at his death on 4 May 1862 that he was "Not of brilliant [political] talent, yet his various knowledge on all subjects connected with the extensive commerce of the empire seldom left him at a loss in the House of Commons how to make his opinions respected." Another obituary noted that Perhaps Thornely's last political act had been to arrange for his interment in his family's vault at the Renshaw Street burial ground. The cemetery had been closed under the provisions of sanitary regulations but he was eventually successful in his appeal to the prime minister, Lord Palmerston, to permit, under strict conditions, the burial of people closely related to those already interred. Palmerston himself had been potentially excluded from interment in a family vault under the same regulations. References Notes Citations External links 1781 births 1862 deaths Politics of Wolverhampton Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 English Unitarians Businesspeople from Liverpool English merchants Politicians from Liverpool 19th-century British businesspeople