Thomas Slingsby Duncombe
Encyclopedia
Thomas Slingsby Duncombe (1796 – November 13, 1861) was a Radical politician
, who was a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
for Hertford
from 1826 to 1832 and for Finsbury
from 1834 until his death. Duncombe was a tireless champion of radical causes in the 27 years he served the North East London borough of Finsbury. But he was equally well known for his style; he was, it was often said, “the handsomest and best-dressed man in the house,” and his love for theatre, gaming and women were well publicized. Duncombe was elected and then returned to his seat seven times by the shopkeepers, artisan
s and laborers, the Nonconformists, Catholic
s, and Jews
of Finsbury, making him the longest-sitting representative of a metropolitan borough in his day. His constituents called him “Honest Tom Duncombe” with great affection; to his detractors he was known as the “Dandy Demagogue” or the “Radical Dandy.” His name was celebrated in working men’s newspapers and frequently mentioned in the gossip sheets of high society. Duncombe was, as The Times
put it delicately upon his death, a “character.”
. His parents, Thomas and Emma Duncombe, had an estate in the West Riding of Yorkshire
. He was the grandson (on his mother's side) to the Bishop
of Peterborough
, and nephew to the first Baron Feversham. He attended Harrow school
from 1808 to 1811, leaving to take up a commission in the elite regiment of the Coldstream Guards
. While in the Guards, Duncombe served as aide-de-camp to General Sir Ronald Ferguson
. As Ferguson was well known for supporting the ballot and other political reforms during his time in Parliament, it is likely that it was here that Duncombe had his first political awakening as a radical. After being raised to the rank of Lieutenant
, Duncombe resigned from the army in 1819.
as a Whig
candidate. He lost. In 1823 he ran again as a Whig for Hertford
and was again unsuccessful. In June 1826 Duncombe finally won a seat in Parliament for Hertford. He was returned in 1830 and again in 1831. Over the course of these contests he spent an estimated £40,000; a fact he later frankly admitted in pressing the case for political reforms. Outspent by his rival, the Tory Marquis of Salisbury
, Duncombe lost his seat in 1832. (Outmanoeuvring Salisbury, Duncombe challenged the election on grounds of bribery and had it declared void.)
As a representative for Hertford he was an early supporter of political reform, though made little impression in Parliament. He made more of an impression in society where he built a reputation as a dandy
, a rake
, a theatre supporter, and one of the best gentleman horseriders in England. He was close friends with Count D'Orsay
, who sketched a portrait of his “cher Tomie” that still resides in the collection of the National Portrait Galleryhttp://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp01388&rNo=1&role=sit. For a time “Tommy” was attached to Madame Vestris
, the famed actress and later lessee of the Olympic Theatre
. Lady Blessington
used him as a model for the hero of one of her novels and the novelist-cum-Prime Minister
, Benjamin Disraeli, recalled that his friend Duncombe was later to be his resource on Chartism
for Sybil: or The Two Nations
of 1832 created new metropolitan boroughs that needed representation. In 1834 Duncombe won a seat representing the new North East London borough of Finsbury – spending less than £16 to do so. In his acceptance speech he laid out his increasingly independent and Radical politics: promising to fight for religious liberty and an end to church rates and sinecures, reform of taxation and modernizing the economy, and the ballot, the franchise and triennial parliamentary terms; the core principles of what would become the People's Charter
of Chartism
four years later. Indeed, Duncombe was to introduce the second petition for the People's Charter to Parliament in 1842. Signed by more than 3.3 million people, the petition had to be unrolled to fit through the doors of the House of Commons
.
As Radical MP for Finsbury, Duncombe became increasingly outspoken. He sought to obtain the release of John Frost
and other Chartists. He campaigned against the new Poor Law
and other "reforms" of Edwin Chadwick
. He exposed conditions in prison hulks and the treatment of the insane. He exposed the practice of the Home Office
opening the mail of political dissidents such as the Italian Mazzini and, as it was later revealed, himself. And, taking on an issue particularly dear, he chaired a committee that examined – and ridiculed – the power of the Lord Chamberlain
’s office to censor and restrict the theatre. He also took up the cause of religious Dissenters, Catholics and Jews, including the claim of Baron Rothschild
to take his seat in Parliament, and was a particular advocate of Jewish emancipation
, spending the last years of his life helping edit a book on The Jews of England: Their History and Wrongs.
(NAUT), serving as the body’s president for seven years. Duncombe was a frequent speaker at trade union
functions, and came out in public support of a number of strikes. The enigmatic radical was also equally at home in the green rooms of theatres and the gambling halls of exclusive clubs like Crockford's and Almack's
where he ran up debts to the astounding amount of £120,000 – £140,000 (in excess of £8 million in 2006 pounds) http://www.measuringworth.com/index.html. His creditors had him arrested in 1847 and he was heavily criticized for using parliamentary privilege to escape punishment. Indeed, his critics accused Duncombe of using an earlier trip to Canada
to support his friend and political patron Lord Durham as a ruse to escape his debts.
in a brief sketch in Nicholas Nickleby. Exhibiting a new style of politics, Duncombe performed not only for the politicians assembled in the House but for “the people out of doors,” as the public were then called. In spite of his dandified affectations, or perhaps – given the growing popularity of commercial spectacles like the sights of the Vauxhall
and Cremorne
pleasure gardens and the Crystal Palace
– partly because of his colorful performance, he was immensely popular with the public. His open embrace of pleasure, his sartorial style and the perceived and real excesses of his personal life, far from being the distraction from politics as his critics frequently commented, may actually have been an integral asset to his popularity.
In 1856, already ill, he championed the case of the Hungarian
revolutinary exile István Türr
, arrested by the Austria
n authorities and in concrete danger of being executed, and helped push the British government to intrevene and get him freed.
Duncombe died at the age of 65 in Sussex
, and a week later he was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
in London.
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
, who was a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
for Hertford
Hertford (UK Parliament constituency)
Hertford was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire, which elected Members of Parliament from 1298 until 1974. It was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of...
from 1826 to 1832 and for Finsbury
Finsbury (UK Parliament constituency)
The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. The constituency created in 1832 included part of the county of Middlesex north of the City of London and was named after the Finsbury...
from 1834 until his death. Duncombe was a tireless champion of radical causes in the 27 years he served the North East London borough of Finsbury. But he was equally well known for his style; he was, it was often said, “the handsomest and best-dressed man in the house,” and his love for theatre, gaming and women were well publicized. Duncombe was elected and then returned to his seat seven times by the shopkeepers, artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
s and laborers, the Nonconformists, Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s, and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
of Finsbury, making him the longest-sitting representative of a metropolitan borough in his day. His constituents called him “Honest Tom Duncombe” with great affection; to his detractors he was known as the “Dandy Demagogue” or the “Radical Dandy.” His name was celebrated in working men’s newspapers and frequently mentioned in the gossip sheets of high society. Duncombe was, as The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
put it delicately upon his death, a “character.”
Life and career
Duncombe was born wealthy and well-connected in 1796 in MiddlesexMiddlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. His parents, Thomas and Emma Duncombe, had an estate in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. He was the grandson (on his mother's side) to the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, and nephew to the first Baron Feversham. He attended Harrow school
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
from 1808 to 1811, leaving to take up a commission in the elite regiment of the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
. While in the Guards, Duncombe served as aide-de-camp to General Sir Ronald Ferguson
Ronald Ferguson
Major Ronald Ivor Ferguson was the father of Sarah, Duchess of York, former wife to The Duke of York. He is the maternal grandfather of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York...
. As Ferguson was well known for supporting the ballot and other political reforms during his time in Parliament, it is likely that it was here that Duncombe had his first political awakening as a radical. After being raised to the rank of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, Duncombe resigned from the army in 1819.
Early service in Parliament
In 1820 Duncombe ran for Parliament for PontefractPontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
as a Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
candidate. He lost. In 1823 he ran again as a Whig for Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
and was again unsuccessful. In June 1826 Duncombe finally won a seat in Parliament for Hertford. He was returned in 1830 and again in 1831. Over the course of these contests he spent an estimated £40,000; a fact he later frankly admitted in pressing the case for political reforms. Outspent by his rival, the Tory Marquis of Salisbury
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
, Duncombe lost his seat in 1832. (Outmanoeuvring Salisbury, Duncombe challenged the election on grounds of bribery and had it declared void.)
As a representative for Hertford he was an early supporter of political reform, though made little impression in Parliament. He made more of an impression in society where he built a reputation as a dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
, a rake
Rake (character)
A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womanizer. Often a rake was a man who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process...
, a theatre supporter, and one of the best gentleman horseriders in England. He was close friends with Count D'Orsay
Alfred Guillaume Gabriel, Count D'Orsay
Alfred d'Orsay, known as the comte d'Orsay was a French amateur artist, dandy, and man of fashion in the early- to mid-19th century.-Life:...
, who sketched a portrait of his “cher Tomie” that still resides in the collection of the National Portrait Galleryhttp://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp01388&rNo=1&role=sit. For a time “Tommy” was attached to Madame Vestris
Lucia Elizabeth Vestris
Lucia Elizabeth Vestris was an English actress and a contralto opera singer, appearing in Mozart and Rossini works. While popular in her time, she was more notable as a theatre producer and manager...
, the famed actress and later lessee of the Olympic Theatre
Olympic Theatre
The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street, and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence...
. Lady Blessington
Marguerite, Countess of Blessington
Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington was an Irish novelist.Born Margaret Power near Clonmel in County Tipperary, Ireland, she was a daughter of Edmund Power, a small landowner...
used him as a model for the hero of one of her novels and the novelist-cum-Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, Benjamin Disraeli, recalled that his friend Duncombe was later to be his resource on Chartism
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
for Sybil: or The Two Nations
Sybil (novel)
Sybil, or The Two Nations is an 1845 novel by Benjamin Disraeli. Published in the same year as Friedrich Engels's The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, Sybil traces the plight of the working classes of England...
Radical for Finsbury
The Reform ActReform Act
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is a generic term used for legislation concerning electoral matters. It is most commonly used for laws passed to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the British House of Commons...
of 1832 created new metropolitan boroughs that needed representation. In 1834 Duncombe won a seat representing the new North East London borough of Finsbury – spending less than £16 to do so. In his acceptance speech he laid out his increasingly independent and Radical politics: promising to fight for religious liberty and an end to church rates and sinecures, reform of taxation and modernizing the economy, and the ballot, the franchise and triennial parliamentary terms; the core principles of what would become the People's Charter
People's Charter
People's Charter may refer to:* People's Charter of 1838 in the United Kingdom* People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress in Fiji* The People's Charter A political movement in the United Kingdom...
of Chartism
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
four years later. Indeed, Duncombe was to introduce the second petition for the People's Charter to Parliament in 1842. Signed by more than 3.3 million people, the petition had to be unrolled to fit through the doors of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
As Radical MP for Finsbury, Duncombe became increasingly outspoken. He sought to obtain the release of John Frost
John Frost (Chartist)
John Frost was a prominent Welsh leader of the British Chartist movement in the Newport Rising....
and other Chartists. He campaigned against the new Poor Law
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
and other "reforms" of Edwin Chadwick
Edwin Chadwick
Sir Edwin Chadwick KCB was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health...
. He exposed conditions in prison hulks and the treatment of the insane. He exposed the practice of the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
opening the mail of political dissidents such as the Italian Mazzini and, as it was later revealed, himself. And, taking on an issue particularly dear, he chaired a committee that examined – and ridiculed – the power of the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
’s office to censor and restrict the theatre. He also took up the cause of religious Dissenters, Catholics and Jews, including the claim of Baron Rothschild
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
to take his seat in Parliament, and was a particular advocate of Jewish emancipation
Jewish Emancipation
Jewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century...
, spending the last years of his life helping edit a book on The Jews of England: Their History and Wrongs.
Radical at large
Outside Parliament Duncombe worked to support working men and women. He chaired the national conference of trades in 1845 and helped organize the National Association of United Trades for the Protection of LabourNational Association of United Trades for the Protection of Labour
The National Association of United Trades for the Protection of Labour was an early trade union federation in the United Kingdom.No attempt had been made to co-ordinate the activities of trade unions in various industries across the country since the failure of the Grand National Consolidated...
(NAUT), serving as the body’s president for seven years. Duncombe was a frequent speaker at trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
functions, and came out in public support of a number of strikes. The enigmatic radical was also equally at home in the green rooms of theatres and the gambling halls of exclusive clubs like Crockford's and Almack's
Almack's
Almack's Assembly Rooms was a social club in London from 1765 to 1871 and one of the first to admit both men and women. It was one of a limited number of upper class mixed-sex public social venues in the British capital in an era when the most important venues for the hectic social season were the...
where he ran up debts to the astounding amount of £120,000 – £140,000 (in excess of £8 million in 2006 pounds) http://www.measuringworth.com/index.html. His creditors had him arrested in 1847 and he was heavily criticized for using parliamentary privilege to escape punishment. Indeed, his critics accused Duncombe of using an earlier trip to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to support his friend and political patron Lord Durham as a ruse to escape his debts.
Performative politics
Even his critics – of which he had many – had to admit that as a debater Duncombe was one of the best in the House of Commons. His jocular manner disarmed his opponents and charmed his supporters. His polemical speaking style, and sartorial dressing style, was even parodied by Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
in a brief sketch in Nicholas Nickleby. Exhibiting a new style of politics, Duncombe performed not only for the politicians assembled in the House but for “the people out of doors,” as the public were then called. In spite of his dandified affectations, or perhaps – given the growing popularity of commercial spectacles like the sights of the Vauxhall
Vauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
and Cremorne
Cremorne Gardens, London
Cremorne Gardens were popular pleasure gardens by the side of the River Thames in Chelsea, London. They lay between Chelsea Harbour and the end of the King's Road and flourished between 1845 to 1877; today only a vestige survives, on the river at the southern end of Cheyne Walk.-History:Originally...
pleasure gardens and the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
– partly because of his colorful performance, he was immensely popular with the public. His open embrace of pleasure, his sartorial style and the perceived and real excesses of his personal life, far from being the distraction from politics as his critics frequently commented, may actually have been an integral asset to his popularity.
Sickness and death
Duncombe was plagued by a bronchial condition that would eventually kill him. Between 1847 and 1850 he was often too sick to attend Parliament regularly. But when he could he did, and gaunt and emaciated, this dandified child of privilege continued to stand up in the House for the rights of the less visible and less fortunate, and chair the long and arduous meetings of trade unionists.In 1856, already ill, he championed the case of the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
revolutinary exile István Türr
István Türr
István Türr , was a Hungarian soldier, revolutionary, canal architect and engineer, remembered in Italy for his role in that country's unification and his association with Garibaldi...
, arrested by the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n authorities and in concrete danger of being executed, and helped push the British government to intrevene and get him freed.
Duncombe died at the age of 65 in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and a week later he was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
in London.
Books by Duncombe
- Duncombe, Thomas Slingsby and James Acland, The Jews of England: Their History and Wrongs (London: J. Wade, 1866)