View source for Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd

{{short description|Welsh politician (1840–1927)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
[[File:Alfred_Thomas.jpg|thumb|right|Alfred Thomas c1895]] 
[[File:1906 Sir Alfred Thomas MP.jpg|thumb|right|Sir Alfred Thomas c1906]]
'''Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd'''  {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DL}}  (16 September 1840 – 14 December 1927), was a [[Wales|Welsh]] [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] politician, who served as MP for [[East Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|East Glamorganshire]] from 1885 until 1910, when he was elevated to the peerage as Lord Pontypridd.

==Background and education==
Thomas was born at Llwyn y Grant, [[Llanedeyrn]], in what is now a part of [[Cardiff]], [[Wales]]. His father was Daniel Thomas, owner of the lime kilns at Llandough and a contractor with offices in Grangetown, Cardiff).<ref name="PC 18-2-98" /> 

He was educated at Weston School, near [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], but he decided not to pursue a university career to join his father's business.<ref name="PC 18-2-98">{{cite news|title=Mr Alfred Thomas. The New Leader of the Welsh Parliamentary Party.|url=http://newspapers.library.wales//view/3813353/3813361/66/|access-date=17 November 2017|newspaper=Pontypridd Observer|date=18 February 1898|page=8}}</ref> Early in his business career, Thomas was involved with the construction of the Rhondda Fach branch of the [[Taff Vale Railway]].<ref name="PC 18-2-98" /> As a result, he became acquainted with the areas which he later represented in Parliament.

Thomas had also studied for a short time as a lay student at [[Regent's Park College, Oxford|Regent's Park College]] under [[Joseph Angus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bq/29-1_003.pdf|title=Baptist MPs in the Nineteenth Century|publisher=Baptist Quarterly}}</ref> His father was a prominent Baptist, and Thomas joined the congregation at Tabernacle Church, Cardiff, where he later became a deacon.<ref name="PC 18-2-98" />

==Early political career==
Thomas became member of Cardiff Borough Council for [[Roath]] in 1875 and served on the council until 1886, being [[mayor]] in 1881–2. During the 1880s, Thomas was instrumental in a number of measures to address the inadequate water supply for Cardiff. In 1884 a committee under his chairmanship secures the Cardiff Corporation Act which provided for the Taff Fawr reservoir. He was also involved with the construction of the Llanishen reservoir and the later construction of waterworks at Llanishen which Thomas opened on 28 October 1886.<ref name="PC 18-2-98" />

As mayor he was central to the decision to locate the [[University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire]] in Cardiff, rather than [[Swansea]]. He gave £1,000 towards the building fund and the decision to locate the university at Cardiff was announced before the end of his term as Mayor.<ref name="PC 18-2-98" /> In later years he was a generous benefactor of the University.<ref name="PC 18-2-98" /> Another landmark during his mayoral year was the opening of the Cardiff Free Library and Museum.<ref name="PC 18-2-98" /> Following his election to Parliament, Thomas stood down as a member of the council in 1886, but on 13 August 1888 he was created a [[Freedom of the city|Freeman]] of the [[borough]].<ref name="PC 18-2-98" />

==Parliamentary career==
As a prominent public figure and through his nonconformist connections, Thomas began to be considered as a possible parliamentary candidate. In 1882 he was mentioned as a possible candidate for Cardiganshire should David Davies choose to retire.<ref name="PC 18-2-98" />  More realistic prospects appeared following the redistribution of seats in 1885 which led to the creation of additional constituencies in Glamorgan. In April 1885, Thomas was among six candidates nominated by the local Liberal Association for selection as candidate for the [[Rhondda (UK Parliament constituency)|Rhondda]] constituency.<ref name="CT 11-4-85 Rhondda">{{cite news|title=The Rhondda Valley Liberal Three Hundred|url=http://welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3422608/ART128|access-date=16 May 2014|newspaper=Cardiff Times|date=11 April 1885}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, Thomas emerged as a leading contender for the Liberal nomination in [[East Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|East Glamorganshire]], and after several months of campaigning he saw off the challenge of his main rival, Bowen Rowlands.<ref name="SWDN 18-9-85 EastGlam">{{cite news|title=Mr Bowen Rowlands Withdraws (editorial).|url=http://newspapers.library.wales/view/3534592/3534594/9|access-date=20 November 2017|newspaper=South Wales Daily News|date=18 September 1885|page=2}}</ref>

At the [[1885 United Kingdom general election|1885 general election]] Thomas was elected Member of Parliament for East Glamorganshire, winning over 70% of the votes and defeating his Conservative opponent Godfrey Clark by 2,800 votes. He continued to represent the constituency until his retirement at the [[December 1910 United Kingdom general election|December 1910 general election]]. In 1891, Thomas, working with [[T. E. Ellis]] introduced the [[National Institutions (Wales) Bill]], providing for a [[Secretary of State]] for Wales and a [[University of Wales]], as well as a Welsh Parliament, to be located in [[Aberystwyth]]. The Bill did not secure a [[Second Reading]]. He was also involved with [[Cymru Fydd]], serving as President of the [[Welsh National Federation]], the body formed by the merger of Cymru Fydd and the [[North Wales Liberal Federation]]. He was elected Chairman of the Welsh Parliamentary Liberal Party in 1898.

{{Election box begin | title=[[1895 United Kingdom general election|General election 1895]]: East Glamorganshire
Electorate 12,981}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Liberal Party (UK) 
  |candidate  = Alfred Thomas
  |votes      = 6,055
  |percentage = 
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Conservative Party (UK)
  |candidate  = C. J. Jackson
  |votes      = 3,909
  |percentage = 
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box majority|
  |votes      = 2,146
  |percentage = 
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box turnout|
  |votes      = 
  |percentage = 
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
  |winner     = Liberal Party (UK)
  |swing      = 
}}
{{Election box end}}
 
{{Election box begin | title=[[1900 United Kingdom general election|General election 25 September – 24 October 1900]]: East Glamorganshire <ref name="ReferenceA">The Times House of Commons Guide 1910, 1911, 1919, Politico's Publishing Page 92 1910 Section</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Liberal Party (UK) 
  |candidate  = Alfred Thomas
  |votes      = 6,994
  |percentage = 63.2
  |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Conservative Party (UK)
  |candidate  = [[Morgan Lindsay|H. Lindsay]]
  |votes      = 4,080
  |percentage = 36.8
  |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box majority|
  |votes      = 2,914
  |percentage = 26.3
  |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box turnout|
  |votes      = 11,074
  |percentage = ''N/A''
  |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
  |winner     = Liberal Party (UK)
  |swing      = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin | title=[[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|General election 15 January – 20 February 1910]]: East Glamorganshire <ref name="ReferenceA">The Times House of Commons Guide 1910, 1911, 1919, Politico's Publishing Page 92 1910 Section</ref>
Electorate 23,979}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Liberal Party (UK) 
  |candidate  = Sir Alfred Thomas
  |votes      = 14,721
  |percentage = 72.0
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Conservative Party (UK)
  |candidate  = Frank Hall Gaskell
  |votes      = 5,727
  |percentage = 28.0
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box majority|
  |votes      = 8,994
  |percentage = 44.0
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box turnout|
  |votes      = 20,448
  |percentage = 85.3
  |change     = ''N/A''
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
  |winner     = Liberal Party (UK)
  |swing      = 
}}
{{Election box end}}

He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[1902 Coronation Honours]],<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation Honours |date=26 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36804| }}</ref> receiving the accolade from King [[Edward VII]] at [[Buckingham Palace]] on 24 October that year.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27494 |date=11 November 1902 |page=7165 }}</ref>

He was raised to the [[peerage]] as '''Baron Pontypridd''', of [[Cardiff]] in the [[County of Glamorgan]], in 1912,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=28579 |date=9 February 1912 |page=972 }}</ref> with the motto "Bit Ben Bit Bont" (Let Him Be Himself the Bridge), a motto taken from the [[Mabinogion]].

==Other public positions==
Apart from his political career Thomas was a [[Justice of the Peace]] for Cardiff and Glamorgan, [[Deputy Lieutenant]] for [[Glamorgan]] from December 1901,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27383 |date=6 December 1901 |page=8648}}</ref> first President of the [[National Museum of Wales]], President of [[Cardiff University]] and President of the [[Baptist Union of Wales]] for 1886. Thomas was a staunch [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]], a member and deacon of [[Tabernacle Chapel, Cardiff|Tabernacle Baptist Church]], Cardiff. Despite his busy Parliamentary career, he made every effort to attend the mid-week [[prayer meeting]], and combined his Parliamentary duties with the post of superintendent of the [[Sunday School]], which he held for a generation. His election as a [[deacon]] of Tabernacle was one of his most prized honours, being conferred on him by those who knew him best. He composed [[hymn tune]]s and was committed to the cause of gospel [[Temperance movement|temperance]]. He was involved in the [[1904–1905 Welsh Revival]].

==Personal life==
{{Unsourced|section|date=January 2023}}
Lord Pontypridd never married and the title became extinct on his death in December 1927, aged 87. 

He left almost all of his estate, including his home, Bronwydd, Penylan, to the [[City of Cardiff]]. He is buried with his parents in [[Cathays Cemetery]]. 

Bronwydd no longer exists, having been demolished as part of the construction of Eastern Avenue, but a "Bronwydd Close" nearby recalls its location.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
===Books and Journals===
* {{cite journal|last=Morgan|first=Kenneth O.| author-link = Kenneth O. Morgan |title=Democratic Politics in Glamorgan, 1884-1914|journal=Morgannwg|date=1960|volume=4|pages=5–27|url=http://welshjournals.llgc.org.uk/browse/viewobject/llgc-id:1170138/article/000042465}}
* {{cite book|last=Morgan|first=Kenneth O|title=Wales in British Politics 1868–1922|year=1991|edition=3rd|publisher=University of Wales Press|location=Cardiff|isbn=0708311245}}

==Sources==
*[http://wbo.llgc.org.uk/en/s-THOM-ALF-1840.html?query=alfred+thomas&field=name Alfred Thomas], ''Welsh Biography Online''.
*'Great Welshmen of Modern Days' by Sir Thomas Hughes.
*Thomas Family Monument, Cathays Cemetery, Cardiff
*Alfred Thomas Papers, Cardiff Central Library

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{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-new | constituency}}
{{s-ttl | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[East Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|East Glamorganshire]] | years  = [[1885 United Kingdom general election|1885]]–[[December 1910 United Kingdom general election|1910]]}}
{{s-aft | after  = [[Clement Edwards]]}}
{{s-reg|uk}}
{{s-new | creation}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Baron Pontypridd]] | years=1912–1927}}
{{s-non | reason=Extinct}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontypridd, Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron}}
[[Category:1840 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Councillors in Wales]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of Glamorgan]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:Politicians from Cardiff]]
[[Category:People associated with Cardiff University]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1885–1886|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1886–1892|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1892–1895|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1895–1900|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1900–1906|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1906–1910|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1910|Thomas, Alfred]]
[[Category:UK MPs who were granted peerages]]
[[Category:19th-century Welsh Baptist ministers]]
[[Category:Mayors of Cardiff]]
[[Category:Alumni of Regent's Park College, London]]
[[Category:Councillors in Cardiff]]
[[Category:Barons created by George V]]
[[Category:20th-century Welsh Baptist ministers]]