Thomas Berry Horsfall (20 August 1805 – 22 December 1878) was a Conservative Party politician in England. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 15 years, and was

Lord Mayor of Liverpool The office of Lord Mayor of Liverpool has existed in one form or another since the foundation of Liverpool as a borough by the Royal Charter of King John in 1207, simply being referred to as the Mayor of Liverpool. The position is now a mostl ...

from 1847 to 1848.

Life

Horsfall was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

to Dorothy Hall Berry (1784–1846) and Charles Horsfall (1776–1846), a former Mayor of Liverpool. He became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, and also Mayor of Liverpool in 1847 and 1848. In 1848 he was the Head of the Liverpool Architectural and Archaeological Society. He was also elected President of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce on its foundation in 1849. He was elected in 1852 as the MP for

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

, but the election was declared void in March 1853. In 1853 he was elected as Member of Parliament for

, and held the seat until 1868. A Conservative, he was opposed to the re-imposition of a duty on foreign corn, and generally all duties on "the necessaries of life". He opposed the Maynooth Grant and taxes upon income, but not on property. He was in favour of remodelling the Boards of Custom and Excise, extensive Chancery reform and a moderate Parliamentary reform. In later years Horsfall owned and resided at Bellamour Hall,

Colton, Staffordshire Colton is a village and civil parish in Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England. It is situated just outside the town of Rugeley off the B5013 road which heads towards Uttoxeter to the north. Colton is the home to Border Collie Trust GB, a re ...

. During his lifetime Horsfall made considerable additions to the estate and improved its general appearance. In the village he was esteemed for the interest he took in its inhabitants. The village schools were erected at his expense and were endowed by him. The cemetery adjoining, known as the Closed Burial Ground, was presented by him to the village as a free gift and he also took a very active part in the erection of the District Hospital in

Rugeley Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated north of Lichfield, south-east of Stafford, n ...

. Horsfall also built the Reading Room in the village. Bellamour hall was demolished in the 1920s. Horsfall died on 22 December 1878 in

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in th ...

, Devon, of "a softening of the brain, paralysis arthesis" and was buried in St. Mary's Church, Colton, Staffordshire.

Family

Horsfall married four times, firstly toJane Anne Marsh in 1834, then to Mary Cox in 1847, thirdly to Sophia Leeke, daughter of William Leeke, the Battle of Waterloo historian, in 1863, and,finally,in 1870,to Lucy Martha Nolan.

References

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* Mayors of Liverpool 1805 births 1878 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool Place of birth missing Place of death missing People from Colton, Staffordshire {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1800s-stub

Life

Family

See also

References

External links