Richard Causton, 1st Baron Southwark

Causton was born in Deptford, Kent[1] the son of Sir Joseph Causton alderman and sheriff of London and his wife Mary Anne Porter, daughter of Edward Porter. He was a partner in the firm of Causton and Sons, stationers and printers in Eastcheap, Southwark Street and Cary Street. He was a commissioner of lieutenancy for the City of London and a member of the Worshipful Company of Skinners of which he was master in 1877.[2]

Causton unsuccessfully contested Colchester in 1874,[1] but was successfully returned for the constituency in 1880.[3] However, he lost his seat in 1885 and once again stood unsuccessfully for the constituency in 1886.[1] In 1888 he was successfully returned for Southwark West in a by-election, a seat he held until 1910.[4] He served under William Ewart Gladstone and the Earl of Rosebery as a Junior Lord of the Treasury between 1892 and 1895 and continued as Liberal Whip until 1905. When the Liberals returned to power in December 1905 under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Causton was made Paymaster General.[5] In January 1906 he was sworn of the Privy Council.[6] He remained as Paymaster-General until 1910, the last two years under the premiership of H. H. Asquith. He lost his seat in parliament in 1910.[1] The same year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Southwark, of Southwark in the County of London.[7]

Causton was a Fellow of the Statistical Society, President of the London Chamber of Commerce in 1913 and Master of the Skinners Company again in 1921/22.

Lord Southwark died in February 1929, aged 85, his estate probated in the London Registry at £21282 12s 2d (equivalent to £1,376,000 in 2021). The barony became extinct on his death.

Causton married in 1871 Selina Mary Chambers, daughter of Sir Thomas Chambers QC, MP for Marylebone.[2]

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Richard Causton