# John Sutton Nettlefold > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Sutton_Nettlefold > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Sutton_Nettlefold.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sutton_Nettlefold > Source revision: 1316616474 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British industrialist and entrepreneur For his grandson, the British social reformer, see [John Sutton Nettlefold (social reformer)](/source/John_Sutton_Nettlefold_(social_reformer)). **John Sutton Nettlefold** (23 September 1792 – 12 April 1866) was a British [industrialist](/source/Industrialist) and [entrepreneur](/source/Entrepreneur).[1][2] ## Early life and family Nettlefold was born in London. Nettlefold was a [Unitarian](/source/Unitarianism); he married a co-religionist, Martha Chamberlain (1794–1866). Hers was a family of [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham) manufacturers and politicians: her brother's son, [Joseph Chamberlain](/source/Joseph_Chamberlain) (1836–1914), was a radical Liberal and a leading imperialist. They lived in [The Grove, Highgate](/source/The_Grove%2C_Highgate).[3] They had three sons: Edward John Nettlefold (1820–1878), [Joseph Henry Nettlefold](/source/Joseph_Henry_Nettlefold) (1827–1881) and [Frederick Nettlefold](/source/Frederick_Nettlefold) (1833–1913). One of Edward John's sons was named after him, [John Sutton Nettlefold](/source/John_Sutton_Nettlefold_(social_reformer)), who was a social reformer. ## Career In 1823, he opened a hardware store at 54 [High Holborn](/source/High_Holborn). This was followed in 1826 by a workshop to make [woodscrews](/source/Screw) based in [Sunbury-on-Thames](/source/Sunbury-on-Thames). The Sunbury factory was powered by a [waterwheel](/source/Waterwheel) and Nettlefold saw the importance of motive power when he took advantage of [steam power](/source/Steam_power) in a new factory in Baskerville Place, off [Broad Street, Birmingham](/source/Broad_Street%2C_Birmingham). He renamed the business Nettlefold and Sons, Ltd., and it expanded rapidly in London and Birmingham.[1][4] In 1854, Nettlefold acquired the opportunity to purchase a licence to manufacture to a U.S. [patent](/source/Patent) for a novel woodscrew. The licence, and the establishment of a new factory, demanded an investment of [£](/source/GBP) 30,000. Nettlefold sought and obtained the involvement of his brother-in-law as equal partner for an investment of £10,000 and the two established a factory in [Smethwick](/source/Smethwick), leaving its management to their sons, Edward John and [Joseph Henry Nettlefold](/source/Joseph_Henry_Nettlefold), and Joseph Chamberlain.[1] Grave of John Sutton Nettlefold in [Highgate Cemetery](/source/Highgate_Cemetery) In later years, the management of the partnership, Nettlefold and Chamberlain, was passed to Joseph and [Frederick Nettlefold](/source/Frederick_Nettlefold), and later was absorbed into [Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds](/source/GKN),[1] a [multinational](/source/Multinational_corporation) engineering company headquartered in [Redditch](/source/Redditch). Nettlefold was buried in the dissenters section of the western side of [Highgate Cemetery](/source/Highgate_Cemetery).[5] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-3) Smith (2004) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["John Sutton Nettlefold"](http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Sutton_Nettlefold). Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 9 July 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Richardson, John (1983). *Highgate: Its history since the Fifteenth Century*. Eyre and Spottiswoode. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9503656-4-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9503656-4-5). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** "Mr. Frederick Nettlefold". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 6 March 1913. p. 9. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Nettlefold, John Sutton. ["Highgate Cemetery"](https://highgate.burialgrounds.co.uk/mapmanagement/#/memorialmanagement/653e12c4-368c-4a1d-a40a-7346115e34d0/gravestone_with_kerb/o/persons/6c7b59f3-1f8c-4665-bbd9-c9ba18c13d99/5c7e7ab6-1cb5-4d27-bd2a-ccd8dd7be7b5?tab=0). *Burial Grounds*. Retrieved 11 October 2025. ## Bibliography - Jones, E (1987). *A History of GKN Volume 1: Innovation and Enterprise 1759–1918*. Palgrave Macmillan. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-333-34594-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-333-34594-0). - Smith, B.D.M (2004) "[Nettlefold, Joseph Henry (1827-1881)](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/37804)", rev., *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*, Oxford University Press, accessed 27 July 2005 (subscription, [Wikipedia Library](https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/partners/88/) access or [UK public library membership](https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required) This article about a British businessperson born in the 1790s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:UK-business-bio-1790s-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AUK-business-bio-1790s-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:UK-business-bio-1790s-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Sutton Nettlefold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sutton_Nettlefold) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sutton_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.