Thomas Clapham

Thomas Clapham (1817–1895) was an English entrepreneur and local politician based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Born in Keighley, he ran a series of attractions and showgrounds aimed at popular appeal during the Victorian era, though each of his ventures ended in financial failure. He began by taking over the ailing Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens and later founded Leeds Royal Park, which still has a legacy in the layout and street naming of the Hyde Park residential area. He eventually moved to London and then Hull.

Unable to make his parks and gardens profitable, dogged by debt and creditors, as well as other problems such as disobeying music licensing rules, all of Clapham's properties were foreclosed, sold and redeveloped for housing. Despite this, he remained popular, and served two terms on Leeds Town Council. Clapham was described by the Thoresby Society's Eveleigh Bradford as "a distinctive lively figure, tall and red-haired, sporting tight check trousers; he was a popular character about town".^[1] However, he remains relatively unknown in local history, despite his role in the development of north west Leeds; later landowners disliking his being a failed businessman, his eponymous street in Hyde Park was renamed Brudenell Road.