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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
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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
19:(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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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David J. Shaw and Sarah Gray, ‘James Abree (1691? – 1768) : Canterbury’s first "modern" printer’, in:
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Simmons was actively involved in local politics. He was elected to the Common
Council in 1769, served as
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As well as newspaper proprietors, they were stationers, bookbinders, printers and publishers, ran a
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A further venture was an unsuccessful plan to promote a canal from
Canterbury to the sea at
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35:, the son of William Simmons, a 'Peruke' or wig maker in the city. He attended the
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Leigh
Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)
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within the walls of
Canterbury, which is still an important civic open space.
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for 1772-73 and was elected an Alderman in 1774. He served his first term as
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Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
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In 1791 Simmons set up in business as a miller. He built a completely new
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The Reach of print : Making, selling and reading books
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Canterbury's Tycoon: James Simmons – Reshaper of his city
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of Canterbury by 'patrimony' and went into business as a
50:In 1768, Simmons set up a bi-weekly newspaper the
201:, Canterbury: The Canterbury Society, 1990, 40pp.
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256:contributions in Parliament by James Simmons
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379:18th-century British newspaper founders
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146:Simmons was elected as one of the two
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157:Simmons married Charlotte Mantell of
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56:in rivalry with the long-standing
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109:which eventually merged with
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354:English newspaper founders
178:London Book Trade Database
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37:King's School, Canterbury
224:British Book Trade Index
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369:Sheriffs of Canterbury
148:Members of Parliament
87:Sheriff of Canterbury
374:Mayors of Canterbury
285:Member of Parliament
31:Simmons was born in
344:British booksellers
143:was being planned.
91:Mayor of Canterbury
75:circulating library
23:from 1806 to 1807.
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309:Succeeded by
137:George Stephenson
96:Dane John Gardens
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364:UK MPs 1806–1807
312:Samuel Sawbridge
271:Preceded by
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122:River Stour
111:Lloyds Bank
103:Henry Gipps
328:Categories
316:John Baker
304:John Baker
289:Canterbury
278:John Baker
165:References
152:Canterbury
33:Canterbury
161:in 1776.
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105:, of the
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27:Biography
133:Reculver
81:Politics
251:Hansard
120:on the
41:freeman
301:With:
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287:for
150:for
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