Sir Thomas Lea, 1st Baronet (17 January 1841 – 9 January 1902) was an English carpet manufacturer from

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

, and a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician.

Family history

Thomas Lea was born at The Larches, near Kidderminster, in 1841, the eldest son of George Butcher Lea. He came from a family which had manufactured Kidderminster

stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly (author), Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jere ...

and

bombazine Bombazine, or bombasine, is a fabric originally made of silk or silk and wool, and now also made of cotton and wool or of wool alone. Quality bombazine is made with a silk warp and a worsted weft. It is twilled or corded and used for dress-materi ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries. His ancestor Francis Lea with son John Lea went over to carpet weaving in 1781. When Francis retired from this firm, he and his second son Thomas Lea set up a

worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, for ...

spinning business in Callows Lane, Kidderminster. Francis' daughter married William Butcher, and their son George Butcher later joined the firm. In 1831 George formed the firm of Butcher, Worth and Holmes to manufacture carpets. In 1835 Thomas gave his spinning business to his nephew George Butcher, who later took the name George Butcher Lea.Melvyn Thompson, ''Woven in Kidderminster: an illustrated history of the carpet industry in the Kidderminster area ...'' (Kiddermister 2002), 144–5.

Carpet business

George Butcher Lea withdrew from the carpet business in 1838, and his son Thomas grew up in the business and then took control of it. He then built Slingfield Mills at Kidderminster in 1864. He retired in favour of his sons (who formed a company) in 1892 (they later sold the company in 1920).

Politics

Lea was chosen as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate for

in 1868, only 27 years old, and won by a large margin. He held the seat until 1874, and later represented

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

from 1880 to 1885 and County Londonderry South from 1886 to 1900. While in Ireland, Lea expressed hostility to the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

; he proposed an amendment to the draft of the

second Home Rule Bill The Government of Ireland Bill 1893 (known generally as the Second Home Rule Bill) was the second attempt made by Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to enact a system of home rule for Ireland. ...

that would have prevented the passing of laws which would increase Irish language use in state schools, legal courts and other public spheres. Retrieved on 7 April 2018. He was a

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 ...

. In 1892, he was created a baronet, of The Larches in Kidderminster in the County of Worcester and of Sea Grove in Dawlish in the County of Devon.

Family

Lea married, in 1864, Louisa Birch, daughter of William Birch, of

Barton-under-Needwood Barton-under-Needwood is a large village in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Situated a mile from the A38, and located between Burton upon Trent and Lichfield. It had a population of 4,225 at the 2011 census. It is als ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. They had two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Sir Thomas Sydney Lea (1867-1946) succeeded as baronet, and was a barrister. The younger son, Rev. Percy Lea, was a priest. Lea died at

on 9 January 1902, aged 60.

References

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lea, Sir Thomas, 1st Baronet 1841 births 1902 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 British textile industry businesspeople Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Donegal constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry constituencies (1801–1922) Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Irish constituencies 19th-century English businesspeople