Thomas Sinton

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Thomas Sinton JP (February 1826 - 20 August 1887) was an Irish industrialist and magistrate. Sinton made a significant impact upon the Irish linen trade; not least establishing the village of Laurelvale, County Armagh.

Thomas Sinton was born in Tamnaghmore House,^[1] Tandragee, County Armagh, the son of David Sinton and Sarah Green. The Sintons, like so many of Northern Ireland's linen families were Quakers, in this case of Scottish descent; although the Sintons had been settled at Tamnaghmore for several hundred years. Thomas Sinton was sent to board at Friends' School, Lisburn - a Quaker school. In 1859 he married Elizabeth Bridget Hesilridge Buckby (1835-1900), her family lived at Prospect House, Tandragee. He had eight children by his wife;

(William) Maynard Sinton, JP (High Sheriff and Unionist County Councillor for County Armagh^[2] - lived at Ballyards Castle),
David Arthur Sinton (of Stramore House, Gilford)
Dorothy Hesilridge Sinton,
Elizabeth Sinton,
Thomas Greville Sinton (High Sheriff, lived at Laurelvale House),
Alfred Henry Hesilridge Sinton (of Hill House, Laurelvale)
Frederick Buckby Sinton (of Banford House, Tullylish, Gilford)
Jemima Sarah Isabella Sinton

Sinton died at his home, Laurelvale House (later the home of Michael Torrens-Spence), and was buried at Moyallon Friends' Burial Ground, Gilford. His effects were valued, in 1887, at over £100,000. Sinton was a great-uncle of the soldier and doctor John Alexander Sinton.

[edit] Linen Factory

Thomas Sinton's mill, Laurelvale

Sinton built the model village of Laurelvale (named due to the abundance of laurel bushes in the area), also known as Laurel Vale, to house workers at his large linen factory - Thomas Sinton & Co., Ltd. The factory was started in the early 1850s and by the 1880s it employed around 700 workers, responsible for manufacturing very high grade heavy linen. The company was responsible for almost all of the houses built in the village, especially those for family members and factory managers.

He also owned factories in Tandragee, by the River Cusher, and at Killyleagh, County Down. His brother, John, owned a factory near Hillsborough, County Down and his descendants would also acquire the Banford Bleachworks, at Tullylish.

The Laurelvale factory closed in 1944 when it was acquired by the Ministry of Defence and used by the Hoffman company for the manufacture of ball bearings for tank turrets etc. In the 1970s it was destroyed in a fire, and together with his house the area has recently been cleared for a housing development. All that remains of Laurelvale House and the factory now is an old wall, which was part of the stable block.

The Tandragee Factory was still in production, employing 200 people, until the 1996.^[3] There were then plans afoot to convert the mill, which remained the Sinton family's property, into a tourist and retail facility, with the hope of a £7-8 million investment.^[4] Planning permission was granted for this, however, the building was put up for sale by Thomas (Tim) Sinton (the subject's great-grandson) in 2003.^[5]