James Shudi Broadwood

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James Shudi Broadwood (20 December 1772 – 8 August 1851) was a piano maker in Middlesex and a magistrate in Surrey.

Piano making

He was born in London and died in Lyne Drive, Surrey. He was the second child and eldest son of John Broadwood and his first wife Barbara Shudi. James originally worked as a clerk for his father from 1785. In 1795 his father made him a full partner in the family business. He took over the running of the Broadwood Piano Company with his half-brother Thomas after the death of their father in 1812. James was named in the annual Court registers as 'Organ Builder in Ordinary to His Majesty' from 1799 to 1821 and again in 1836. James was an experienced piano tuner and contributed an article to 'The Gentleman's Magazine' on the subject in 1811. He experimented in many ways including the use of iron frames to improve the design of the pianos the company made.

Other activities

In 1797 James was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Royal Westminster Volunteers. Two years later he became Captain of a company from the same regiment formed from Broadwood workers. He was also honorary Regimental Treasurer. The Volunteers were disbanded in 1802 when the threat of invasion was lifted by Britain's naval victories at the Nile and Copenhagen. He was appointed High Sheriff of Surrey in 1835. In 1824 he obtained a Grant of Arms. Warnham School in West Sussex was built in 1850 with money provided by James, the local vicar and others.

Family

James married twice. He married his first wife Sophia Bridget Colville at Piccadilly in Middlesex on 11 July 1797. They had three children, two sons and one daughter. After Sophia's death in 1801 he remarried to Margaret Schaw Stewart at Marylebone in Middlesex on 11 June 1804. They had thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. Their fourth daughter Mary Drummond Broadwood married Alfred Lyall. This couple's second son was Alfred Comyn Lyall. Their eldest son Henry Fowler Broadwood married Juliana Maria Birch. This couple's tenth daughter was Lucy Broadwood.

Country estate

James Shudi Broadwood was an extremely wealthy man by the time of his death in 1851. In 1799 he purchased Lyne Farm in Surrey with a loan of £3,000 from his father. In 1821 he purchased a 265-acre (1.1 km2) farm at Warnham in West Sussex. He had increased the area there to 1,280 acres (5 km2) by 1841 (including the farm of Temple Elfold in the parish of Capel in Surrey in 1833). By 1842 he owned various estates in the parish of Rusper in West Sussex with an area of nearly 700 acres (including the Crown estate of 333 acres (1.3 km2)). His estate on his death was valued at £319,180. The executors of his will controlled over 584 acres (2.4 km2) of land with a rentable value of £263 16s in 1871 at Crawley in West Sussex.

External links

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