Thomas William Booker-Blakemore (ne Thomas William Booker) (28 September 1801 – 7 November 1858), MP, was an industrialist, landowner, and politician.

Early years

He was born in

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

in 1801. He was the son of the Reverend Luke Booker (1762–1836), Chaplains in Ordinary to George Prince Regent,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

, rector of Tedstone Delamere, and an author of poetry and other publications. His mother, Ann, was the daughter of Thomas Blakemore (d. 1808), of Littleton Hall in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

, and Anne Partridge (d. 1838) of

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It had a population estimated at 10,978 in 2021. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Fore ...

. He had one half-brother, John-Key Booker, and three sisters, Harriet-Esther, Catherine, and Mary. Booker was educated at

Hartlebury Hartlebury is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. It is south of Kidderminster. The village had a population of 2,549 in the 2001 Census. The village is green-buffered from surrounding villages exc ...

, Worcestershire. At an early age, he was adopted by his maternal uncle, Richard Blakemore of Velindre House, who brought him up at the Melingriffith Tin Plate Works.

Career

Booker took an active role in the affairs of politics, serving as Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, and

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. In 1848, he served as

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires w ...

. He represented

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

as a Member of Parliament (1819–1858). He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

in politics and an active

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 judi ...

. He was Chairman of the

Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company was a canal and railway company that operated a canal and a network of railways in the Western Valley and Eastern Valley of Newport, Monmouthshire. It started as the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation and ...

, and of the Cardiff Steam Navigation Company. Booker was a large employer at his works at Pentyrch and Melingriffith. He took out patents for tin plate making in 1837 and for manufacturing iron in 1841. One of his aims was to add land to his estates. He acquired properties, owning the whole of Pentyrch; he had freeholds at Whitchurch, Llandaff, and Llanlltyd. At one time his estate consisted of 8,000 acres. Booker held an annual flower show at Wauntreoda, Whitchurch. He was interested in scientific pursuits, particularly mineralogy. He joined the Institution of Civil Engineers as an Associate in 1850.

Personal life

He married Jane-Anne Coghlan in 1824. They had three sons, Thomas-William Booker of Velindre, Richard-Blakemore Booker (d. 1861) of The Leys, and John-Partridge Booker; and two daughters, Anna (d. 1855) and Mary. He assumed his uncle's surname by royal licence in 1855, and died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

in 1858 aged 57.

Partial works

* ''Torquay : a poem'' (1816)
''The prize treatise on the mineral basin of Glamorgan and the adjoining district, and the national benefits arising therefrom (Gwent and Dyfed Royal Eisteddfod)''
(1834) * ''Poems on the loss and re-building of St. Mary's Church, Cardiff.'' (1842) * ''A Speech, delivered at Swansea, at the annual meeting of the Royal British Association for the Advancement of Science, etc. (On the mineral productions of South Wales)'' (1848)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booker-Blakemore, Thomas William 1801 births 1858 deaths High sheriffs of Glamorgan People from Dudley People from Hereford People from Monmouth, Wales UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 British industrialists Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 19th-century British businesspeople