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". 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. Leeds Royal Gardens Thomas Clapham was an investor in the public subscription to found Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens in 1837. Due to its original society failing to make it a profitable venture, the Gardens faced closure by 1848. At the age of 30, Clapham was a young entrepreneur with fresh ideas for making the park a success, and offered to take over the running from its new owner, Henry Cowper Marshall, and was granted a lease. They were then reopened with added attractions such as military bands, firework displays and flower shows. The basis of Clapham's strategy was to change the emphasis of the site from education to entertainment and show, and to take advantage of the new Leeds & Thirsk Railway, which opened in 1849 and brought passengers from Harrogate and Ripon to Leeds, passing right by the Gardens. He renamed it Leeds Royal Gardens and persuaded the railway company to open a station of this name at the southern entrance of the park in Burley. Additionally, Clapham took measures including reducing admission prices to 2d (), allowing people to hire it for private occasions, and moving back Sunday opening to 1 o'clock. Despite Clapham's efforts, the reopened park still