Nathaniel Eckersley
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Eckersley was an English mill-owner, banker and Conservative Party
politician from Standish Hall
, near Wigan
in Lancashire
. He sat in the House of Commons for three years in the 1860s, and two years in the 1880s.
, who served with the Duke of Wellington
and at the military station established in Manchester
after the Peterloo Massacre
.
In addition to his cotton mills,
Eckersley was a partner of the Wigan Old Bank, formerly Thomas Woodock's, Sons and Eckersley, which amalgamated in 1874 with Parr's Banking Company in Warrington
. He was Mayor of Wigan
in 1853 and in 1873, and was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant
of Lancashire
in September 1863.
In June in 1873 he led Wigan's welcome for the Prince
and Princess of Wales
, who opened a new hospital in the town, which the Princess named the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary.
(MPs) for Wigan
at a by-election in March 1866, following the resignation
of the Conservative MP Hon. James Lindsay. Nominations for the contest took place in the moot hall
in Wigan, supervised by the Mayor Thomas Knowles
. The candidates then addressed the voters in the town hall. Eckersley offered himself as a "free and independent candidate", and said that until then he had never considered himself to be a politician. The Mayor called for a show of hands
, which he found to be in favour of Eckersley, but a poll was demanded and Eckersley won 411 votes to the 349 cast for his Liberal
opponent John Lancaster
.
He was defeated at by John Lancaster (MP)
at the 1868 general election
, when Liberal
candidates took both seats in Wigan, and he did not stand for Parliament again for another 15 years.
He was High Sheriff of Lancashire
in 1878,
and in that capacity helped to organise a fund for the dependants of the victims of the explosion on 7 June 1878 at the Wood Pit Colliery in Haydock
, where more than 200 miners were killed.
When Wigan's Conservative MP Lord Linday
succeeded to the peerage in 1880, and Eckersley was asked to stand at the by-election in January 1881, but refused.
Following the death on December 1883 of Wigan's other Conservative MP Thomas Knowles
, Eckersley was returned unopposed at the resulting by-election on 21 December 1883. He held the seat until when Wigan's parliamentary representation was reduced from two seats to one by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
, and did not contest the 1885 general election
.
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician from Standish Hall
Standish, Greater Manchester
Standish is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the A49 road between the towns of Chorley and Wigan, a short distance from Junction 27 of the M6 motorway....
, near Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. He sat in the House of Commons for three years in the 1860s, and two years in the 1880s.
Career
His uncle was Colonel Nathaniel Eckersley, from Laurel House in HindleyHindley, Greater Manchester
Hindley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Lying three miles east of Wigan it covers an area of 1044 hectares. Historically a part of Lancashire, Hindley which includes Hindley Green borders the towns of Ince-in-Makerfield and Leigh within Wigan...
, who served with the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
and at the military station established in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
after the Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
.
In addition to his cotton mills,
Eckersley was a partner of the Wigan Old Bank, formerly Thomas Woodock's, Sons and Eckersley, which amalgamated in 1874 with Parr's Banking Company in Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
. He was Mayor of Wigan
Mayor of Wigan
The Mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is the "First Citizen", Chairman of the Wigan Council and elected representative of the Wigan Borough on a national and international level...
in 1853 and in 1873, and was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
in September 1863.
In June in 1873 he led Wigan's welcome for the Prince
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and Princess of Wales
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, who opened a new hospital in the town, which the Princess named the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary.
Parliament
He was elected as one of the two Members of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) for Wigan
Wigan (UK Parliament constituency)
Wigan is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
at a by-election in March 1866, following the resignation
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
of the Conservative MP Hon. James Lindsay. Nominations for the contest took place in the moot hall
Moot hall
A moot hall is meeting or assembly building, traditionally to decide local issues.In Anglo-Saxon England, a low ring-shaped earthwork served as a moot hill or moot mound, where the elders of the hundred would meet to take decisions. Some of these acquired permanent buildings, known as moot halls...
in Wigan, supervised by the Mayor Thomas Knowles
Thomas Knowles
Thomas Knowles was an English businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1883....
. The candidates then addressed the voters in the town hall. Eckersley offered himself as a "free and independent candidate", and said that until then he had never considered himself to be a politician. The Mayor called for a show of hands
Show of hands
A show of hands is a common voting method used in committees and other informal or small gatherings for voting. It is more precise than a voice vote but does not require members to leave their seats. However, it does not count as a division of the assembly, and is not always as effective as a...
, which he found to be in favour of Eckersley, but a poll was demanded and Eckersley won 411 votes to the 349 cast for his Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
opponent John Lancaster
John Lancaster (MP)
John Lancaster was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1874.Lancaster was the son of John Lancaster of Prestwich, Lancashire. He was engaged in the coal and iron trades and was chairman of the Lancashire Union Railway. He was a J.P...
.
He was defeated at by John Lancaster (MP)
John Lancaster (MP)
John Lancaster was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1874.Lancaster was the son of John Lancaster of Prestwich, Lancashire. He was engaged in the coal and iron trades and was chairman of the Lancashire Union Railway. He was a J.P...
at the 1868 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1868
The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...
, when Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
candidates took both seats in Wigan, and he did not stand for Parliament again for another 15 years.
He was High Sheriff of Lancashire
High Sheriff of Lancashire
The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...
in 1878,
and in that capacity helped to organise a fund for the dependants of the victims of the explosion on 7 June 1878 at the Wood Pit Colliery in Haydock
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...
, where more than 200 miners were killed.
When Wigan's Conservative MP Lord Linday
James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford
James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford and 9th Earl of Balcarres was a British astronomer, politician, bibliophile and philatelist. A member of the Royal Society, Crawford was elected president of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1878. He was a prominent Freemason.-Family:The Earl was the...
succeeded to the peerage in 1880, and Eckersley was asked to stand at the by-election in January 1881, but refused.
Following the death on December 1883 of Wigan's other Conservative MP Thomas Knowles
Thomas Knowles
Thomas Knowles was an English businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1883....
, Eckersley was returned unopposed at the resulting by-election on 21 December 1883. He held the seat until when Wigan's parliamentary representation was reduced from two seats to one by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
, and did not contest the 1885 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
.