Thomas Bedford Bolitho

Thomas Bedford Bolitho (5 January 1835 – 22 May 1915) was a Cornish banker and industrialist. He was a Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament for St Ives in Cornwall from 1887 to 1900.[1]

Thomas Bedford Bolitho
Member of Parliament
for St Ives
In office
9 July 1887 – 25 September 1900
Preceded byJohn St Aubyn
Succeeded byEdward Hain
Personal details
Born5 January 1835
Penzance, Cornwall
Died22 May 1915(1915-05-22) (aged 80)
Penzance, Cornwall
Spouse(s)Frances Jane Carus-Wilson
ChildrenMary (1894–1977)
ParentsEdward Bolitho
Mary Bolitho née Stephens
EducationHarrow School
OccupationBanker, industrialist, politician

Early life

Born in Penzance, Bolitho was the third son, and the only one to survive to adulthood, of Edward and Mary Bolitho (née Stephens).[2][3] He was educated at Harrow School.[3]

Politics and industry

In 1882, Bolitho bought at auction, the Greenway and Galmpton estates, near Dartmouth for £42,500 plus approximately £3,000 for timber and fixtures.[4] He also bought the tenements of Catchall, Kerris and Rospletha to add to the Hendra and Trevelloe estates he already owned.[5]

He was appointed High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1884.[6] Following the elevation to the peerage of the St Ives MP, Sir John St Aubyn, Bolitho became MP at a by-election in 1887.[7] He was re-elected in 1892 and 1895. He was unopposed on all three occasions.[8]

Bolitho was a director of Barclays Bank[9] and Bolitho, Williams, Foster, Coode, Grylls & Co. He was President of the Institute of Bankers from 1893 to 1895.[10] He was also a director of the Great Western Railway[11] and owner of the Consolidated Tin Smelting Company.

Family life

He married, at the age of 58, Frances Jane Carus-Wilson in Truro Cathedral on 9 December 1893 – The Cornishman devoted a whole page to a report of the ceremonies.[3] They had a daughter, Mary (1894–1977).

He died aged 80 on 22 May 1915 in Penzance[12] and his estate was valued at £550,038 gross.[9]

There is a portrait by Camille Silvy in the National Portrait Gallery.[13]

His cousin, Thomas Robins Bolitho, (1840-1925), was an English banker, who served as High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1890.

Trewidden Gardens

Bolitho continued his father's work in the garden at the family home of Trewidden, two miles west of Penzance. In particular, he filled the old opencast mine with tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) newly imported from Australia. This is now known as the Tree Fern Dell, which has been described as the best stand of tree ferns in the northern hemisphere. Following the death of her husband in 1955, Bolitho's daughter, Mary Williams, returned to Trewidden and took over the garden. Alverne Bolitho (b. 1961), a cousin of Mary Williams, inherited the property when she died and has developed it into a popular tourist attraction. Bolitho continued his father's work in the garden at the family home of Trewidden, two miles west of Penzance. In particular, he filled the old opencast mine with tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) newly imported from Australia. This is now known as the Tree Fern Dell, which has been described as the best stand of tree ferns in the northern hemisphere. Following the death of her husband in 1955, Bolitho's daughter, Mary Williams, returned to Trewidden and took over the garden. Alverne Bolitho (b. 1961), a cousin of Mary Williams, inherited the property when she died and has developed it into a popular tourist attraction. The garden is a touristic attraction nowadays.[14]

gollark: What *sort* of algebra?
gollark: Especially (THE HORROR) circle theorems.
gollark: To be fair, some maths *is* quite hard.
gollark: Ugh, I got it the wrong way up again.
gollark: And how would you know that... unless you ARE terrariola⸘

References
  1. "Death of Mr. T. B. Bolitho at Penzance". Western Times. 24 May 1915. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "WILL OF THE LATE MR. EDWARD BOLITHO". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 18 September 1890. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "MARRIAGE OF MR. BOLITHO, M. P". Cornishman. 14 December 1893. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "The Messrs Bolitho". The Cornishman (212). 3 August 1882. p. 7.
  5. "Local News". The Cornishman (258 (257 on front page)). 28 June 1883. p. 5.
    - "Kerris". The Cornishman (200 (190 on front page)). 11 May 1882. p. 4.
    - "Sale Of Two Estates In The Neighbourhood Of Penzance. Property Still Increases In Value". The Cornishman (263). 26 July 2019. p. 7.
  6. "PENZANCE LIBERAL ASSOCIATION". The Cornishman. 7 August 1884. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "The St Ives Division Election". Royal Cornwall Gazette. 15 July 1887. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. F. W. S. Craig, British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918
  9. "Devon Banker's Big Fortune". Western Times. 24 August 1915. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. Edwin Green, Debtors to Their Profession: A History of the Institute of Bankers p230. Routledge 1979. ISBN 978-0-415-52086-7
  11. "GREAT WESTERN.", Bradshaw's Shareholders' Guide for 1905
  12. "Death of Mr. T. B. Bolitho at Penzance". Western Times. 24 May 1915. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
    - "Mr. Thomas Beford Bolitho". Manchester Evening News. 24 May 1915. Retrieved 17 December 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "Thomas Bedford Bolitho (1835-1915), Politician, banker and smelter". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  14. "A Potted History of Trewidden Gardens and the Bolitho Family". Trewidden Gardens. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John St Aubyn		 Member of Parliament for St Ives
1887 – 1900		 Succeeded by
Edward Hain
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