Pearson Thompson (14 April 1794 – 22 November 1872) was an English

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

who was responsible for the layout of a great part of

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, and of the

Ladbroke Estate The Ladbroke Estate was a substantial estate of land owned by the Ladbroke family in Notting Hill, London, England, in the early 19th century that was gradually developed and turned into housing during the middle years of the century, as London ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He subsequently emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

where he practiced law. Thompson was the son of Henry Thompson and Judith, née Teshmaker. His father was a wealthy London merchant and underwriter who had bought a large piece of farmland near Cheltenham in 1801. Shortly after this, medicinal springs were discovered there and his father had developed the

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

Spa on the site. The first pump room was built in 1809. In early life Thompson practised as a solicitor in London, but after inheriting his father’s property in 1820 moved to Cheltenham to develop the estate. Thompson employed J. B. Papworth as his architect from 1824 onwards for both the layout of the Montpellier estate and the design of the Montepellier Pump Room, which included a domed circular room that became known as the Rotunda. In addition to creating the infrastructure, Thompson sought talent to support the spa’s activities, for example Henry Davies, whom he bought from London to run a library and produce periodicals. Thompson owned the wealthy Lansdown district of Cheltenham, where Papworth also designed a number of large houses, including one for

Richard Roy Richard Roy is a Canadian director, actor and screenwriter. He has directed several feature films in French as well as television films and series for the English-language market. He was raised in the village of Saint-Agapit, in Lotbinière Re ...

, a fellow developer. Both Thompson and Roy were members of a committee formed to provide fashionable public entertainments such as musical promenades and summer balls. In 1836 they were working together to consider the various proposals for railway lines to Cheltenham and founded a local joint-stock bank. Thompson also worked with the architects and developers R. W. and C. Jearrad, who took over the running of Montpellier Spa and designed Christ Church on land donated by Thompson. Thompson and Roy developed an estate in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, and in 1841 and 1842 they lent money to John Duncan, who was developing the Ladbroke Estate. When Duncan went bankrupt the creditors put them both in charge of carrying out the development. The layout and general character of parts of the Ladbroke estate owe much to the Montpellier estate at Cheltenham. Thompson remained in Cheltenham at his home Hatherley Court, his principal role being to provide the capital. He was at this time

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for the County of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Thompson’s investment in the Ladbroke estate had "so involved his affairs as to compromise the whole of his property", and in 1849 he emigrated to

. He practiced at the bar in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

for a while, and then went to

Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine ( , Variation in Australian English, non-locally also ) is a small city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest by road from ...

, which was the centre of a large goldmining district. He was very successful and became a magistrate. He died there in 1872. At the time of his death he was described as the "Maker of Cheltenham". He had married Dorothy Scott, daughter of William Scott of Austin Friars, at

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

in 1817 and had four children.

References

Online guide to Cheltenham

The Ladbroke estate: The 1840s', Survey of London: volume 37: Northern Kensington (1973), pp. 200-220

Death of Mr. Pearson Thompson, The Age, 25 November 1872, p 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Pearson 1794 births 1872 deaths People from Cheltenham British real estate businesspeople 19th-century Australian lawyers 19th-century British businesspeople