# Frederick Nettlefold

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**Frederick Nettlefold** (6 April 1833 – 1 March 1913) was a British [industrialist](/source/Industrialist), one of the Nettlefolds in [Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds](/source/GKN). He was a leader in the [Unitarian Church](/source/General_Assembly_of_Unitarian_and_Free_Christian_Churches), ending up as lay president of the international organisation.[1]

He was born in [Acton, London](/source/Acton%2C_London) to [John Sutton Nettlefold](/source/John_Sutton_Nettlefold), who founded the brass fixing company [Nettlefold and Chamberlain](/source/Nettlefold_and_Chamberlain) with Frederick's cousin [Joseph Chamberlain](/source/Joseph_Chamberlain), father of [Austen](/source/Austen_Chamberlain) and [Neville](/source/Neville_Chamberlain).[1]

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](/source/Joseph_Henry_Nettlefold) was sent to [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham) to manage their new foundry. Nettlefolds Ltd. was launched as a [limited company](/source/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](/source/Mergers_and_acquisitions), becoming [Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds](/source/GKN).

In 1878 Frederick and his wife Mary Catherine moved into [Streatham Grove](/source/Norwood_Grove), on its vacation by [P&O](/source/P%26O) magnate [Arthur Anderson](/source/Arthur_Anderson_(businessman)). Their residence is now noted by a [blue plaque](/source/Blue_plaque).

Frederick retired from Nettlefolds in 1893 and helped develop [Samuel Courtauld](/source/Samuel_Courtauld_(art_collector))'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](/source/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](/source/Sunday_School) Association and later the [British and Foreign Unitarian Association](/source/British_and_Foreign_Unitarian_Association), and was one of the main supporters behind the construction of the 1886 [Essex Hall](/source/Essex_Hall), the headquarters building for the denomination.[2] His daughter Edith was better known as Mrs [Sydney Martineau](/source/Sydney_Martineau), from 1929 the lay president of the [General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches](/source/General_Assembly_of_Unitarian_and_Free_Christian_Churches),[3] 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](/source/West_Norwood_Cemetery), although their monument is believed to have been destroyed sometime in the 1980s.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-times_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-times_1-1) "Mr. Frederick Nettlefold". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 6 March 1913. p. 9.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [*The History of Essex Hall* by Mortimer Rowe B.A., D.D. Lindsey Press, 1959. Chapter 4](http://www.unitarian.org.uk/support/doc-EssexHall0.shtml) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120116153833/http://www.unitarian.org.uk/support/doc-EssexHall0.shtml) 16 January 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["The Ministry of Women", by Keith Gilley, *The Guardian*, Saturday 25 September 2004](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/25/gender.religion)

## External links

- [Norwood Grove](http://www.croydononline.org/history/places/parks_and_open_spaces/norwoodgrove.asp)

- [Note on grave by Friends of West Norwood Cemetery](https://web.archive.org/web/20060309183258/http://www.fownc.org/newsletters/no29.doc)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Frederick Nettlefold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Nettlefold) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Nettlefold?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.