successful and in 1832 it was in the top 20 of the soap-making businesses in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Thomas Hazlehurst senior died in 1842 and the business was continued by his four sons, William (c. 1801–2 August 1859), John (12 March 1803–29 August 1885), Thomas junior

Thomas Hazlehurst (chapel builder)

Thomas Hazlehurst was known nationally as "the Chapel Builder" and more locally as "the Prince of Methodism" or "the Prince of the Wesleyans"....

 (17 April 1816–14 July 1876) and Charles (27 November 1819–14 December 1878).

William retired from the business in 1849 and John retired in 1857 leaving Thomas junior and Charles to run it. The day-to-day business was conducted mainly by Charles, while Thomas junior concentrated on his religious interests (see below). It continued to thrive and in 1866, their best year, each brother 'took home' a profit of £11,570. Following the deaths of Thomas junior and Charles the business was run by a board of directors

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

. In 1891, in common with most of the other factories using the Leblanc process, the firm became part of the United Alkali Company

United Alkali Company

United Alkali Company Limited was a British chemical company formed in 1890. Producer of soda ash by the Leblanc process and used in the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. It became one of the top four British chemical companies merged in 1926 with Brunner Mond, Nobel Explosives and...

. The firm's soaps continued to win awards at various international exhibitions until in 1911 the business was sold to Lever Brothers

Lever Brothers

Lever Brothers was a British manufacturer founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James Darcy Lever . The brothers had invested in and promoted a new soap making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson, it was a huge success...

. Soap and alkali making then ceased and the factory was taken over and used as a tannery

Tanning

Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

 (Camden Tannery). The trade name continued to be used by Lever Brothers until the 1930s.

Methodism

In 1806 Thomas Hazlehurst senior was converted from the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 to Methodism following the death of an infant daughter, Eliza. At this time there were very few Methodists in the town. However, largely due to his influence, the movement grew and in 1827 it was sufficiently prosperous to build a substantial chapel, Brunswick Chapel, in the town. All four sons were influential in the Methodist movement in the town, in particular Thomas Hazlehurst junior. In addition to his chapel duties, Thomas Hazlehurst junior wrote and distributed free of charge a large number of sermons. He also paid, wholly or substantially, for the building of some 11-12 Methodist chapels and 2-3 schools in Widnes

Widnes

Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...

, Runcorn and the villages of north Cheshire, including Frodsham

Frodsham

Frodsham is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population is 8,982. It is approximately south of Runcorn, 16 miles south of Liverpool, and approximately south-west of Manchester...

 and Kingsley

Kingsley

-Places:In Australia:*Kingsley, Western AustraliaIn Canada:*Kingsley No. 124, SaskatchewanIn England:*Kingsley, Cheshire*Kingsley, Hampshire*Kingsley, StaffordshireIn the United States:*Kingsley, Iowa*Kingsley, Kentucky...

. He was frequently invited to lay the foundation stones of Wesleyan

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 chapels and schools. On each occasion he made a rousing speech and gave a generous donation and received in return a silver commemorative trowel or mallet. In all he collected around 100 of these items.

Civic matters

While Thomas junior concentrated mainly on religious matters, his father and brothers were all involved to a greater or lesser degree in the civic concerns of the town. Thomas senior was a member of the Select Vestry

Vestry

A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....

 and involved with numerous committees responsible for running the town. William and Charles were both appointed as Improvement commissioners

Improvement commissioners

Boards of improvement commissioners were ad-hoc boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom. They were an early form of local government.The first Improvement Commission was the Manchester Police Commission, established in 1765...

when the Board of Commissioners (effectively the town council) was instituted in 1852.