Thomas Lance

Hanging in the Large Ballroom of Liverpool Town Hall is the portrait of Thomas Lance (1769-1829), by Joseph Allen. The plaque (pictured) currently in place relates to a totally different portrait.

I think a new plaque should say something like this:

Thomas Lance was an insurance broker, slave trader and as a partner in W.B. Cripps & Co, an importer of slave produced goods. During the final years of the legal slave trade he invested in seven voyages between 1804 and 1807. By 1814, Lance had moved to Wavertree, becoming a member of the Wavertree Local Board. Lance Lane was named in his honour. The portrait of his wife also hangs in the large ballroom and the one depicting his children is currently on display in the Walker.