George Whiteley, 1st Baron Marchamley

George Whiteley, 1st Baron Marchamley PC (30 August 1855 – 21 October 1925) was a British Conservative turned Liberal Party politician. He served as Chief Whip between 1905 and 1908 in the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Marchamley
PC
George Whiteley MP, circa 1906
Parliamentary Secretary
to the Treasury
In office
12 December 1905 – 3 June 1908
MonarchEdward VII
Prime MinisterSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
H. H. Asquith
Preceded bySir Alexander Acland-Hood, Bt
Succeeded byJack Pease
Personal details
Born30 August 1855 (1855-08-30)
Died21 October 1925 (1925-10-22) (aged 70)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative to 1900 Liberal 1900-1925(death)
SpouseAlice Tattersall (d. 1913)

Background

Whiteley was the eldest son of George Whiteley, JP, of Woodlands, Blackburn, Lancashire.[1] His brother, Herbert, also became a Member of Parliament.

He was partner in a cotton-spinning firm and had major brewing interests.[2]

Political career

As a Conservative,[2] Whiteley was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockport from 1893 to 1900.[1][3] He then joined the Liberal Party, in whose interest he was elected M.P. in 1900 for Pudsey, serving until 1908.[1][2][4] He became Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) when the Liberals came to power in December 1905,[1] and was made a Privy Counsellor in 1907.[5] On 1 June 1908, he resigned from Parliament by accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead.[6] It was thought that his retirement was due entirely to insomnia, from which he had suffered for a long period.[7] On 3 July 1908 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Marchamley, of Hawkstone in the County of Shropshire.[8][9] He contributed occasionally in the House of Lords, making his last speech in November 1919.[10] The Complete Peerage summarised up his oratory as: "A ready speaker, with a somewhat caustic humour, he was on the platform an effective asset to the Liberal Party".[2]

He was made a JP for the counties of Hampshire in 1900, and Shropshire in 1908.[11]

Family

Lord Marchamley married Alice, only child of William Tattersall, JP, of Quarry Bank, Blackburn, and St Anthony's Milnthorpe, in 1881. In 1907, he purchased, from the 4th Viscount Hill, Hawkstone Hall and its estates in Shropshire, later selling them in 1923.[12] His own title was taken from the village of Marchamley, near Hawkstone Hall, and after Hawkstone itself.

Lady Marchamley died in 1913. Marchamley survived her by twelve years and died at his home, 29 Princes Gardens, London,[2] after an operation[13] in October 1925, aged 70. He was buried in the churchyard of St Luke's, Weston-under-Redcastle, Shropshire. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, William.[1]

Arms
Coat of arms of George Whiteley, 1st Baron Marchamley
Crest
A stag’s head couped Argent attired Or holding in the mouth a bell Gold.
Escutcheon
Per fesse dancettée Sable and Gules in chief a pale Or thereon three bars of the second in base a fleur de lis Argent.
Supporters
Dexter a griffin sejant sinister a hawk both per fess Gules and Sable armed and membered Or each charged on the fesse line with a fleur-de-lis Argent.[14]
Motto
Live To Live
Punch cartoon depicting Liberal versus Labour voting issues arising from a comment by George Whiteley[15][16]

References
  1. Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
  2. The Complete Peerage, Volume XIII. St Catherine's Press, London. 1940. p. 92.
  3. "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Stamford and Spalding to Stroud and Thornbury". Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Plymouth to Putney". Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. "No. 28092". The London Gazette. 24 December 1907. p. 8966.
  6. "Parliament - House Of Commons - New Writ", The Times, p. 6 col. 1, 4 June 1908
  7. "The Representation of the Pudsey Division", The Times, p. 11 col. 1, 19 May 1908
  8. "No. 28156". The London Gazette. 7 July 1908. p. 4938.
  9. "The New Peers", The Times, p. 15 col. 4, 8 July 1908
  10. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) Mr George Whiteley
  11. Kelly's Handbook of the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1925. Kelly's. p. 1089.
  12. The Complete Peerage, Volume VI. 1926. p. 522.
  13. "Death of Lord Marchamley". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 23 October 1925. p. 10.
  14. Debrett's Peerage. 1921.
  15. Partridge, Bernard (1908). "Called to heel". Punch. London: Bouverie Street. 134: 218.
  16. "British socialists lose". New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
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