Thomas Tucker Longman was born in Staffordshire in 1820 and began his studies for the priesthood at Oscott College in 1834, and was ordained priest there in 1845. He was soon afterwards appointed to Sedgely Park where he came to know many of the future priests of the Diocese. In 1860 he was appointed to St Chad's Cathedral and became Vicar General of the Diocese and chief advisor to the Bishop. He soon won the respect of the priests of the Diocese as a man of practical common sense and kindness.

On the resignation of Fr Cave he was appointed Rector of St Peter's with continued responsibility as Vicar General which gives an insight into his strength of character and gift for administration. He was soon to need this in plenty. He had only been in St Peter's four months when, on December 19th, the organ caught fire whilst being serviced and, despite all efforts, the church was reduced to a blackened shell - just five days before Christmas Eve Mass. Canon Longman immediately made arrangements for the feast to be celebrated in the school hall, and by the evening of Boxing Day had convened a restoration committee to meet in the presbytery. Several other meetings rapidly followed and insurance damage, although well below the cost, was settled, and plans not only for repair but also improvement were made. Chief among these were acoustics, heating, lighting, and the redesign of the High Altar. The result was that when the church reopened on 11 November 1884 the congregation must have thought the fire had been a blessing rather than a tragedy. It was an incredible achievement particularly since the original architect had retired and very little information regarding the design and decoration of the church was available.

Although Canon Longman was not considered an intellectual, he was universally admired for his breadth of character. This was not only appreciated by the clergy of the Diocese, who found in him a wise and friendly counsellor, but also throughout the town by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, since an ecumenical manner of approach endeared him to everyone. He had a delightful sense of humour and was a popular speaker at public functions, where he was quite at home with the leading dignitaries of the town. At the same time he was never afraid to draw attention to the slums of Leamington and urge that action should be taken, since no Rector of St Peter's could ignore the extreme poverty that existed in the parish.

In 1890 he was appointed domestic prelate to the pope and so became Monsignor Canon Longman to the great satisfaction of his fellow clergy and the parishioners. But his health was beginning to fail and, shortly after, he resigned as Vicar General, and then, most reluctantly, as Rector in 1892. He retired to live in Oswald Road, where he died in December 1893, just ten years after the dramatic events that preceded his first Christmas in the parish. "Cometh the hour, cometh the man".

After the Requiem Mass in St Peter's, he was buried in the priests' plot in Kenilworth.

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