Mr. Thomas Taylor was, for many years, a member of the Old Board of Health prior to Batley's incorporation in 1868. At the first election of Batley Town Council, Mr. Taylor declined to associate himself with certain candidates for office and was defeated. Although frequently asked to offer himself as a candidate, he always declined to do so, He was, however, a member of the first West Riding County Council, of which he became one of the first Aldermen, an office he continued to hold until hid death, which occurred very suddenly in September 1892. He had then been a county magistrate for many years and was one of the original members of the Batley Borough Bench.
