Francis Taylor, Baron Taylor of Hadfield
{{Short description|British businessman (1905–1995)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Francis Taylor, Baron Taylor of Hadfield (7 January 1905 – 15 February 1995) was an English businessman who founded Taylor Woodrow, a leading international contractor and developer.
Career
He was born in Hadfield, near Glossop in Derbyshire in 1905. By the age of 11, he was operating his father's fruit business.{{cite news |title=Lord Taylor of Hadfield |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/lord-taylor-of-hadfield-1574801.html |accessdate=2 May 2019 |work=The Independent |date=25 February 1995 |language=en}} The family moved to Blackpool where at the age of 16, with help from his father and a bank, he spent £400 developing two houses which he sold at a substantial profit (£1000 each). This was the beginning of the business which Frank Taylor founded, to which his uncle Jack Woodrow also lent his name, now known as Taylor Woodrow.
In 1974, he was given a knighthood.{{London Gazette |issue=46248 |date=26 March 1974 |page=3897}} In 1979, he resigned as managing director and became life president. He was created a Life Peer on 27 January 1983 as Baron Taylor of Hadfield, of Hadfield in the County of Derbyshire.{{London Gazette |issue=49253 |date=2 February 1983 |page=1569}}
Lord Taylor of Hadfield continued to hold the position of Life President until his death on 15 February 1995. He died while visiting Taylor Woodrow's 3,500-home flagship development, The Meadows, in Sarasota, Florida.
Family
Taylor's second wife, Christine, who was also involved with Taylor Woodrow, lived with her daughter Sarah Melville until she died in 2011.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor of Hadfield, Francis Taylor, Baron}}
Category:British construction businesspeople
Category:English company founders
Category:Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Category:People from Blackpool
Category:People from Hadfield, Derbyshire
Category:20th-century English businesspeople
Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II
{{UK-business-bio-1900s-stub}}
{{Life-peer-stub}}