Thomas Staniforth (1807–1887) was an English clergyman who resided at Storrs Hall, Windermere,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He is notable as the first crew captain for

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

at The Boat Race 1829.

Early life

Thomas Staniforth was the son of Samuel Staniforth and Mary Littledale, and the grandson of Thomas Staniforth, another former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, descended from the Staniforths of Darnall Hall. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, matriculating in 1826 and graduating B.A. in 1830. He captained the first Oxford crew at The Boat Race 1829, a team that included Charles Wordsworth, Thomas Garnier amongst others.

Career

During his working life, Staniforth was a rector at Bolton-by-Bowland in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

between the years 1831–1859. Staniforth retired and moved into Storrs Hall at Windermere in 1859, after it was passed down to him by his godfather John Bolton. He remained there until his death in 1887. He never had any children and the property was sold. In his will he left a large sum of money to his grand-nephew Edwin Wilfred Greenwood, the son of politician John Greenwood. Thomas named Edwin as Edwin Stanyforth and so Edwin changed his name. Edwin would go on to father English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

captain R. T. Stanyforth.The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 161 (1837) (Edward Cave)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staniforth, Thomas Clergy from Liverpool 19th-century English Anglican priests 1807 births 1887 deaths