Radical Dandy: Thomas Slingsby Duncombe, 1796-1861
P.W. Kingsford tells the story of a Regency buck, who became a Parliamentary champion of the depressed classes in early nineteenth-century England.
The apparent paradox of Duncombe, a noted radical politician for thirty years, the friend of Lord Durham and of Feargus O’Connor, is illustrated by two aspects of his life. Duncombe as the man of fashion (Creevey Papers):
“26th August 1828. Party at Stoke included Prince and Princess Lieven, Lord and Lady Cowper, Lord Melbourne and the Seftons. Today the party is to be added to by Prince d’Aremberg, Villa Real, Alvanley and our flash Tom Duncombe.”
“20th October 1834. Stoke Farm. Our party here have been... and Tommy Duncombe, who lost £600 here the last two nights at whist to Lord Sefton, and who, if he was in possession of his father’s estate tomorrow, would not have a surplus of eight pence after paying his debts. Charming company we keep don’t we?”
Fraser's Magazine, September 1834:
“In Mr. Duncombe they saw one whose fame had reached through all classes as a distinguished supporter of the gaming house, the brothel and every haunt of vice.”
Duncombe as the labour leader (speech in the House of Commons on May 3rd, 1842):
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