Thomas Ashton was born in Hyde in 1818. As a young man Thomas became a close friend of John Fielden, the owner of a large textile company in Todmorden. Ashton started a similiar business in Hyde and eventually became one of Fielden's main competitors.

Ashton was a Unitarian and an active member of the Liberal Party, shared John Fielden's views on social reform. In 1870 Ashton worked closely with John's son, Samuel Fielden, in raising money for Owens College, the Nonconformist education establishment founded in Manchester by the cotton-merchant, John Owens. By 1870 Fielden and Ashton had raised £200,000 for the college.

Thomas Ashton died in 1898.

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