MARK OF BENJAMIN SMITH, LONDON, 1840

Sir Thomas Phillips, K.T. (1801-1867) was a partner in a firm of solicitors in Newport, South Wales. He took an active role in local politics. He became mayor of Newport in 1838, just as the working-class political reform movement known as Chartism was gaining momentum. The reformers were intent on a more democratic political system. The campaigners turned to rebellion in Newport, compelling Phillips read the Riot Act on 4th November from the Westgate Hotel when he sustained injuries to one hip and an arm during the insurrection. Following the loss of the Chartists ‘the grateful citizens of Newport presented him with a testimonial for over £800, a service of plate, and his portrait’ (D. T. W. Price, ‘Phillips, Sir Thomas (1801–1867)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004).