James Pyke Thompson (1846–1897) was a British corn merchant who is best known for his philanthropic work towards the people 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 ...

and

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

in South

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Born into a wealthy family in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, Thompson joined his father as director of Spiller & Co., Cardiff, one of the largest milling companies in Britain. Thompson was an art collector and was a particular admirer of British watercolours. To allow the public to view his collection, he built the

Turner House Gallery Turner House Gallery is an art gallery and multi-purpose cultural venue in Penarth, near Cardiff, Wales. Details The gallery was built in 1887/8, designed by architect Edwin Seward in a Queen Anne style architecture, Queen Anne style for the ric ...

, named after artist Joseph Turner,Penarth Town Trails
Penarth Society in Penarth in 1887. It opened to the public in 1888. He also gave thousands of pounds to both Cardiff's Municipal Museum and

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

. The Thompson family carried on his philanthropic work after his death and the Turner House gallery was donated to the National Museum in 1921. In 1924 the land surrounding the family house in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

, Cardiff was also presented to the city; it was renamed Thompson's Park.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, James Pyke 1846 births 1897 deaths English art collectors English philanthropists People from Bridgwater People associated with Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales