St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton
John Morley | |
---|---|
Leader of the Irish Unionist Alliance | |
In office 1910–1919 | |
Preceded by | Sir Edward Carson |
Succeeded by | Lord Farnham |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] | 14 December 1856
Died | 13 February 1942[1] | (aged 85)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative (until 1891) Irish Unionist Alliance (1891–1919) Unionist Anti-Partition League (1919–1922) |
Spouse(s) | (1) Lady Hilda Charteris (died 1901) (2) Madeleine Stanley (1876–1966) |
Children | 1 son, 4 daughters[1] |
Parent(s) | William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton & Hon. Augusta Mary Fremantle |
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton,
Background and education
Brodrick came of a mainly south-west Surrey family who in the early 17th century, in Sirs St John and Thomas Brodrick, were granted land in the south of Ireland, mainly in County Cork. The former settled at Midleton, between Cork and Youghal in 1641; and his son Alan Brodrick (1660–1728), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was created Baron Brodrick in 1715 and Viscount Midleton in 1717 in the Irish peerage.[2]
In 1796 the title of Baron Brodrick in the
He maintained three homes: Peper Harow (House); 34 Portland Place, London (telephone number on the Langham exchange); Midleton (House), Ireland.[1] His family-settled land was probated before his widow's death in 1943 at £68,290 (equivalent to about £3,270,000 in 2021) and £55,624 in other assets in 1942.[4]
Political career
Brodrick entered Parliament as Conservative member for West Surrey in 1880.[5] In 1883 he was appointed to a
He was Secretary of State for War during most of the
In 1904, during a crisis in British relations with Russia, he became the first member of a Cabinet since 1714 to attend a meeting of the
From 1910 he was regarded as the nominal leader of the
In 1918, during the second, final year of his service on the Irish Convention,[1] he tried to reach a compromise with Redmond which would allow Home Rule without partition subject to certain financial restrictions. This was rejected both by Redmond's followers (who saw it as too restrictive) and the hardline IUA rank-and-file, who deposed Midleton. He and his followers then formed the Unionist Anti-Partition League, an elite body mainly concerned with lobbying. It had some influence on the 1920 Government of Ireland Act, but none of the safeguards for Southern Unionist interests which it sought were included in the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Successful lobbying by Midleton and associated Southern Unionists was instrumental in ensuring their representation in the Seanad of the Irish Free State.[18]
His speeches and/or questions in Parliament were in each year from 1880 to 1941, except 1906, when he held no seat, and 1940. They numbered 7,584, the last of which was a tribute to the passing of Lord Baden Powell.[19]
Honours and awards
Midleton was sworn into the Privy Council as of 1897.[1] During his 1902 visit to Germany, he received the Grand Cross of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle.[20]
He received the Honorary Freedom and was appointed a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers in 1902, his family having been associated with the company since the early 17th century.[21]
He was appointed a
In the 1920 New Year Honours he was elevated in the British peerage system to Earl of Midleton,[22] which became extinct with the death of his son in 1979. From 1930 he was High Steward of the Borough of Kingston upon Thames.[1][23]
Family
Brodrick married first, in 1880, Lady Hilda Charteris (died 1901), daughter of
- Lady Muriel Brodrick (1881–1966), who married in 1901 Dudley Marjoribanks, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth (1874–1935) and left two daughters.
- Lady Sybil Brodrick (1885–1935), was a maid of honour to Queen Mary 1911–1912, and married 1912 the diplomat Sir Ronald William Graham (1870–1949), no children.
- George Brodrick, 2nd Earl of Midleton (1888–1979)
- Lady Aileen Hilda Brodrick (1890–1970), who married in 1913 mountaineer and author Charles Francis Meade (1881–1975), by whom she had three daughters and a son.
- Lady Moyra Brodrick (1897–1982), who married in 1922 General Sir Henry Charles Loyd (1891–1973), by who she had a son and a daughter.
After the death of his first wife, Brodrick re-married at St George's, Hanover Square on 5 January 1903, Madeleine Cecilia Carlyle Stanley (1876–1966), daughter of Colonel Hon. John Constantine Stanley (son of the 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley) and Mary Stewart-Mackenzie. His best man at the marriage was the Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour, and several members of the royal family attended.[24] Madeleine Stanley′s mother had re-married the lawyer Sir Francis Jeune (later Baron St Helier), and her sister was married to the Conservative MP Augustus Henry Eden Allhusen. By this second marriage he had two sons:
- Major Hon. Francis Alan Stewart-MacKenzie of Seaforth (1910-1943) who changed his name on inheriting Brahan Castle. In 1937 he married Margaret Laetitia Lyell MBE (1912-1995) daughter of Major Hon.Charles Lyell MP. He died during the Battle of Salerno on 11 September 1943 (the day after his brother).
- Major Hon. Michael Victor Brodrick MC (1920-1943). He also died at the Battle of Salerno (the day before his brother).
His grandson Sir Julian St. John Loyd (by Lady Moyra) became land agent to
His sister, Hon. Marian Cecilia married Sir James Whitehead, son of the inventor Robert Whitehead. Sir James Whitehead was to become the British Ambassador to Austria, and his niece Agathe was the first wife of Georg von Trapp; the story of their children and his second wife, Maria von Trapp, was the basis of the musical The Sound of Music.
Another, Hon. Albinia, became an early supporter of Sinn Féin and became well known in Ireland under the name Gobnait Ní Bhruadair.
Another, Hon. Edith later Mrs. Lyttleton Gell was a published author of at least 24 works, such as The Cloud of Witness: A daily sequence of great thoughts from many minds and an autobiography, Under Three Reigns: 1860–1944.
Publications
Footnotes
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1.
- ^ a b c Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Malden, Henry C. (1902). Muster Roll. Windlesham House, Brighton. A.D. 1837 to 1902 (2nd ed.). Brighton: H. & C. Treacher.
- ^ https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk Calendar of Probates and Administrations, 1942 and 1943
- ^ "House member declaration". The London Gazette. London, UK. The London Gazette. 6 April 1880. p. 2388. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ^ "House of Lords news summaries". The London Gazette. 2 January 1883. pp. 29–30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
- ^ "No. 27246". The London Gazette. 13 November 1900. p. 6923.
- ^ "No. 27272". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 January 1901. p. 552.
- ^ "No. 27273". The London Gazette. 25 January 1901. p. 558.
- ^ "The German maneuvers". The Times. No. 36865. London. 5 September 1902. p. 6.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36981. London. 19 January 1903. p. 9.
- ^ Sir Almeric Fitzroy, Memoirs (London & New York, 1925), vol. I, p. 222.
- ^ "No. 25609". The London Gazette. 20 July 1886. p. 3495.
- ^ "No. 26311". The London Gazette. 29 July 1892. p. 4311.
- ^ "No. 26651". The London Gazette. 9 August 1895. p. 4485.
- ^ "No. 27244". The London Gazette. 6 November 1900. p. 6774.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 31 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 942. .
- ^ Letters to Lord Midleton 1917–1922 (Provost of Trinity College to Midleton) PRO 30/67 (Midleton Papers), National Archives. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/N13987842
- ^ "Mr William Brodrick (Hansard)".
- ^ "Latest Intelligence - The German Army Maneuvres". The Times. No. 36900. London. 16 October 1902. p. 4.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36731. London. 2 April 1902. p. 7.
- ^ "No. 31712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1919. p. 1.
- ^ Midleton was included in W. T. Pike's Contemporary Biographies published in Cork (1911).
- ^ "Marriage of Mr. Brodrick and Miss Stanley". The Times. No. 36970. London. 6 January 1903. p. 9.
- ^ "Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Diana, Princess of Wales' Ladies-in-Waiting". Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
References
- Atkins, W B; Matthew, H C G (2008) [2004]. "Brodrick, (William) St John Fremantle, first earl of Midleton (1856–1942)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32085. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Obituary, The Times, 16 February 1942
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Midleton, William St John Fremantle Brodrick, 9th Viscount". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 419. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Midleton
- Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. – via Wikisource. . . Dublin: