Thomas Henry Kingerlee
Mayor of Oxford 1898/9 and 1911/12
Thomas Henry Kingerlee (1842–1929) was the son of Thomas Kingerlee (born in Kineton, Warwickshire in 1807) and his wife Caroline (born in Banbury in 1810).
Thomas Henry’s elder brother William was born in Blockley, Worcestershire in 1840, but by 1842, when Thomas Henry himself was born, the family had moved to Banbury. His younger brother Alfred was born in Banbury in about 1844, and his sister Mary Ann's birth was announced thus in Jackson's Oxford Journal of 28 April 1849: "Birth. May 2, the wife of Mr T. Kingerlee, of Parsons-street, Banbury, of a daughter."
The 1851 census shows that Kingerlee's father was then a plumber & glazier.
By the time of the 1861 census, the family were living at 5 Butcher’s Row, Banbury, and Thomas Henry’s father, now 50, is described as a plumber, glazier, and painter, and the employer of two men, one of whom is Thomas Henry himself, now an 18-year-old plumber.
In the late 1860s Thomas Henry Kingerlee married his first wife, Helen (who was born in Thame), and their elder son Henry was born in 1869 and their daughter Helen in 1870.
At the time of the 1871 census, Kingerlee, aged 28, has evidently succeeded his father and is described as a plumber employing two men and two boys. He is still living at Butcher’s Row, Banbury with his wife and two children, plus a servant. In 1874 they had a second son, Charles.
Soon after the 1881 census (when Kingerlee, aged 38, was still living in Banbury with his wife and three children), the family moved to Oxford.
Kingerlee’s Oxford home was at Bridge House, 17 Botley Road (now the River Hotel, left), which he built for himself.
In 1884 he took over Alfred Wheeler’s shop at 16 Queen Street, and in a directory of that year Kingerlee is described as a "builder, contractor & decorator, dealer in glass, lead &c., paperhanging warehouse".
Jackson's Oxford Journal of 18 December 1886 reports that Kingerlee was fined 1s. and 6s. costs for causing an obstruction with a large box of goods on the pavement of Queen Street for three hours.
Kingerlee’s building business grew in Oxford, where he built the following:
- 1885: City Isolation Hospital (later the Rivermead) in Cold Harbour
- 1886: Brookside House, Headington (now Headington Junior School)
- 1886: the original New Theatre
- 1894: Elliston & Cavell (now Debenhams)
- 1896: Fire Station in George Street (right)
- 1900: Victoria Buildings, Park End Street (the "Old Jam Factory")
Kingerlee was also responsible for many additions to schools and colleges.
In 1902 he built the houses in Helen and Henry Road, which were named after two of his children.
In 1891 the census shows the Kingerlee family still living at Bridge House in Botley Road, and all three children are still living at home.
Kingerlee was a Liberal on Oxford city council. In 1895 he stood as Member of Parliament for Oxford, but was beaten by the Conservative Viscount Valentia. He was elected Mayor of Oxford in 1898.
The arms of Kingerlee (left) were added to the wall of the Lord Mayor’s Parlour when he served as Chief Magistrate.
As a strong Congregationalist Kingerlee backed the "Committee for securing Oxford out-relief for the deserving and aged poor in suitable cases" in 1900.
Kingerlee’s wife Helen died before the 1901 census, when he is shown at the age of 58 living with his new wife Jane (aged 36 and born in Newbury). His son Charles (26) was still living at home and described as a builder, and the family had a housekeeper and two housemaids.
Kingerlee was made an Alderman in 1906, and elected Mayor a second time in 1911.
From 1911 Kingerlee lived at 118 Banbury Road. He died in 1929.
His two sons and grandsons took over his business, and the Kingerlee building firm still survives today. It was at Lamarsh Road from 1964 to 1999, when it moved to Kidlington.
See also:
- Jackson’s Oxford Journal, 8 September 1906, p. 7a
- Oxford Times, 4 January 1929, p. 12e (obituary)
- 1851 Census: Oxford (Banbury), 1734/344
- 1861 Census: Oxford (Banbury), 918/33
- 1871 Census: Oxford (Banbury), 1464/17
- 1881 Census: Oxford (Banbury), 1527/28
- 1891 Census: Oxford (St Thomas): 1169/45
- 1901 Census: Oxford (St Thomas), 1386/74