Born in 1857 as John Henry James, the son of Abraham Trewantha James & Johanna Grey, he changed his name by adding Cordner, ostensibly to differentiate himself from siblings William James and Alfred James in his family firm, James Bros.
He developed a prolific career as a gold mining engineer and consultant, travelling[1] extensively to Russia, Australia, South America and South Africa, and was one of the first owners of a motor car in England. In South Africa, Cordner-James notably formed the Gold Recovery Syndicate to acquire the patent rights to practice the MacArthur-Forrest gold cyanidation mining process in 1922.[2] In Australia he had various business interests with fellow director of the Oroya-Brownhill mining company, future US President Herbert Hoover.[3] In 1912 he was elected to the position of Vice President of the English Council of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy.[4]
At the outbreak of World War One, he purchased future Beatles recording studio Abbey Road Studios, London, which he retained until 1929.[5]
Cordner-James suffered from arthritis towards the end of his life and in 1934 at the age of 76 built a new home near Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on account of its private location and low rainfall, which he lived in until his death in 1946.
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