Peace & Norquoy
Manufacturers of folding partitions
The firm of Peace & Norquoy, joiners, builders and shopfitters, was founded by two Orkney islanders in Manchester, William Norquoy (c. 1844–1914) and James Brotchie Peace (c. 1847–1909). There, the pair first appeared in the Post Office directories as builders in Ancoats in the early 1870s. Both married Scots, and became brothers-in-law when Norquoy wedded Peace's sister, Anne, in 1874. 1 In 1896 at another address in Ancoats, Peace & Norquoy, advertised for joiners, 'none but first class bench hands ... wages 8d. per hour; no strike'. 2
James Peace died in 1909. Following the deaths of his father and uncle, business was continued by William E. Norquoy Junior, who had joined the firm by 1911. His brother James, who graduated from Manchester School of Art and became an architect in London, was killed in action in 1917. 3 William Junior was still director when the firm was liquidated in 1938, and was declared personally bankrupt in 1939. 4
William Norquoy Senior was actively involved in local politics and was elected to Withington Urban District Council in 1894. 5 He supported the establishment of allotments in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, where he lived, in 1898, as 'such gardens would encourage industry and thrift'. 6 He also appeared at local Antiquarian Society and ratepayers' meetings, and concerned himself with minimum construction standards for working-class homes. 7
Notes:
1: Marriage, death, will and census information, www.ancestry.co.uk and www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk[accessed 12 August 2012]; Manchester Post Office Directory 1873, London: Kelly & Co., p. 413.
2: Scotsman, 22 July 1896, p. 11.
3: Deaths, will and census information, www.ancestry.co.uk [accessed 12 August 2012]; The Times, 13 April 1917, p. 4; 'Obituary: James Norquoy (1883–1917)', Builder, 112, 27 April 1917, p. 267; Scotsman, 14 April 1917, p. 12.
4: London Gazette, 17 May 1938, p. 3220; 3 June 1938, p. 3582; Edinburgh Gazette, 31 March 1939, p. 280.
5: Manchester Times, 7 December 1894, p. 2; 21 December 1894, p. 2.
6: Slater's Manchester and Salford Directory 1895, pt 1, p. 460, Historical Directories Digital Library, University of Leicester Project, www.historicaldirectories.org [accessed 12 August 2012]; Manchester Times, 23 September 1898, p. 4.
7: Manchester Times, 9 December 1898, p. 7; 9 March 1900, p. 6.
