Thomas Bantock (1823 – 20 July 1895) was a Scottish-born businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Wolverhampton from 1869 to 1870.

Early life

The son of a gamekeeper he excelled at school in

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

and was sent to

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

as an agent for the Trustees of the

Duke of Bridgewater Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

. By 1861 he was District Agent but also worked for the Great Western Railway.

Thos. Bantock & Co.

He then set up his own business, Thos. Bantock & Co. which grew rapidly. By 1866 he was an

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a large ...

, mined coal and built boats and wagons.

Politics

Bantock was a

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 ...

supporter and was elected to the town council in 1861. He was one of the escorts for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

during her visit to Wolverhampton to unveil the statue of her late husband,

Albert, Prince Consort Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861. Albert was born in the Saxon duch ...

Personal life

He was a member of the

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

. Along with fellow church members he set up

Tettenhall College Tettenhall College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school located in the Wolverhampton suburb of Tettenhall in England. History The college was founded in 1863 by a group of prominent local businessmen and industrialists, most ...

as a school for students from poor families. He was now in a position to move his family into a large mansion, Merridale House, now known as Bantock House. He continued to serve the town, and the church and was a generous benefactor. He died in 1895. In his will, he left the house and land to his son

Albert Baldwin Bantock Albert Baldwin Bantock (1862–8 February 1938), served as Mayor of Wolverhampton for three terms. Early life Born in Wolverhampton in 1862, his father was Thomas Bantock, also a mayor of Wolverhampton, and he was educated at Tettenhall Colleg ...

. He is still remembered for his small herd of highland cattle that he kept at Bantock Park, commemorated today in a bronze statue near the house.

References

1823 births 1895 deaths British ironmasters Mayors of Wolverhampton People of the Victorian era 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-stub