Scottish Freemason - Sir Thomas Lipton, 1st Baronet, KCVO Tea Magnate

 

Sir Thomas Lipton, 1st Baronet, KCVO Tea Magnate

Bro "Tommy" Lipton was born on May 10 1848 in Glasgow and emigrated to the USA in 1865 where he ended up working in the tobacco fields of Virginia and rice plantation. 

He is reputed to have said  "People must eat...and the store that tempted people to buy goods would never be empty of customers"

In 1870 he returned to Glasgow and helped his parents run their small shop. 

It was this same year that he was Initiated into the Scotia Lodge No 178 Glasgow on the 31st May 1870 aged 22.  He was Passed on 17th August 1870 and Raised later that same evening.

On his 21st Birthday he opened his own shop at 101 Stobcross St in Glasgow. The shop  was in the heart of industrial Glasgow, with its smoke and fog.  The shop was said to be so brightly lit at night that it became a beacon in the street, Goods were stacked in the American fashion, not for the convenience of the proprietors, but with the purpose of catching the customers' attention. 

The success of his ventures lead to it being recorded that in 1888 Lipton had 300 shops throughout Britain.  By 1890 Lipton was a very rich and successful man.

He then turned his attention to tea.  Drinking tea had become very popular in the late 1880s but it was still prohibitively expensive for the working class family.  He packaged tea in small quantities, and within a year huge amounts of tea were selling in pound, half pound and quarter pound packets of blends.  These blends were made especially for the area around the shops so that Lipton could advertise "the perfect tea to suit the water of your town".

In 1898 Lipton reluctantly bowed to pressure and allowed his empire to become a limited company.  The professional view of the company was that while it was rock solid it was no longer capable of drastic expansion.  Slow and steady growth would lead to long term investment but no quick wins.  What the professionals didn't take into account was the high regard and affection the public had for the Lipton brand.  There was an unprecedented rush for shares.  At the National Bank of Scotland the police had to regulate the crowds.  Applications were received for almost £50m worth of shares.  On the 2nd of June that year, Lipton directed his first shareholders' meeting.  It was also the first time in thirty years, since the opening of his first shop in Glasgow, that he had to answer to anyone but himself.

Sir Thomas Lipton loved sports and presented many “Lipton” cups throughout the world for a wide range of sports.

Today the sport that the world remembers Sir Thomas Lipton is yacht racing, and especially the Americas Cup.  5 times in all in 1899, 1901, 1903, 1920 and finally 1930.  In all these challenges he called his yacht Shamrock, a flashback to his model yachts of childhood, and his acknowledgement of his Irish lineage, and finally and most importantly the Royal Ulster Yacht Club. whom he was challenging on behalf of.  Although he never managed to "lift that auld mug - surely the most elusive piece of metal in all the world so far as I am concerned"

Lipton, who built his empire from humble beginnings, was known for his charisma and dedication to philanthropy, often supporting charitable causes in line with Masonic principles.

At the time of his death, he was the oldest member on the rolls of his lodge.  He died at Osidge on 2 October 1931 and bequeathed the majority of his fortune to his native city of Glasgow, including his yachting trophies, which are now on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  Sir Thomas Lipton was buried alongside his parents and siblings in Glasgow's Southern Necropolis. 

He never married and was a confirmed bachelor and so his title was not carried forward and died with him.

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Published in Masonica, Freemasons NZ 16 May, 2026