Thomas Sidney (5 January 1805 – 10 March 1889) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician, and tea merchant.

Family and early life

Born in Stafford in 1805 to William Sidney and his wife Ann, Sidney was educated at Stafford Grammar School, becoming a tea importer and merchant on Ludgate Hill in 1838. He first married to Sarah Hall, daughter of William Hall, in 1831, and they one daughter, Ellen (born ). After Sarah's death in 1857, he remarried to Eleanor Mary Ward, daughter of W. Ward, on 12 January 1860. He had at least one other child, Thomas Stafford.

Political career

Sidney's political career began as City Councillor of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

for Farringdon Ward for 1843 to 1844, and then as alderman of

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...

in 1844, a position he held for 36 years. He was also appointed

Sheriff of the City of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

in 1844, and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

from 1853 to 1854. Incidentally, he was followed in this role by

Francis Moon Sir Francis Graham Moon, 1st Baronet (28 October 1796 – 13 October 1871) was an English printseller and publisher and served as Lord Mayor of London. Life Moon was born at St Andrew, Holborn, the son of Christopher Moon, and Ann, daughter of T ...

, the father of his son-in-law Reverend Edward Graham Moon, who had married his daughter Ellen. He was first elected Conservative MP for

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

at the 1847 general election, but stood down at the next election in 1852 in order to stand for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

where he was unsuccessful. He again unsuccessfully sought election in

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Janua ...

for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

as a

Peelite The Peelites were a breakaway dissident political faction of the British Conservative Party from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in 1846, the Peelites supported free trade whilst ...

Conservative, and then returned to Stafford to seek re-election as a Liberal in 1859. He later returned to Parliament as a Liberal member after a by-election in 1860 — caused by the resignation of John Ayshford Wise — and held the seat until the 1865 general election, when he retired.

Bowes Manor

In 1855, Sidney leased the Bowes Manor in

Bowes Park Bowes Park () is situated on the borders of Wood Green, Palmers Green and Bounds Green in London, England. The postcodes for Bowes Park are N13 and N22. The border between the London boroughs of Enfield and Haringey goes through the area. Bowes ...

, after the death of Sir

Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro Thomas Wilde, 1st Baron Truro, (7 July 178211 November 1855) was a British lawyer, judge, and politician. He was Lord Chancellor, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1850 and 1852. Background and education Born in London, Truro was t ...

, later purchasing the property in 1866. He began developing the western border of the estate in 1870, laying out what is now Palmerston Road in around 1870, and building 30 large houses backing onto the New River. He also paid for much of the construction of the St Michael-at-Bowes Church, which was completed in 1874 and in which he is now buried. Upon his death in 1889, the manor and estate were put up for sale, but no purchasers came forward, and it was instead leased to the guardians of the poor of

St Mary's Church, Islington The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the historic parish church of Islington, in the Church of England Diocese of London. The present parish is a compact area centered on Upper Street between Angel and Highbury Corner, bounded to the west by Live ...

; it later became ran down and divided up for development, and then sold for building in 1899.

Other activities

Sidney was also 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 ...

for

and

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and a Deputy Lieutenant for London. He was also an

Overseer of the Poor An overseer of the poor was an official who administered poor relief such as money, food, and clothing in England and various other countries which derived their law from England such as the United States. England In England, overseers of the poo ...

in 1849, but was exempted, and the became a churchwarden for 1852/1853.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidney, Thomas UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1859–1865 1805 births 1889 deaths Sheriffs of the City of London High Sheriffs of Middlesex Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 19th-century lord mayors of London Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stafford 19th-century English politicians Liberal Party (UK) politicians Conservative Party (UK) politicians