"Mid Herts", caricature by Elf in Vanity Fair, 1909.

Sir Edward Hildred Carlile, 1st Baronet, CBE (10 July 1852 – 26 September 1942) was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician.

Early life

Born in Richmond, Surrey, in 1852, Carlile was educated at St Albans School and abroad. He made his career in business and politics. In business he was a partner in the firm of Jonas Brook & Brothers, Meltham Mills, Huddersfield. This firm later merged with J. & P. Coats Limited (now Coats plc), and he became a Director of that company.

Politics

He stood unsuccessfully in Huddersfield at the 1900 general election.[1] He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans at the 1906 general election.[2] He was re-elected at both the elections in 1910,[2] and returned unopposed as a Coalition Conservative in 1918.[3] Due to ill-health[4] he resigned from the House of Commons on 20 November 1919 by the procedural device of accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead.[5]

He was a J.P. for Hertfordshire, the West Riding of Yorkshire, and for the Borough of Huddersfield. From 1910–19 he was a member of the House of Commons Accounts Committee. He was also active in the Yeomanry and Volunteers, eventually becoming Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion Duke of Wellington's Regiment (1906–39).[6] During World War I he worked for the Red Cross.

He unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate in the 1921 Hertford by-election

Philanthropy

In 1914 he gave 100,000 guineas (an enormous sum in those days) as an endowment to Bedford College, University of London (he was the first Fellow on the Council of the College), which made possible the establishment of Chairs in Botany, English, Latin, and Physics.[7]

He was knighted in 1911,[8] appointed deputy lieutenant of Hertfordshire in 1912,[9] created a baronet, of Ponsbourne Park, in the County of Hertford on 27 June 1917,[10] and appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1920.[11] In 1922 he was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire.[12] One of his brothers was Wilson Carlile, founder of the Church Army, of which Hildred was a Vice-President. At age 90 he died, like his latter brother, in 1942.

References

  1. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 122. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  2. ^ a b Craig, British parliamentary election results 1885–1918, page 297
  3. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 375. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  4. ^ By-election at St Albans: Sir E.H. Carlile to retire through ill-health, The Times, 21 November 1919, page 9
  5. ^ Department of Information Services (14 January 2010). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  6. ^ Army Lists.
  7. ^ The University of London – The Constituent Colleges | British History Online at www.british-history.ac.uk
  8. ^ "No. 28512". The London Gazette. 11 July 1911. p. 5167.
  9. ^ "No. 28620". The London Gazette. 21 June 1912. p. 4469.
  10. ^ "No. 30255". The London Gazette. 28 August 1917. p. 8891.
  11. ^ "No. 31840". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 March 1920. p. 3762.
  12. ^ "No. 32642". The London Gazette. 17 March 1922. p. 2231.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byJohn Bamford Slack Member of Parliament for St Albans 1906–1919 Succeeded bySir Francis Edward Fremantle Honorary titles Preceded bySir Arthur Cory-Wright High Sheriff of Hertfordshire 1922 Succeeded byGeorge Strachan Pawle Baronetage of the United Kingdom New creation Baronet(of Ponsbourne Park) 1917–1942 Extinct
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