James
Simmons (22 January 1741 – 22 January 1807) was a newspaper
proprietor, bookseller, banker and business entrepreneur. He
was a politician who was active in local government in
Canterbury and sat in the House of Commons from 1806 to 1807.
Simmons was born in Canterbury, the son of William Simmons, a
'Peruke' or wig maker in the city. He attended the King's
School, Canterbury between 1749 and 1755 and then served an
apprenticeship as a stationer in London from 1757. He obtained
his freedom in 1764. In 1767 he became a freeman of Canterbury
by 'patrimony' and went into business as a stationer.
In 1768 Simmons set up a bi-weekly newspaper the Kentish
Gazette in rivalry with the long-standing Kentish Post whose
new proprietor had refused an offer of partnership. After a
four-week local trade war, which also involved two other
Canterbury printers and stationers William Flackton and Thomas
Smith, Kirkby agreed terms and went into a long-term
partnership with Simmons. The firm traded in the High Street
and later at the King's Arms Printing Off & Library, St
George's Street. As well as newspaper proprietors, they were
stationers, bookbinders, printers and publishers, ran a
circulating library, and sold patent medicines.
Simmons was actively involved in local politics. He was
elected to the Common Council in 1769, served as Sheriff of
Canterbury for 1772-73 and was elected an Alderman in 1774. He
served his first term as Mayor of Canterbury in 1776. Between
1787 and 1791 he was a prime mover in the Pavement Commission
which was established by Act of Parliament 'For the Better
Paving, Cleansing, Lighting and Watching of Canterbury'.
Simmons acted as Treasurer to the Commission. In his second
term as Mayor, Simmons oversaw further modernization, such as
the establishment of a new market building (the Buttermarket)
and the demolition of several of the medieval city gates. He
was also responsible for the purchase and landscaping of the
Dane John Gardens within the walls of Canterbury, which is
still an important civic open space.
In addition to the book trade, Simmons's business interests
included an appointment as Distributor of Stamps for East Kent
(1782) and the creation, in partnership with Henry Gipps, of
the Canterbury Bank which eventually merged with Lloyds Bank
in 1918. The Bank was situated on the corner of St Margaret's
Street and High Street on the same site as the present Lloyds
Bank.
In 1791 Simmons set up in business as a miller. He built a
completely new Abbot's Mill on the River Stour, which was
designed by John Smeaton. A further venture was an
unsuccessful plan to promote a canal from Canterbury to the
sea at Reculver. After Simmons's death, an attempt was made to
launch a canal company under an enabling act in 1811. The
project was eventually abandoned in 1825 when George
Stephenson's Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was being
planned.
Simmons was elected as one of the two Members of Parliament
for Canterbury in the General Election in October 1806. He did
not serve as an MP for very long as he died aged 66 in London
in 1807 and was buried in St Mildred's Churchyard in
Canterbury.
Simmons married Charlotte Mantell of Tenterden in 1776.
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