The Pearsons

The Pearsons came to Parham in 1922 neither as members of a nouveau riche ‘smart set’ nor from the old landed aristocracy. Clive Pearson, born on 12 August 1897, was the second son of the industrialist Weetman Pearson (who became the 1st Viscount Cowdray in 1917) and Annie Cass, daughter of a former lord mayor of Bradford. The Pearson family empire had its roots in Bradford in the firm of S. Pearson and Son, building contractors, in the mid-19th century. In the course of Clive’s lifetime the company grew to become the biggest of its kind in the world, famous for its harbours, railways, electrical plants, and oil installations.