Editing Thomas Cook (section)

== Legacy ==
Cook is commemorated in the village of his childhood, Melbourne, by [[Almshouse|almshouses]] and a chapel he had built in 1890. A plaque reads:"General Baptist Memorial Cottages and Mission Hall. Erected by Thomas Cook, a Native of Melbourne 1890".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/thomas-cook-almshouses-high-street-melbourne-6941|title=Thomas Cook Almshouses, High Street, Melbourne, Derbyshire|access-date=9 January 2025|work=Historic England}}</ref> In Leicester he is commemorated by his statue outside the railway station and a blue plaque on his home, Thorncroft.<ref name=building/>

Historian of tourism Alan McNee described Cook as "perhaps the nineteenth century's greatest force for popularizing and democratizing travel", writing:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/public-space/were-all-going-on-a-summer-holiday-the-rise-of-thomas-cook/|title=Summer holiday: the rise of Thomas Cook|first=Alan|last=McNee|date=27 September 2024|work=History Workshop|access-date=9 January 2025|archive-date=2 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202222906/https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/public-space/were-all-going-on-a-summer-holiday-the-rise-of-thomas-cook/|url-status=live}}</ref> 
<blockquote>Although the firm and its clients were often criticized by conservative commentators as a vulgarizing and destructive influence, Cook’s promotion of 'excursion' travel allowed a huge number of ordinary British men and women to experience travel in a way that would have been unimaginable for their parents and grandparents. In doing so, Cook transformed the fields of tourism and leisure.</blockquote>