Sir Robert Gunter, 1st Baronet (2 November 1831 – 17 September 1905) was a British army officer, property developer and Conservative Party

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 who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1905.

Gunter was the son of Robert Gunter of Earl's Court, London and his wife Fanny Thompson, daughter of E. Thompson of Durham. His grandfather James Gunter

James Gunter

James Gunter was an English confectioner, fruit grower and scientific gardener who created what became one of the great residential estates in West London....

 was a confectioner of Gunter's Tea Shop

Gunter's Tea Shop

Gunter's Tea Shop in London's Berkeley Square had its origins in a food business named “Pot and Pine Apple” started in 1757 by Italian Domenico Negri. Various English, French and Italian wet and dry sweetmeats were made and sold from the business. In 1777 James Gunter became Negri’s business...

 whose purchases led to the development of some 60 acres of land in West London. Gunter was educated at Rugby School

Rugby School

Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...

 and joined the 4th Dragoon Guards. He served in the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 and became captain. After the death of their father in 1852 Gunter and his brother James developed the Redcliffe Estate area, giving their name not just to "Gunter Grove", but to many other streets in the area. He settled in Yorkshire at Wetherby Grange in Collingham

Collingham, West Yorkshire

Collingham is a village and civil parish south east of Wetherby in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The clergyman, the Reverend William Mompesson was born there in 1639....

, near Knaresborough. He was a J.P.

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

  for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 3rd Battalion Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment).

Gunter was elected was Member of Parliament

Member 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,...

 (MP) for Knaresborough

Knaresborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Knaresborough was a parliamentary constituency which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, and then one MP until its abolition in 1885.-Before the Great Reform Act:...

 in the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

 at a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 in 1884 following the death of the sitting MP Thomas Collins

Thomas Collins (UK politician)

Thomas Collins was a Conservative Party politician in England.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Knaresborough at a by-election in 1851 following the death of William Lascelles, but was defeated at the 1852 general election...

. The Knaresborough constituency was abolished in 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...

 . In 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:...

, Gunter was elected MP for the new Barkston Ash

Barkston Ash (UK Parliament constituency)

Barkston Ash was a parliamentary constituency centred on the village of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire . It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1983...

 constituency. He represented the constituency until his death in 1905 at the age of 73.

He was made a baronet in 1901, of Wetherby Grange, in the county of Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

.

Gunter married Jane Marguerite Benyon, daughter of Thomas Benyon of Gledhow Hall, Yorkshire in 1862. "Edith Grove" is named after their daughter, Edith, who died of scarlet fever aged eight.

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