Robin Chichester-Clark
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Chichester-Clark (born 10 January 1928) was member of parliament
for Londonderry
in the British House of Commons
from 1955 until February 1974, and was the only member representing Northern Ireland
to be a British government minister
since the Government of Ireland Act 1920
.
, County Londonderry
, his family's ancestral home. He was the eldest of three children of James J. Lenox-Conyngham Clark
and Marion Caroline Dehra, née Chichester. His brother was James Chichester-Clark
and his sister, Penelope Hobhouse
, the garden writer and historian. In 1924 James Clark, Snr. changed the family name to Chichester-Clark by deed poll, thus preventing the old ascendancy name Chichester (his wife's maiden name) from dying out. On his mother's side the family are descended from the Donegall
Chichesters and were the heirs of the Dawsons of Castledawson
, who had originally held Moyola Park.
He was educated at the Royal Naval College
, Dartmouth
and Magdalene College, Cambridge
. He began work as a journalist in 1949, worked as public relations
officer for Glyndebourne
1952-3, before joining the publishing house Oxford University Press
.
. He was the third generation of politicians from his family. His grandfather represented Derry County and City at Westminster.
His brother James Chichester-Clark
was Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
from 1969 to 1971, but resigned in the face of increasing violence and internal Ulster Unionist Party
splits. The family were also active in politics in the 19th century and Chichester-Clark's great great grandfather, The Rt. Hon. George Robert Dawson was Member of Parliament for Londonderry, later for an English constituency, before joining the Government of Sir Robert Peel
whose sister Mary he married. They lived at Castledawson
.
Chichester-Clark was consistently either a Front Bench Spokesman for the Opposition or a member of the Government of Harold Macmillan and, later, Edward Heath. He held the position of Assistant Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, Comptroller of the Household
, was Conservative Spokesman for Northern Ireland and on the Arts, Shadow Minister of Public Building and Works and, ultimately, Minister of State for Employment. In 1970 he remained outside the UK government because of the Premiership of his brother in Northern Ireland. When Edward Heath
suspended the Stormont
Government and Parliament in 1972, he asked Chichester-Clark to go with William Whitelaw to Northern Ireland as Minister of State. Chichester-Clark did not accept but later joined the administration as Minister of State for Employment. Before the first 1974 Election he announced his retirement from the Londonderry constituency and did not put himself forward for reselection.
) and the arts The Arvon Foundation
. He has also helped with fundraising for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
and is now involved with the development of the Museum of Illustration. Sir Robin lives in London
.
. With Jane Goddard he had three children. He married, secondly, Caroline Bull (a barrister, the daughter of Anthony Bull CBE CStJ
) with whom he has two sons (Adam, also a barrister, and Thomas). Chichester-Clark's sister, Penelope Hobhouse
, is a gardener, gardening writer and historian.
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,...
for Londonderry
Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)
Londonderry was a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also a constituency in elections to various regional bodies. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983...
in the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
from 1955 until February 1974, and was the only member representing Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to be a British government minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
since the Government of Ireland Act 1920
Government of Ireland Act 1920
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which partitioned Ireland. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill or as the Fourth Home Rule Act.The Act was intended...
.
Early life
Chichester-Clark was born at Moyola Park, CastledawsonCastledawson
Castledawson is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh , about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and close to the market town of Magherafelt...
, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
, his family's ancestral home. He was the eldest of three children of James J. Lenox-Conyngham Clark
James Lenox-Conyngham Chichester-Clark
James Jackson Lenox-Conyngham Chichester-Clark was a Member of Parliament of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for South Londonderry from 1929 until his death. His son James Chichester-Clark later became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...
and Marion Caroline Dehra, née Chichester. His brother was James Chichester-Clark
James Chichester-Clark
James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for South Londonderry for 12 years beginning at the by-election...
and his sister, Penelope Hobhouse
Penelope Hobhouse
Penelope Hobhouse is a garden writer, designer, lecturer and television presenter.-Background:...
, the garden writer and historian. In 1924 James Clark, Snr. changed the family name to Chichester-Clark by deed poll, thus preventing the old ascendancy name Chichester (his wife's maiden name) from dying out. On his mother's side the family are descended from the Donegall
Marquess of Donegall
Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir Arthur Chichester, was Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1604...
Chichesters and were the heirs of the Dawsons of Castledawson
Castledawson
Castledawson is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh , about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and close to the market town of Magherafelt...
, who had originally held Moyola Park.
He was educated at the Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
, Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
and Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
. He began work as a journalist in 1949, worked as public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
officer for Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
1952-3, before joining the publishing house Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
.
Political life
Chichester-Clark was elected for Londonderry at the 1955 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
. He was the third generation of politicians from his family. His grandfather represented Derry County and City at Westminster.
His brother James Chichester-Clark
James Chichester-Clark
James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for South Londonderry for 12 years beginning at the by-election...
was Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...
from 1969 to 1971, but resigned in the face of increasing violence and internal Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
splits. The family were also active in politics in the 19th century and Chichester-Clark's great great grandfather, The Rt. Hon. George Robert Dawson was Member of Parliament for Londonderry, later for an English constituency, before joining the Government of Sir Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
whose sister Mary he married. They lived at Castledawson
Castledawson
Castledawson is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh , about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and close to the market town of Magherafelt...
.
Chichester-Clark was consistently either a Front Bench Spokesman for the Opposition or a member of the Government of Harold Macmillan and, later, Edward Heath. He held the position of Assistant Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, Comptroller of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
, was Conservative Spokesman for Northern Ireland and on the Arts, Shadow Minister of Public Building and Works and, ultimately, Minister of State for Employment. In 1970 he remained outside the UK government because of the Premiership of his brother in Northern Ireland. When Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
suspended the Stormont
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
Government and Parliament in 1972, he asked Chichester-Clark to go with William Whitelaw to Northern Ireland as Minister of State. Chichester-Clark did not accept but later joined the administration as Minister of State for Employment. Before the first 1974 Election he announced his retirement from the Londonderry constituency and did not put himself forward for reselection.
Later life
Since 1974 he has worked as a director of companies in the construction industry, as a political adviser to the NFBTE, as a management consultant and as Chairman of charities in medical research (RAFTRaft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull...
) and the arts The Arvon Foundation
Arvon Foundation
The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which promotes creative writing. It is based in the Free Word Centre for literature, literacy and free expression in London.-History:...
. He has also helped with fundraising for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
and is now involved with the development of the Museum of Illustration. Sir Robin lives in 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...
.
Personal life
He was first married to Jane Helen Goddard, daughter of Air Marshall Sir Robert Victor Goddard, KCB, CBVictor Goddard
Air Marshal Sir Robert Victor Goddard KCB, CBE usually Victor Goddard, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He is best known as a protagonist in the 1946 aviation incident immortalized in the 1955 film The Night My Number Came Up.-Early life:Goddard was born at...
. With Jane Goddard he had three children. He married, secondly, Caroline Bull (a barrister, the daughter of Anthony Bull CBE CStJ
Anthony Bull
Anthony Bull CBE CStJ was a British transport engineer and was president of the Institute of Transport.-Background and education:...
) with whom he has two sons (Adam, also a barrister, and Thomas). Chichester-Clark's sister, Penelope Hobhouse
Penelope Hobhouse
Penelope Hobhouse is a garden writer, designer, lecturer and television presenter.-Background:...
, is a gardener, gardening writer and historian.