John C Singleton
1958 - 1959
John Charles William Singleton (1898-1975) was Chairman and Managing Director of the family business, Singleton & Cole, snuff and tobacco distributors and manufacturers of briar pipes. Established by his grandfather in Wolverhampton in the 1860s, the company grew to become one of the country’s largest wholesale distributors. Born in Tottenham, John joined the business as a clerk, was promoted to manager of the Liverpool branch, and eventually became joint Managing Director of the company in 1947 and sole Managing Director in 1957. Singleton & Cole was acquired in the 1960s by James Goldsmith via Cavenham Foods, and eventually by the Imperial Group, which sold the good will in 2016 to Wilsons & Co. of Sheffield.
Our ram's head snuff mull, Cedric, manufactured in Edinburgh in 1899, was given to the Company by Singleton & Cole.