Sir Thomas Salt, 1st Baronet (12 May 1830 – 8 April 1904), was a British banker and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
politician.
Career
His grandfather
John Stevenson Salt
John Stevenson Salt (25 June 1775 – 16 August 1845) was an English barrister, banker and land owner.
He was born in June 1775, the son of Thomas Salt (died 1788) of Rugeley, Staffordshire and Elizabeth Stevenson. He was baptised 7 August 177 ...
, (
High Sheriff of Staffordshire
This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire.
The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities as ...
in 1838), married Sarah Stevenson, the granddaughter of John Stevenson, founder in 1737 of a banking company in Stafford. Salt became a partner in the firm of
Stevenson Salt & Co which had opened in Cheapside, London in 1788 and which in 1867 merged with Bosanquet & Co and later with
Lloyds Banking Company. Salt went on to be a director, and later chairman, of Lloyds from 1884 to 1896.
He was also chairman, from 1883 to 1904, of the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a Great Britain, British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shro ...
. He was also chair of the
New Zealand Midland Railway Company in 1889.
He was returned to Parliament for
Stafford
Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
in 1859, a seat he held until 1865, and again from 1869 to 1880, 1881 to 1885 and 1886 to 1892. From January 1876 to April 1880, he was
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board, a junior post, in the
second ministry of
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
's government.
In 1899 he was created a
Baronet, of Standon, and of Weeping Cross in the County of Stafford. His estates included Baswich House, built by his father in 1850, and
Standon Hall, which his son later rebuilt in 1901. He died in April 1904, aged 73.
Personal life
His youngest son was a major-general in the army, and his uncle was the banker
William Salt, after whom the
William Salt Library at Stafford is named. His granddaughter was the diplomat Dame
Barbara Salt, DBE .
Arms
Notes
References
* ''Handbook of London Bankers''
F. G. Hilton Price (1970) Google Books. History of Stevenson Salt & Co
* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salt, Sir Thomas, 1st Baronet
1830 births
1904 deaths
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stafford
201
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1868–1874
UK MPs 1874–1880
UK MPs 1880–1885
UK MPs 1886–1892
English bankers
19th-century English businesspeople
Church Estates Commissioners