Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd (16 September 1840 – 14 December 1927), was a Welsh

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politician, who served as MP for East Glamorganshire from 1885 until 1910, when he was elevated to the peerage as Lord Pontypridd.

Background and education

Thomas was born at Llwyn y Grant, Llanedeyrn, in what is now a part of

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. His father was Daniel Thomas, owner of the lime kilns at Llandough and a contractor with offices in Grangetown, Cardiff). He was educated at Weston School, near

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, but he decided not to pursue a university career to join his father's business. Early in his business career, Thomas was involved with the construction of the Rhondda Fach branch of the

Taff Vale Railway The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stage ...

. As a result, he became acquainted with the areas which he later represented in Parliament. Thomas had also studied for a short time as a lay student at

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under

Joseph Angus Joseph Angus (January 1816 – August 1902) was an English Baptist minister, college head, and biblical scholar. Life The only son of John Angus, a farmer and later a leather merchant, by his wife Elizabeth Wanless, he was born at Bolam, Northumb ...

. His father was a prominent Baptist, and Thomas joined the congregation at Tabernacle Church, Cardiff, where he later became a deacon.

Early political career

Thomas became member of Cardiff Borough Council for

Roath Roath () is a district and Community (Wales), community to the north-east of the Cardiff city centre, city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. The area is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdown in the so ...

in 1875 and served on the council until 1886, being

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in 1881–2. During the 1880s, Thomas was instrumental in a number of measures to address the inadequate water supply for Cardiff. In 1884 a committee under his chairmanship secures the Cardiff Corporation Act which provided for the Taff Fawr reservoir. He was also involved with the construction of the Llanishen reservoir and the later construction of waterworks at Llanishen which Thomas opened on 28 October 1886. As mayor he was central to the decision to locate the

University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

in Cardiff, rather than

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. He gave £1,000 towards the building fund and the decision to locate the university at Cardiff was announced before the end of his term as Mayor. In later years he was a generous benefactor of the University. Another landmark during his mayoral year was the opening of the Cardiff Free Library and Museum. Following his election to Parliament, Thomas stood down as a member of the council in 1886, but on 13 August 1888 he was created a

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of the

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Parliamentary career

As a prominent public figure and through his nonconformist connections, Thomas began to be considered as a possible parliamentary candidate. In 1882 he was mentioned as a possible candidate for Cardiganshire should David Davies choose to retire. More realistic prospects appeared following the redistribution of seats in 1885 which led to the creation of additional constituencies in Glamorgan. In April 1885, Thomas was among six candidates nominated by the local Liberal Association for selection as candidate for the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

constituency. Shortly afterwards, Thomas emerged as a leading contender for the Liberal nomination in East Glamorganshire, and after several months of campaigning he saw off the challenge of his main rival, Bowen Rowlands. At the 1885 general election Thomas was elected Member of Parliament for East Glamorganshire, winning over 70% of the votes and defeating his Conservative opponent Godfrey Clark by 2,800 votes. He continued to represent the constituency until his retirement at the December 1910 general election. In 1891, Thomas, working with T. E. Ellis introduced the National Institutions (Wales) Bill, providing for a Secretary of State for Wales and a

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

, as well as a Welsh Parliament, to be located in

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. The Bill did not secure a

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. He was also involved with

Cymru Fydd The Cymru Fydd (The Wales to Come; ) movement was founded in 1886 by some of the London and Liverpool Welsh. Some of its main leaders included David Lloyd George (later Prime Minister), J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis (leader, MP for ...

, serving as President of the

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, the body formed by the merger of Cymru Fydd and the North Wales Liberal Federation. He was elected Chairman of the Welsh Parliamentary Liberal Party in 1898. He was

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in the

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, receiving the accolade from King

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on 24 October that year. He was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Baron Pontypridd, of

in the

County of Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the south of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying bo ...

, in 1912, with the motto "Bit Ben Bit Bont" (Let Him Be Himself the Bridge), a motto taken from the

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...

Other public positions

Apart from his political career Thomas was a Justice of the Peace for Cardiff and Glamorgan, Deputy Lieutenant for

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

from December 1901, first President of the

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, President of

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and President of the

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for 1886. Thomas was a staunch Nonconformist, a member and deacon of Tabernacle Baptist Church, Cardiff. Despite his busy Parliamentary career, he made every effort to attend the mid-week

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, and combined his Parliamentary duties with the post of superintendent of the

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, which he held for a generation. His election as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

of Tabernacle was one of his most prized honours, being conferred on him by those who knew him best. He composed

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s and was committed to the cause of gospel temperance. He was involved in the

1904–1905 Welsh Revival The 1904–1905 Welsh revival was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. It was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population, and triggered revivals in several other countries. The movement kept the c ...

Personal life

Lord Pontypridd never married and the title became extinct on his death in December 1927, aged 87. He left almost all of his estate, including his home, Bronwydd, Penylan, to the

City of Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. He is buried with his parents in

Cathays Cemetery The Cathays Cemetery is one of the main cemeteries of Cardiff, Wales. It is in the Cathays district of the city, about north of Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre () is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wal ...

. Bronwydd no longer exists, having been demolished as part of the construction of Eastern Avenue, but a "Bronwydd Close" nearby recalls its location.

References

Sources

Books and Journals

* *

Sources

Alfred Thomas
''Welsh Biography Online''. *'Great Welshmen of Modern Days' by Sir Thomas Hughes. *Thomas Family Monument, Cathays Cemetery, Cardiff *Alfred Thomas Papers, Cardiff Central Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Pontypridd, Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron 1840 births 1927 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Councillors in Wales Deputy lieutenants of Glamorgan Knights Bachelor Thomas, Alfred Politicians from Cardiff People associated with Cardiff University Thomas, Alfred Thomas, Alfred Thomas, Alfred Thomas, Alfred Thomas, Alfred Thomas, Alfred Thomas, Alfred UK MPs who were granted peerages 19th-century Welsh Baptist ministers Mayors of Cardiff Alumni of Regent's Park College, London Councillors in Cardiff Barons created by George V 20th-century Welsh Baptist ministers