Draft:Henry Sykes Thornton

Henry Sykes Thornton was an MP, clerk, banker and son of Henry Thornton (1760-1815).

Early Life
Born on 28th May 1800, Henry Sykes Thornton was the eldest son and second child of banker and reformer, Henry Thornton and his wife Marianne Sykes. The Clapham Sect, an influential group of Evangelical Christians instrumental in campaigning for the abolition of the slave trade (including William Wilberforce, who was Henry Thornton's close friend and cousin) met at the Thornton's family home, Battersea Rise, on the west side of Clapham Common in Surrey.

In 1818, Thornton attended Trinity College, Cambridge. Here, he began what was to become a lifelong friendship with Thomas Babington Macaulay, the son of another member of the Clapham Sect, Zachary Macaulay.

Career
In 1822, Thornton started working for his late father's bank, Pole, Thornton, Free, Down and Scott, which had grown to become one of the biggest banking firms in London. In early December 1825, months after Thornton became a partner, the bank fell victim to a national financial crisis.

Once the affairs of Pole, Thornton and Co. had been cleaned up, around 1828 Thornton joined the partnership of a new bank: Williams, Deacon, Labouchere & Co. which he remained part of until his death in 1881.