[12] In 1839, age 23, while working for B. Hick and Son, John Hick Jr as he was referred to at the time, was awarded the silver medal by the Society of Arts for his novel invention of an expanding mandrel for turning lathes, it was an adaptation of a principle developed by Marc Brunel for pulley block manufacture at Portsmouth and received the praise of three eminent engineers; Bryan Donkin, Joshua Field and John Rennie.

[19] During 1842, Hick was awarded a second silver medal by the Society of Arts for his invention of an Elliptograph; conceived in 1840,[20] the device provided a simple and accurate solution for the drawing ellipsoid forms of various proportions.

Hick received further praise from James Nasmyth, William Fairbairn, Joseph Whitworth, and amongst others, Charles Holtzapffel, Chairman of the Committee of Mechanics.

[13] A B. Hick and Son, 1:12 scale patent model of disconnecting apparatus, for screw propellers, c. 1855 is held in the Science Museum marine engines collection.

[42][43] The "highly respected" Reverend Bashall retired[33] to the position of curate at St Barnabas church, Addison Road, Kensington from about 1876[33][44][45] remaining in the area until his death, 1902.

[48][49] While the family business of Benjamin Hick and Son displayed machinery[50][51][52] and engineering models in the Crystal Palace,[53][54] John Hick also sat as a United Kingdom Juror with the notable figures of Wilhelm Engerth, William Fairbairn, John Farey, Henry Maudslay (1822–1899), grandson of Henry Maudslay,[55] Rev.

[60] Hick and Bashall used the same pair again for the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester with Cupid and Psyche by Benjamin West PRA[61] and Crossing the Brook by Paul Falconer Poole.

[77] About 1861 society painter Francis Grant produced portraits of John Hick and his wife Margaret, both works eventually hung together in the family home at Mytton Hall.

[79][83] Sans Pareil was previously owned by Hick's brother-in-law and eventual business partner John Hargreaves Jr (1800–1874) who had the engine fully repaired and running on the Bolton and Leigh Railway in 1837.

[2] After election and to avoid a conflict of interest, he immediately resigned his position within Hick, Hargreaves and Co.,[2] the firm were already in possession of government contracts,[12][13] and withdrew from the Bolton Iron and Steel Company.

[94] During this period he stayed in St James's, Piccadilly, his first wife and daughters remaining at 'Hill Top', Belmont[2][95] an extensive late 18th century manor house rented from a local family.

[95] About July 1870, Hick was trustee to the estate of former Bolton mayor and MP Stephen Blair with Thomas Lever Rushton, William Hargreaves and others, empowered to build and furnish a 'free hospital for sick persons without limit of domicile'.

[4][12][13][99] Hick was a director of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR)[12] under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Moon and Lord Stalbridge, from 1871 until his death.

[13][102] As a parliamentarian he was frequently consulted by Government on subjects relating to armaments and the construction of boilers for war-vessels,[4] he also served on a Select Committee appointed June 1874 to investigate the testing of chain cable and anchors for the Navy.

[110] He was elected a member of the Iron and Steel Institute the same year[4] and held the Bolton seat until 24 March 1880[13][111] when as a result of ill-health, he chose not to stand for re-election.

[114] Aspinall and Hick fought a publicised and successful legal battle in the Court of Chancery against the cotton mills of Mitchell and Carlisle during July 1880 leading to a landmark judgement that set a precedent for controlling environmental pollution.

[117][118] In December 1880 Hick and Aspinall received presentations at Mytton Hall from the local angling community in recognition of "...their services in preventing pollution to the River Ribble and its tributaries".

[120] After some months of failing health, Hick died age 78 at Mytton Hall,[12][89] Whalley, Lancashire[13] where he lived, with a summer residence at Woodlands, Lezayre, Isle of Man,[1][122] where he was also a Justice of the Peace.

[127] From the year of his death the London North Western Railway (LNWR) produced 10 steam locomotives of the John Hick Class (1894–1912); a Francis Webb design of 2-2-2-2 configuration,[128] engine No.