Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet, of Harrington Gardens

Sir Charles Norris Nicholson, 1st Baronet (30 July 1857 – 29 November 1918)[1] was the Liberal Member of Parliament for Doncaster from 1906 to 1918.[2]

Charles Nicholson, circa 1910

Background

He was born in 1857 a son of William Norris Nicholson and Emily Daniel, daughter of James Stock Daniel. His father was Secretary to two Liberal Lord Chancellors, Lord Truro and Lord Cranworth, and Master in Lunacy. He was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Cambridge,[3] In 1882 he married Amy Letitia Crosfield of Warrington.[4] He had a younger brother Reginald, who also went on to become a Liberal MP. The Nicholson Baronetcy, of Harrington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 7 February 1912.

Professional career

He undertook legal training and in 1878 he received a Call to Bar[4] and in 1880 joined Lincoln's Inn.[5] He chose not to practise and instead worked in the Lunacy Office. He worked in Shoreditch, London for 15 years during which he served as Chairman of Shoreditch Board of Guardians. He was also Chairman of Shoreditch Poor Law Schools Committee. In 1910 he was appointed Second Church Estates Commissioner.[5]

Political career

In 1902 Nicholson was selected as Liberal candidate for Doncaster.[6] It was a marginal Conservative seat that the Liberals last won in 1892, the last time they formed the government. In 1906, with the country swinging behind the new government of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Nicholson comfortably gained Doncaster.

General election 1906: Doncaster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Nicholson 9,315 62.3 +13.7
Conservative Frederick Fison 5,646 37.7 -13.7
Majority 3,669 24.6 27.4
Turnout 80.1 +2.3
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +13.7

Nicholson faced re-election in January 1910 and was comfortably re-elected, retaining most of the vote he had gained in 1906.

General election January 1910: Doncaster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Nicholson 10,654 60.1 -2.2
Conservative Charles Whitworth 7,085 39.9 +2.2
Majority 3,569 20.2 -4.4
Turnout 82.5 +24
Liberal hold Swing -2.2

This comfortable result was confirmed at the December 1910 General Election.

General election December 1910: Doncaster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Charles Nicholson 9,240 58.0 -2.1
Conservative Charles Whitworth 6,696 42.0 +2.1
Majority 2,544 16.0 -4.2
Turnout 74.1 -8.4
Liberal hold Swing -2.1

Nicholson was a supporter of votes for women, backing it in notable House of Commons votes in 1908 and 1912. Following the Asquith-Lloyd George split in the Liberal party, Nicholson backed Lloyd George, remaining loyal to the Coalition Government. In November 1918, at the age of 61, at the start of the general election campaign, he died suddenly from pneumonia.[7] He was replaced as Liberal candidate, by his younger brother Reginald Nicholson who was comfortably elected with the backing of the Coalition government.

He was a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, a member of the Royal Institute, Chairman of the Board of Control of Regt. Institutes and a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society.[5]

References
  1. "Historical list of MPs: constituencies beginning with D, part 2". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "NICHOLSON, Sir Charles Norris". Who Was Who. A & C Black. 1920–2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  3. "Nicholson, Charles Norris (NCL875CN)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. The Liberal Year Book, 1908
  5. Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1918.
  6. Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 2 May 1902
  7. Yorkshire Evening Post, 30 Nov 1918
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