Thomas Thompson (1754–1828), was a

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

banker and Wesleyan Methodist preacher. The father of

Thomas Perronet Thompson Thomas Perronet Thompson (15 March 1783 – 6 September 1869) was a British Parliamentarian, a governor of Sierra Leone and a radical reformer. He became prominent in 1830s and 1840s as a leading activist in the Anti-Corn Law League. He speci ...

, he had the gothic mansion, Cottingham Castle, built in

Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire Cottingham is a large village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies north-west of the centre of Kingston upon Hull, and south-east of Beverley on the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. It has two main shopping s ...

Biography

Thomas Thompson was born 5 April 1754, in relatively humble beginnings, his father was a

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

in Owborough Grange, Swine, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was educated by the Rev. William Stead of Swine. He married Philothea Perronet on 29 August 1781; she was a granddaughter of Vincent Perronet. After having worked for fourteen years as a clerk to the merchants ''Wilberforce and Smith'' of Hull. Abel Smith, a partner of the firm made him manager of the Hull branch of his bank in 1784, and in 1788 he became a partner in the bank and merchant business. Thompson acquired shareholdings in Sykes, Son & Co., Hull metal merchants, and in the

Hull Dock Company The Port of Hull is a port at the confluence of the River Hull and the Humber Estuary in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Seaborne trade at the port can be traced to at least the 13th century, originally cond ...

; he became chairman of the Dock Company in 1812. In 1807 Thompson became MP to the borough of

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester District in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother (Western), River Rother, inland from the English Channel and north of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first reco ...

in 1807, a constituency controlled by Abel Smith's son Lord Carrington (

Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington (22 January 1752 – 18 September 1838), was a British banker, slave owner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1779 to 1797 when he was raised to the peerage. Early life Smith was the third so ...

), in the role of MP he followed the line of his promoters. He claimed to have been ill-suited for the role, affirming that Carrington had "... spoiled a very good banker and made a very bad MP". He resigned as an MP in 1818. He objected to slavery, and was an associate of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

, and part of the Anti-Slavery Association, and a member of the

Clapham Sect The Clapham Sect, or Clapham Saints, were a group of social reformers associated with Holy Trinity Clapham in the period from the 1780s to the 1840s. Despite the label "sect", most members remained in the Established Church, established (and do ...

. By the beginning of the 19th century Thompson had become very wealthy, a large house known as Cottingham Castle was built for his family by 1816. Thompson was a Methodist lay preacher, and donated money towards the establishment of chapels. His concern for the state of the poor who entered

workhouses In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses. The earliest ...

led to establishment of a "Pauper Village" in Cottingham, providing land to poor families, renamed New Village (1829). He also published ''A History of the Church and Priory of Swine, in Holderness''. Thomas Thompson died in Paris on 14 September 1828, shortly after his retirement. He was buried in

Père Lachaise cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

. His son

(1783–1869) was a Parliamentarian, a Governor of Sierra Leone and a radical reformer. His granddaughter married

Nevil Sidgwick Nevil Vincent Sidgwick FRS (8 May 1873 – 15 March 1952) was an English theoretical chemist who made significant contributions to the theory of valency and chemical bonding. Biography Sidgwick was born in Park Town, Oxford, the elder of two ...

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* *, painting * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Thomas 1754 births 1828 deaths Businesspeople from Kingston upon Hull Politicians from Kingston upon Hull Clapham Sect People from Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818