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

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

and

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a wealthy seaside resort ...

in South

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

. Born into a wealthy family in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, 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 in Penarth, near Cardiff, Wales. Details The gallery was built in 1887/8, designed by architect Edwin Seward in a Queen Anne style for the rich local flour merchant, James Pyke Thompson. Pyke Thompson use ...

, 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 is 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 other countries a much greater numbe ...

. 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, 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