Thomas Snape was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 industrialist and Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician.

Snape was born in Salford, and was initially employed by John Hutchinson and Sons, a company that pioneered the use of the Leblanc process

Leblanc process

The Leblanc process was the industrial process for the production of soda ash used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: Production of sodium sulfate from sodium chloride, followed by reaction of the sodium sulfate with coal and calcium...

 to produce soda ash, and led to the creation of a large chemical industry in Widnes

Widnes

Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. He subsequently established his own business, T. Snape and Company, with its works in the town. In 1890 Snape's became a constituent part of the United Alkali Company

United Alkali Company

United Alkali Company Limited was a British chemical company formed in 1890. Producer of soda ash by the Leblanc process and used in the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. It became one of the top four British chemical companies merged in 1926 with Brunner Mond, Nobel Explosives and...

.

Snape was a prominent member of the Methodist Free Church

United Methodist Free Churches

United Methodist Free Churches was an English nonconformist community which merged into the United Methodist Church in 1907. The organisation was itself formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association and the Wesleyan Reformers United Methodist Free Churches was an English...

 and a supporter of the temperance

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

 and peace movements. He stood as Liberal candidate for parliament on a number of occasions, but was only successful at the 1892 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1892

The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...

, when he became MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Heywood

Heywood (UK Parliament constituency)

Heywood was a county constituency in the county of Lancashire of the House of Commons for the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, it was represented by one Member of Parliament...

. He lost his seat three years later to George Kemp

George Kemp, 1st Baron Rochdale

George Kemp, 1st Baron Rochdale, CB was a British politician, soldier, businessman and cricketer.-Education & business:...

 of the Conservatives

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

.

Although no longer in parliament, Snape continued his involvement with politics. At the time of his death he was an county alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 on Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...

, and a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for the county.

Thomas Snape died at his residence in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 in 1912, aged 77.

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