Thomas Lister Parker (27 September 1779 – 2 March 1858) was an English

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

, landowner, Trumpeter to the Queen and Honorary Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.

Life

Born at

Browsholme Hall Browsholme Hall is a privately owned Tudor house in the parish of Bowland Forest Low in the borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire (although historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire), England. It is claimed to be the oldest surviving family ...

, Yorkshire (now in Lancashire), England on 27 September 1779, he was the eldest of the eight sons of John Parker of Browsholme, by his wife Beatrix, daughter of Thomas Lister (1723–61) of

Gisburne Park Gisburne Park is an 18th-century country house and associated park in Gisburn, Lancashire, England, in the Ribble Valley some north-east of Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, Eng ...

, then in Yorkshire (but now in Lancashire) and sister of Thomas Lister, 1st Lord Ribblesdale. He was educated at the Clitheroe Royal Grammar School under

Thomas Wilson Thomas Wilson, Tom Wilson or Tommy Wilson may refer to: Actors * Thomas F. Wilson (born 1959), American actor most famous for his role of Biff Tannen in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy *Tom Wilson (actor) (1880–1965), American actor *Dan Gre ...

. On the death of his father on 25 May 1797, Parker succeeded to the Browsholme estate. In 1804 and 1805 he made alterations to the sixteenth century Browsholme Hall, rebuilding the west wing, and afterwards he made additions under the superintendence of Sir Jeffrey Wyatville. Parker had a taste for landscape gardening, and between 1797 and 1810 spent large sums in laying out his grounds. In the house he displayed a collection of antiquities and pictures, partly formed by himself. He had a large series of drawings and prints bought during a tour on the continent in 1800 and 1801, in Moscow, Venice, and Paris; a large collection of drawings of castles and manor-houses by John Chessell Buckler, and portfolios of his own drawings. He also owned pictures of the Flemish school and works of

James Northcote James Northcote (22 October 1746, in Plymouth – 13 July 1831, in London) was a British painter. Life and work Northcote was born in Plymouth, and was apprenticed to his father, Samuel Northcote, a watchmaker. In his spare time, he drew and ...

and Thomas Gainsborough. Parker was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in 1801, and afterwards Fellow of the Royal Society. He was

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

in 1804. He had the sinecure post of "Trumpeter to the Queen", and also claimed the office, as hereditary in his family for many generations, of " Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland". A liberal patron of artists, Parker's expenditure brought him into difficulties in the latter part of his life. In 1820 he sold Browsholme estate, with the mansion, to his cousin, Thomas Parker of

Alkincoats Hall Alkincoats Hall was a country house in Colne, Lancashire, England. Part of the estate in which the hall stood is now the 35-acre (14 ha) Alkincoats public park. Originally built in the north of the estate in 1575, the hall was enlarged in 1720 an ...

, Colne, Lancashire, who, dying without issue in 1832, left it to his nephew, Thomas Goulbourne Parker (1818–1879). Parker retired from society, and lived at the Star Inn in

Deansgate Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile ...

, Manchester, where he died, unmarried, on 2 March 1858. He was buried on 9 March in his family chapel in Waddington Church, Yorkshire.

Works

In 1815 Parker published a ''Description of Browsholme Hall … and of the Parish of Waddington''. The volume included a collection of letters of the reigns of Charles I, Charles II, and James II, printed from the originals at Browsholme. The frontispiece gives a view of the exterior of the hall in 1750. The views of Browsholme in Thomas Dunham Whitaker's ''Parish of Whalley'' were prepared at Parker's expense, one of them, signed "Wm. Turner A.", being by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

. Parker was an associate of Whitaker, who used his antiquarian and genealogical manuscripts for his ''Whalley''. He was also a friend of Charles Towneley, the Hebers, Turner, and James Northcote. Some of his letters are printed in Francis Robert Raines's ''Life of Wilson of Clitheroe'', 1858.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Thomas Lister 1779 births 1858 deaths English antiquarians Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London High Sheriffs of Lancashire Thomas