James Walton (inventor)

He amassed a considerable fortune from his business ventures, and purchased two large family estates in Wales.

[4] In 1822, Walton moved to a small workshop near North Bridge, Halifax to develop his ideas for new machinery for friezing.

This replaced the traditional leather backing for the card with india rubber laid on cloth.

[4] In 1838, Walton joined Parr, Curtis and Co.[5] in Manchester, and began making his cards using machines, instead of by hand.

There he established the company of James Walton & Sons, supplying machinery and cards to the textile industry of Great Britain and beyond.

[4] The Haughton Dale Mills as the factory was known as described by the Manchester Guardian as "the largest establishment of the kind in the world".

[9]In 1875, Walton began construction of the Anglican Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Haughton Dale.

[14] In 1868, Walton purchased the even larger Dolforgan Hall near Kerry, Powys which covered 4,250 acres (17.2 km2).