Robert Needham Philips
Encyclopedia
Robert Needham Philips DL
(1815 – 28 February 1890) was an English
merchant and manufacturer in the Lancashire
textiles business, a Liberal Party
politician, and the grandfather of the Whig
historian G. M. Trevelyan
.
He lived in Manchester
and in Warwickshire
, and after holding at least three ceremonial appointments he was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for the borough of Bury
, a mill town
which was then in Lancashire, for a total of 22 years between 1857 and 1885.
had given city parliamentary representation for the first time. The family's extensive estate on the boundary of Whitefield
and Prestwich
, in Greater Manchester
(now within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury
), is now Philips Park
.
His father's business partnership, Philips, Wood & Co, was dissolved in 1844 after the death of both partners.
The younger Robert was educated at Rugby School
and at Manchester College.
He married twice, firstly in 1845 to Anna Maria Yates from Liverpool, who died in 1851. He married again in 1856 to Mary Ellen Yates from London. His daughter Caroline was married in 1869 to George Otto Trevelyan
(1838–1928), who was later a Baronet; their youngest son was the historian G. M. Trevelyan
(1876–1962), and their eldest son was the Liberal MP Sir Charles Trevelyan
(1870–1958), who later joined the Labour Party
and served in Ramsay Macdonald
's cabinets as President of the Board of Education.
His residences were listed in 1881 as The Park, Manchester, and Welcombe, Stratford upon Avon
, Warwickshire. He had inherited Welcombe House
in 1873 on the death of his brother, and on his death the estate passed to his daughter Caroline.
, Lancashire
, Westmorland
and London
, which was dissolved in 1855. He was also engaged in a similar partnership which was restructured in 1867. After his death in 1890 at the age of 85, a further partnership was dissolved, which had involved a bleaching and dyeing enterprise at Bagley in Lancashire, and bobbin manufacturing at Staveley
in Westmorland.
of Lancashire 1853, and of Warwickshire
in 1855. He was Sheriff of Lancashire
from 1856 to 1857.
He was elected as the MP for Bury
at the 1857 general election
, but held the seat for only two years until he stood down from the House of Commons at the 1859 general election
. He stood again in 1865
, after which he held the seat until he retired from Parliament of the United Kingdom
at the 1885 general election
.
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....
(1815 – 28 February 1890) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
merchant and manufacturer in the 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...
textiles business, a Liberal Party
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...
politician, and the grandfather of the Whig
Whig history
Whig history is the approach to historiography which presents the past as an inevitable progression towards ever greater liberty and enlightenment, culminating in modern forms of liberal democracy and constitutional monarchy. In general, Whig historians stress the rise of constitutional government,...
historian G. M. Trevelyan
G. M. Trevelyan
George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...
.
He lived 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...
and in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, and after holding at least three ceremonial appointments he was the 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 the borough of Bury
Bury (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury was a borough constituency centred on the town of Bury in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament ) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, a mill town
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
which was then in Lancashire, for a total of 22 years between 1857 and 1885.
Family and early life
Philips was the youngest son Robert Philips, a merchant of The Park, Manchester, and his wife Anne née Needham. His older brother Mark (1800–1873) was one of the first two MPs to be elected for Manchester in 1832, after the Great Reform ActReform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
had given city parliamentary representation for the first time. The family's extensive estate on the boundary of Whitefield
Whitefield, Greater Manchester
Whitefield is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the south bank of the River Irwell, south-southeast of Bury, and to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
and Prestwich
Prestwich
Prestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury....
, in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
(now within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury
Metropolitan Borough of Bury
The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough is composed of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...
), is now Philips Park
Philips Park, Whitefield
Philips Park is an area of parkland situated within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury on the boundary of Whitefield and Prestwich, in Greater Manchester. The park consists of rich woodland and grassland habitat and is home to an assortment of wildlife...
.
His father's business partnership, Philips, Wood & Co, was dissolved in 1844 after the death of both partners.
The younger Robert 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 at Manchester College.
He married twice, firstly in 1845 to Anna Maria Yates from Liverpool, who died in 1851. He married again in 1856 to Mary Ellen Yates from London. His daughter Caroline was married in 1869 to George Otto Trevelyan
Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet OM, PC was a British statesman and author. In a ministerial career stretching almost 30 years, he was most notably twice Secretary of State for Scotland under William Ewart Gladstone and the Earl of Rosebery...
(1838–1928), who was later a Baronet; their youngest son was the historian G. M. Trevelyan
G. M. Trevelyan
George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...
(1876–1962), and their eldest son was the Liberal MP Sir Charles Trevelyan
Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet
Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet PC , the Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, was a British Liberal, and later Labour, politician and landowner...
(1870–1958), who later joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and served in Ramsay Macdonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
's cabinets as President of the Board of Education.
His residences were listed in 1881 as The Park, Manchester, and Welcombe, Stratford upon Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, Warwickshire. He had inherited Welcombe House
Welcombe Hotel
Welcombe Hotel occupies a 19th century former country mansion house near Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire which was previously known as Welcombe House. It is a Grade II* listed building....
in 1873 on the death of his brother, and on his death the estate passed to his daughter Caroline.
Business interests
He was a partner in a partnership of smallware manufacturers, with interests in StaffordshireStaffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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...
, Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, which was dissolved in 1855. He was also engaged in a similar partnership which was restructured in 1867. After his death in 1890 at the age of 85, a further partnership was dissolved, which had involved a bleaching and dyeing enterprise at Bagley in Lancashire, and bobbin manufacturing at Staveley
Staveley, Cumbria
Staveley is a village in the District of South Lakeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated northwest of Kendal where the River Kent is joined by its tributary the Gowan.-Geography:...
in Westmorland.
Political career
Philips was appointed as a Deputy LieutenantDeputy 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 1853, and of Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
in 1855. He was 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...
from 1856 to 1857.
He was elected as the MP for Bury
Bury (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury was a borough constituency centred on the town of Bury in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament ) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
at the 1857 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1857
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
, but held the seat for only two years until he stood down from the House of Commons at the 1859 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1859
In the 1859 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, held their majority in the House of Commons over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives...
. He stood again in 1865
United Kingdom general election, 1865
The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...
, after which he held the seat until he retired from Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
at 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:...
.