Sir Thomas Baker (16 May 1810 – 17 April 1886) was a Unitarian minister and

Mayor of Manchester This is a list of the Lord Mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester Mayor. The Current and 124th Lord Mayor is Cllr Donna Ludford, Labour who has served Sin ...

, England.

Biography

Baker was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

on 16 May 1810 and attended

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Bir ...

. He studied divinity at Manchester College, York between 1827–32. Thereafter, he was a minister in

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 12,569 in 2011, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town h ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, for a year and then moved to Manchester. He continued his ministry until 1840, when he became a solicitor. In Manchester, Baker attended

Cross Street Unitarian Chapel Cross Street Chapel is a Unitarian church in central Manchester, England. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. Its present minister is Cody Coyne. His ...

, of which he was a trustee for 20 years. He wrote a somewhat unreliable, eccentric book titled ''Memorials of a Dissenting Chapel'' (1884). The Unitarian and religious historian

Alexander Gordon Alexander Gordon may refer to: * Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly (died 1470), Scottish magnate * Alexander Gordon (bishop of Aberdeen) (died 1518), Precentor of Moray and Bishop-elect of Aberdeen * Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly (died ...

said that Baker was "an uncommonly good hater" and refused to be involved with the project but, according to Herbert McLachlan, the book has been widely used and contains "much of value" despite its deficiencies. Baker, who lived at Skerton House in Old Trafford, was Mayor of Manchester between 1880–82. He was knighted in 1883 and died on 17 April 1886. Baker's brother,

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, was for many years the minister at Bank Street Unitarian Chapel in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

. Another brother was Charles, who was a pioneer of education for the deaf and about whom Thomas published a memoir.

Biography

References

Further reading