John Moncrieff

In 1834, John Moncrieff was born to Agnes and Thomas Moncrieff, at Cherrybank, Perth. He attended the village school until he was 13 years old, when he got his first job at the Perth Ink Works (1847), owned by John Todd & Co. He continued his education at night school. In 1855, at the age of 21, he was appointed manager of Todd's glassworks, where he remained until John Todd's death in 1865. While at Todd's, John Moncrieff proved to be a very practical man (according to his obituary) taking on the job of building furnaces and experimenting with the glass being produced. Following the death of John Todd, he decided to set up his own glassworks, initially naming it the North British Glass and Ink Works, which he opened in 1868 at 189 South Street, Perth. These premises were rented and, according to the 1871 census records, five men and 13 boys were employed in the manufacture of ink and glass. The company remained at South Street until 1881 when a new facility was set up on two acres of land at St. Catherine's Road. The 1881 census reports that 24 men, five women, 19 boys and four girls were employed. In 1896, a further 32-acre parcel of land was leased from the Council at the lower harbour. In addition to his work, John Moncrieff was active in the local community, giving both time and money for the benefit of the City of Perth. He was a member of the Perth Liberal Club and eventually became Vice President of both the Perth Liberal Club and the Perth Liberal Association. As well, he served on the Perth Town Council for five years and as a member of the School Board for 12 years. He belonged to the Evangelical Union Church and ultimately became the Manager and President. As an advocate of temperance, he became President of the Perth Gospel Temperance Society. Yet even these did not fully occupy him. In addition, he held the position of President of the Perth Bowling Club, and was a Director of the Perth Bible Society. A keen fisher, he belonged to the Tay Fishing Syndicate, and presumably glass target ball shooting fell into his list of activities. He married Christina Robb (born 1851) on 6th June, 1867, and was later referred to as 'John Robb', possibly to avoid confusion with his youngest son. He died of a heart attack on September 30th, 1899, and was survived by his wife and three children: Thomas Robb Moncrieff (born 6th August, 1869), Winifred Catherine Moncrieff (born 26th September, 1871) and John "Jack" Moncrieff (born 1st June, 1874, died 29th April, 1950) who took over as Managing Director of the company after his father's death. The superior quality of Moncrieff's products earned the company an international reputation and its gauge glasses, marketed under the brand names 'Perth' and 'Unific' were sought world-wide by locomotive companies, steamship companies and the British and foreign Navies. This leadership was recognized in 1876 with award of the first of many medals at international trade exhibitions. Moncrieff's had awarded the sole selling rights for the United States to H.A. Rogers in 1872; this was continued by his successors until 1925 when the assets and goodwill of the H.A. Rogers Co. was acquired by Jenkins Brothers. The business then being conducted under the name Jenkins Bros. Moncrieff-Rogers Division. During 1896 Moncrieff's further expanded its operation by leasing a 32-acre parcel of land from the Council at the lower harbour; it was here that the gauge glasses that were to make John Moncrieff's fortune were fully developed.