{{Use British English|date=August 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} '''Frederick Nettlefold''' (6 April 1833 – 1 March 1913) was a British [[industrialist]], one of the Nettlefolds in [[GKN|Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds]]. He was a leader in the [[General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches|Unitarian Church]], ending up as lay president of the international organisation.<ref name="times">{{cite news |title=Mr. Frederick Nettlefold |work=[[The Times]] |page= 9|date=6 March 1913 }}</ref>
He was born in [[Acton, London]] to [[John Sutton Nettlefold]], who founded the brass fixing company [[Nettlefold and Chamberlain]] with Frederick's cousin [[Joseph Chamberlain]], father of [[Austen Chamberlain|Austen]] and [[Neville Chamberlain|Neville]].<ref name="times"/>
After his father retired and cousin left the business to concentrate on politics, Frederick took over the running of the London part of the business as chairman, while his brother [[Joseph Henry Nettlefold|Joseph]] was sent to [[Birmingham]] to manage their new foundry. Nettlefolds Ltd. was launched as a [[limited company]] in 1880 and the Nettlefold brothers went on to establish a dominant position the British wood-screw market through many [[mergers and acquisitions]], becoming [[GKN|Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds]].
In 1878 Frederick and his wife Mary Catherine moved into [[Norwood Grove|Streatham Grove]], on its vacation by [[P&O]] magnate [[Arthur Anderson (businessman)|Arthur Anderson]]. Their residence is now noted by a [[blue plaque]].
Frederick retired from Nettlefolds in 1893 and helped develop [[Samuel Courtauld (art collector)|Samuel Courtauld]]'s silk and crepe company. He dedicated much effort to philanthropy. This included donating land for the original public library at Knights Hill [[West Norwood]], which was later commemorated by the name Nettlefold Hall given to a part of its successor in Norwood High Street. He devoted much of his energy to the Unitarian Church, was president of the [[Sunday School]] Association and later the [[British and Foreign Unitarian Association]], and was one of the main supporters behind the construction of the 1886 [[Essex Hall]], the headquarters building for the denomination.<ref>[http://www.unitarian.org.uk/support/doc-EssexHall0.shtml ''The History of Essex Hall'' by Mortimer Rowe B.A., D.D. Lindsey Press, 1959. Chapter 4] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116153833/http://www.unitarian.org.uk/support/doc-EssexHall0.shtml |date=16 January 2012 }}</ref> His daughter Edith was better known as Mrs [[Sydney Martineau]], from 1929 the lay president of the [[General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches]],<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/25/gender.religion "The Ministry of Women", by Keith Gilley, ''The Guardian'', Saturday 25 September 2004]</ref> the successor to the organisations her father presided over.
Mary died at Norwood Grove in 1906 followed by Frederick in 1913, and they are buried in [[West Norwood Cemetery]], although their monument is believed to have been destroyed sometime in the 1980s.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.croydononline.org/history/places/parks_and_open_spaces/norwoodgrove.asp Norwood Grove] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060309183258/http://www.fownc.org/newsletters/no29.doc Note on grave by Friends of West Norwood Cemetery]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nettlefold, Frederick}} [[Category:1833 births]] [[Category:1913 deaths]] [[Category:Burials at West Norwood Cemetery]] [[Category:People from Acton, London]] [[Category:English Unitarians]] [[Category:19th-century English businesspeople]]