William Somervell
Encyclopedia
William Henry Somervell was an English businessman, philanthropist
and Liberal
politician.
in Westmorland
on 5 April 1869, the son of John Somervell. He was educated at Stramongate School, Kendal and the Grove House School
, Tottenham
. In 1889 he married Florence Howard of Bickley
, near Chislehurst
in Kent
. They had two sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Dr Howard Somervell (1889–1960), was medical missionary for the London Missionary Society
(LMS) hospital at Neyyor, Travancore
in southern India
and a mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest
and was a colleague of George Mallory
.
In religion Somervell was a Congregationalist; an elder of the Zion Congregational Church at Kendal and for many years the superintendent of the Sunday School
there. He was a long-serving Treasurer of the London Missionary Society and was regarded as an influential lay member of the country’s Christian churches. He twice (in 1913 and again in 1922) was a member of an LMS deputation to India. As a dedicated teetotaller
, Somervell was a keen advocate of the LMS’ work to promote temperance.
merchants and boot
manufacturers. Later known as K Shoes, the company remained a major employer in Kendal until its factory closed in 2003. He travelled widely on business for the firm, visiting India, Australia
and New Zealand
. A director of the firm, he eventually he rose to be chairman of the board during the last years of his life.
in the Liberal interest. In December 1910 he reduced the Unionist
majority and lost by 308 votes. He was selected to fight the seat again at a by-election
on 18 March 1913 occasioned by the death of the sitting Tory
MP Josceline Bagot
. He failed to win the seat however and explained his defeat, and the doubling of the Unionist majority, by claiming that his opponent, Colonel John Wakefield Weston (who stood as an Independent Unionist) had been selected because he was a ‘semi-Liberal’ and a popular local man. To underline this, it was speculated that when the new member took his seat in the House of Commons he would be introduced not by the Conservative whips
but by Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck
and another private member.
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
. The seat had been Liberal held since its creation for the 1885 general election
and became vacant on the death of the sitting MP, Sir Swire Smith
on 16 March 1918. At the election, Somervell, stood as the candidate of the Coalition government
and did not face Conservative or Labour
opponents. There was an Independent ‘Peace by Negotiation’ candidate, William Bland, (who is also referred to in some reference books as an Independent Labour Party
candidate) but Somervell was returned easily with a majority of 2,524 votes and well over 50% of the poll. Nevertheless, Bland managed to attract nearly 30% of the vote and one historian has argued that this was an inidcation of a growing and substantial body of public opinion favouring a negotiatied peace settlement with Germany following the publication of the Lansdowne letter
and an increasing sign of war weariness.
However, Somervell’s stay in Parliament
did not last long. At the general election of December 1918
he was opposed by Sir Robert Clough for the Conservatives, who appears to have been granted the Coalition coupon
, and Bland again who this time stood as an official Labour candidate. Somervell seems to have fallen foul of the Lloyd George Coalition Liberals and their Conservative allies mainly because of his failure to vote for the government in the Maurice Debate
, although there were other minor policy differences too. Clough took the seat from Somervell with a majority of 1,111 votes in a close three-cornered contest. Somervell did not stand for Parliament again.
in Westmorland and Kendal Borough. During the First World War he was active in recruitment to the armed forces
, noted as an energetic speaker at recruitment rallies. Later he was an active member of the War Pensions Tribunals.
and pastels
. He also collected pictures and organised exhibitions of modern art
. He was founder member of the Kendal Sketch Club and was an active member of the Society of Modern Artists, the Lakes Artists’ Society between 1918-1924
and the Contemporary Art Society.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and 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...
politician.
Family and education
William Somervell was born at KendalKendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
in 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:...
on 5 April 1869, the son of John Somervell. He was educated at Stramongate School, Kendal and the Grove House School
Grove School (Tottenham)
Grove House School was a Quaker school in Tottenham, United Kingdom.The school was established in 1828 as a boarding school for boys of the Quaker community, initially under Thomas Binns. One of its founders was Josiah Forster, who had attended the Quaker school his grandfather had founded in 1752,...
, Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
. In 1889 he married Florence Howard of Bickley
Bickley
Bickley is an affluent residential area and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is a suburban development situated 10.4 miles south east of Charing Cross...
, near Chislehurst
Chislehurst
Chislehurst is a suburban district in south-east London, England, and an electoral ward of the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. They had two sons and a daughter. One of his sons, Dr Howard Somervell (1889–1960), was medical missionary for the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
(LMS) hospital at Neyyor, Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
in southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and a mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
and was a colleague of George Mallory
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....
.
In religion Somervell was a Congregationalist; an elder of the Zion Congregational Church at Kendal and for many years the superintendent of the Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
there. He was a long-serving Treasurer of the London Missionary Society and was regarded as an influential lay member of the country’s Christian churches. He twice (in 1913 and again in 1922) was a member of an LMS deputation to India. As a dedicated teetotaller
Teetotalism
Teetotalism refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or is simply said to be teetotal...
, Somervell was a keen advocate of the LMS’ work to promote temperance.
Philanthropy
Somervell’s reputation as a philanthropist derives not only from his religious work but rather from his long time association with the Kendal Charity Organization Society, of which he was for a while, chairman. During this time he gave away what was described as ‘a large portion’ of his own income.Career
In 1876, Somervell entered the family business, Somervell Bros. of Kendal, leatherLeather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
merchants and boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
manufacturers. Later known as K Shoes, the company remained a major employer in Kendal until its factory closed in 2003. He travelled widely on business for the firm, visiting India, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. A director of the firm, he eventually he rose to be chairman of the board during the last years of his life.
Kendal
Somervell twice contested the South or Kendal Division of WestmorlandKendal (UK Parliament constituency)
Kendal was a parliamentary borough centred on the town of Kendal in Westmorland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:...
in the Liberal interest. In December 1910 he reduced the Unionist
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...
majority and lost by 308 votes. He was selected to fight the seat again 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....
on 18 March 1913 occasioned by the death of the sitting Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
MP Josceline Bagot
Josceline Bagot
Josceline Fitzroy Bagot was an English soldier and politician.Josceline Fitzroy Bagot was born in Ashtead, Surrey, the son of Col. Charles Bagot and Sophia Louisa Percy. He married on June 11, 1885 Theodosia Leslie, daughter of Sir John Leslie...
. He failed to win the seat however and explained his defeat, and the doubling of the Unionist majority, by claiming that his opponent, Colonel John Wakefield Weston (who stood as an Independent Unionist) had been selected because he was a ‘semi-Liberal’ and a popular local man. To underline this, it was speculated that when the new member took his seat in the House of Commons he would be introduced not by the Conservative whips
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
but by Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck
Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck
Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck , known as Henry Cavendish-Bentinck until 1880, was a British Conservative politician....
and another private member.
Keighley
Somervell got his chance to enter the House Commons at another by-election, this time in the Liberal seat of KeighleyKeighley (UK Parliament constituency)
Keighley 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.- Boundaries :...
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...
. The seat had been Liberal held since its creation for 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:...
and became vacant on the death of the sitting MP, Sir Swire Smith
Swire Smith
Sir Swire Smith was an English woollen manufacturer, educationalist and Liberal Party politician. In many ways he was typical of the public-spirited, self-made Victorian...
on 16 March 1918. At the election, Somervell, stood as the candidate of the Coalition government
Coalition Government 1916-1922
The Coalition Government of David Lloyd George came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916, replacing the earlier wartime coalition under H.H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for reverses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Opposition...
and did not face Conservative or Labour
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...
opponents. There was an Independent ‘Peace by Negotiation’ candidate, William Bland, (who is also referred to in some reference books as an Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
candidate) but Somervell was returned easily with a majority of 2,524 votes and well over 50% of the poll. Nevertheless, Bland managed to attract nearly 30% of the vote and one historian has argued that this was an inidcation of a growing and substantial body of public opinion favouring a negotiatied peace settlement with Germany following the publication of the Lansdowne letter
Lansdowne Letter
The "Lansdowne Letter" was named after a letter published by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne which called for Britain to negotiate a peace with Imperial Germany during the Great War.-Background:...
and an increasing sign of war weariness.
However, Somervell’s stay in Parliament
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...
did not last long. At the general election of December 1918
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
he was opposed by Sir Robert Clough for the Conservatives, who appears to have been granted the Coalition coupon
Coalition Coupon
The ‘Coalition Coupon’, often referred to as ‘the coupon’, refers to the letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the United Kingdom general election, 1918 endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory in...
, and Bland again who this time stood as an official Labour candidate. Somervell seems to have fallen foul of the Lloyd George Coalition Liberals and their Conservative allies mainly because of his failure to vote for the government in the Maurice Debate
The Maurice Debate
The Maurice Debate was a debate in the British House of Commons which took place on 9 May 1918. It was tabled in response to the publication of a letter in The Times newspaper the day before from Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice, who had recently been removed as Director of Military Operations....
, although there were other minor policy differences too. Clough took the seat from Somervell with a majority of 1,111 votes in a close three-cornered contest. Somervell did not stand for Parliament again.
Appointments
Somervell served for many years as a Justice of the PeaceJustice 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...
in Westmorland and Kendal Borough. During the First World War he was active in recruitment to the armed forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
, noted as an energetic speaker at recruitment rallies. Later he was an active member of the War Pensions Tribunals.
Artist
Somervell was reported to have had some skill in painting in water-coloursWatercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
and pastels
Patel
Patel is a surname of Indian origin, originally meaning "headman" or"village chief". Patels are socially, economically and politically the most dominant caste in Gujarat Patels are basically Kurmis or Kunbis and are found in various geographical locations. The Kunbi are an Indian subcaste...
. He also collected pictures and organised exhibitions of modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
. He was founder member of the Kendal Sketch Club and was an active member of the Society of Modern Artists, the Lakes Artists’ Society between 1918-1924
and the Contemporary Art Society.
Publication
- Commerce as a Vocation in Essays on Vocation, Matthews, Davies and Osler (eds.), OUP 1919