John Thomas Whitley (11 November 1826 - 18 December 1906) was a linoleum manufacturer and Liberal Party politician in Edmonton, Middlesex.
The son of John Thomas Whitley (senior) and Jane Sarah Buckmaster, he was born in Hoxton. In 1847 the Ridley's and Whitley's floor cloth business had been established in the Angel Road area of Edmonton. In 1871 Whitley, who had been working in the firm's warehouse, moved to Edmonton to oversee and expand the manufacturing part of the business. Whitley lived in Ponders End and subsequently Bush Hill Park.
Described as a 'Liberal of the old school', Whitley had been Herbert Gladstone's election agent at the General Election of 1880 when he stood for election to parliament at Middlesex.
He became a member of Edmonton Local Board, and was chairman in 1882 and 1883. He was strongly opposed to the division of the parish in 1881, when Southgate formed its own Local Board. He was also a member of Edmonton School Board for twelve years.
When Middlesex County Council was formed in 1889 he was elected as councillor for Edmonton South, holding the seat until 1901 when he was made an alderman.
A member of the Congregational Church, his donations were largely responsible for the building of the Independent Church, Lower Edmonton, which opened in 1883 next to Edmonton Town Hall. He was also a supporter of Edmonton Cricket Club, purchasing a section of Pymms Park for their use.
References and Sources[]
- "Death of Mr. J. T. Whitley". Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald: p. 11. 21 December 1906.