Samuel Cunliffe Lister’s grandfather was a successful mill owner in the nearby town of Addingham and so he came from the right background for himself to also become involved.
His career started when his father built him and his brother a mill in Manningham, the suburb of Bradford where this park is located, in 1838.
As well as running the mill he invented the Lister nip comb, which straightened and separated raw wool at the start of the creation of worsted yarn. This revolutionised the industry and significantly reduced production costs.
He also developed a silk-combing machine that could make good quality yarn from silk waste at a fantastically reduced price. He also developed machinery for the manufacture of piled fabrics.
In the meantime his factory expanded and became the biggest mill in the north of England employing 11,000 people. This was one of the mills that turned Bradford from a small rural town into one of the biggest woollen towns in the world.
Indirectly he was responsible for the growth of sheep farming in Australia, because the increased demand for wool could not be met from English farms.
One of the darker aspects of his life was his treatment of his workforce. Trade had been badly affected by import duties imposed by the USA, and he was keen to protect his profits.
In late 1900 he summarily reduced his worker’s wages by 25%. This led to a bitter industrial dispute and strike, but he effectively starved them back to work.
This and other disputes in nearby factories led to the formation of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford. This organisation was the early beginnings of the modern Labour Party, the current opposition party in the U.K.
He was also successful in his life outside of business and In 1887 he was appointed High Sheriff of Yorkshire. In 1891 he became a peer and took the title the First Baron of Masham, a small Yorkshire town near to a house he owned.
This park was originally the grounds of Lister’s family home, Manningham Hall. In 1870 he sold the area to Bradford City Council at a cheap price on the condition that they maintain the park for the benefit of the people of Bradford. He later paid for the demolition of his house, and the erection of a new art gallery. The gallery was completed in 1903 and was the centre piece of the Bradford Industrial Exhibition of 1904, which was visited by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The statue was erected in 1875 by the people of Bradford in recognition and thanks for the donation of the park. It was sculpted by Matthew Noble (1818 – 1876) from a block of white Sicilian marble and unveiled on Saturday 15 May by W. E. Forster, then Member of Parliament for Bradford.
Round the base of the statue are a number of carved panels depicting scenes relating to wool farming and machinery and workers involved in wool manufacturing.
It is sited near to the Oak Lane entrance to the park and is a Grade II listed building. English Heritage entry number 1038944.
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