A BLUE plaque commemorating a former Mayor of Oxford has been placed on the front of a Botley Road hotel.

The plaque has been erected on the wall of the River Hotel in honour of Thomas Henry Kingerlee, a 'prolific' builder in the 19th and early 20th century born in Banbury, who served twice as the Mayor of Oxford.

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The Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board is responsible for the new memorial to the former mayor, and held an unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, June 9, attended by TH Kingerlee's descendants and the current Lord Mayor of the city, Mark Lygo.

Born in 1843 in Banbury, TH Kingerlee moved to Oxford in the 1880s, and lived at the building which now carries a plaque in his honour.

The building firm he established, Kingerlee Ltd, was responsible for building more than 700 homes in the first 50 years of its existence.

Among some of the most distinctive buildings the company has built are the Wilberforce Temperance Hotel on Queen Street, Frank Cooper's Marmalade Factory on Frideswide Square and the Ultimate Picture Palace cinema in East Oxford.

The family firm Kingerlee Ltd still exists today, and has carried out large construction projects for several Oxford University colleges.

During his life, TH Kingerlee was also a city and county councillor, served as Mayor of Oxford twice, and stood as a Liberal candidate in the 1895 general election.

In a speech at the unveiling ceremony for the new plaque, historian Liz Woolley said there is 'physical evidence of his activities all around us'.

Correction: A previous version of this article said TH Kingerlee built the River Hotel. He actually lived there. Updated 18/06/21