Thomas William Booker-Blakemore (ne Thomas William Booker) (28 September 1801 – 7 November 1858), MP, was an industrialist, landowner, and politician.

Early years

He was born in

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

in 1801. He was the son of the Reverend

Luke Booker Rev. Luke Booker (20 October 1762 – 1 October 1835) LL.D., FRLS was an English Anglican clergyman, poet and antiquary, with a long list of published sermons and poetry. As a cleric he was strongly linked with the town of Dudley, then an excl ...

(1762–1836), Chaplains in Ordinary to George Prince Regent,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Tedstone Delamere Tedstone Delamere is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, north-east of Bromyard. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 138. The etymology of the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon, Teodic after whom the villages ...

, and an author of poetry and other publications. His mother, Ann, was the daughter of Thomas Blakemore (d. 1808), of Littleton Hall in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, c ...

, and Anne Partridge (d. 1838) of

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye ...

. He had one half-brother, John-Key Booker, and three sisters, Harriet-Esther, Catherine, and Mary. Booker was educated at

Hartlebury Hartlebury is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England which is in Wychavon district centred south of Kidderminster. The civil parish registered a population of 2,549 in the 2001 Census. The railway station is centred 800 metr ...

, Worcestershire. At an early age, he was adopted by his maternal uncle,

Richard Blakemore Richard Blakemore (8 August 1775 – 17 April 1855), MP was an ironmaster and politician. Born in the West Midlands region of England, he held seats in southern Wales at The Leys, near Monmouth, and Velindre House, in Whitchurch, Cardiff. ...

of Velindre House, who brought him up at the

Melingriffith Tin Plate Works The Melingriffith Tin Plate Works (alternate: Melingriffith Tin and Iron Works; Welsh, ''Melingruffydd''; translation, "Griffith's Mill") were post medieval tin and iron works located on Tŷ-mawr Road, in Whitchurch, Cardiff, Wales. Founded s ...

Career

Booker took an active role in the affairs of politics, serving as Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of Hereford, Monmouth, and Glamorgan. In 1848, he served as High Sheriff of Glamorgan. He represented

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

as a Member of Parliament (1819–1858). He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

in politics and an active

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

. He was Chairman of the

Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company was a canal and railway company that operated a canal and a network of railways in the Western Valley and Eastern Valley of Newport, Monmouthshire. It started as the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation and o ...

, and of the Cardiff Steam Navigation Company. Booker was a large employer at his works at

Pentyrch Pentyrch ( cy, Pen-tyrch) is a village and community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, Pentyrch, which covers the village and immediat ...

and Melingriffith. He took out patents for tin plate making in 1837 and for manufacturing iron in 1841. One of his aims was to add land to his estates. He acquired properties, owning the whole of Pentyrch; he had freeholds at Whitchurch, Llandaff, and Llanlltyd. At one time his estate consisted of 8,000 acres. Booker held an annual flower show at Wauntreoda, Whitchurch. He was interested in scientific pursuits, particularly mineralogy. He joined the Institution of Civil Engineers as an Associate in 1850.

Personal life

He married Jane-Anne Coghlan in 1824. They had three sons, Thomas-William Booker of Velindre, Richard-Blakemore Booker (d. 1861) of The Leys, and John-Partridge Booker; and two daughters, Anna (d. 1855) and Mary. He assumed his uncle's surname by royal licence in 1855, and died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

in 1858 aged 57.

Partial works

* ''Torquay : a poem'' (1816)
''The prize treatise on the mineral basin of Glamorgan and the adjoining district, and the national benefits arising therefrom (Gwent and Dyfed Royal Eisteddfod)''
(1834) * ''Poems on the loss and re-building of St. Mary's Church, Cardiff.'' (1842) * ''A Speech, delivered at Swansea, at the annual meeting of the Royal British Association for the Advancement of Science, etc. (On the mineral productions of South Wales)'' (1848)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booker-Blakemore, Thomas William 1801 births 1858 deaths High Sheriffs of Glamorgan People from Dudley People from Hereford People from Monmouth, Wales UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 British industrialists Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 19th-century British businesspeople