Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Albert Brassey (22 February 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a British

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

, soldier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

1895-1906.

Life

Brassey was the fourth son of the railway contractor

Thomas Brassey Thomas Brassey (7 November 18058 December 1870) was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about o ...

and his wife Maria, daughter of Thomas Harrison. The Liberal MP

Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey (11 February 1836 – 23 February 1918), was a British Liberal Party politician, Governor of Victoria and founder of '' The Naval Annual''. Background and education Brassey was the eldest son of the railway m ...

, and Henry Brassey were his elder brothers and

Henry Brassey, 1st Baron Brassey of Apethorpe Henry Leonard Campbell Brassey, 1st Baron Brassey of Apethorpe (7 March 1870 – 22 October 1958), DL (known from 1922 to 1938 as Sir Henry Brassey, 1st Baronet), of Apethorpe Hall in Northamptonshire, was a British Conservative politician. Ori ...

, his nephew. He was educated at Eton and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

. Brassey rowed bow to

Charles Bennett Lawes Sir Charles Bennet Lawes-Wittewronge, 2nd Baronet (3 October 1843 – 6 October 1911) was an English rower, athlete and sculptor. He exhibited twelve works at the Royal Academy. Life Charles Bennet Lawes was born at Teignmouth, Devon, the ...

’ stroke at Eton in the 1861 School Pulling and in the 1862 Eight. At Oxford, Brassey was a member of the winning University College crew in the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing ...

and the

Ladies' Challenge Plate The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standard ...

at Henley Royal Regatta in 1863. In 1864 he was in the winning crew of the

Visitors' Challenge Cup The Visitors Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs and has similar qualifying rules ...

. In 1866, he was in the winning crews in the Grand rowing for Oxford Etonian, the Stewards' Challenge Cup for University College, and Visitors' .R C Lehmann ''The Complete Oarsman''
/ref> Brassey was a Lieutenant in the

14th Hussars The 14th King's Hussars was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the World War I, First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th ...

and a

in the

Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH) was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army's auxiliary forces, formed in 1798. It saw service in the Second Boer War with 40 and 59 Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry and was the first Yeomanry ...

and served as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1878. In 1895 he entered Parliament for

, a seat he held until 1906. He lived at Charlton Park,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

Heythrop Hall Heythrop Park is a Grade II* listed early 18th-century country house southeast of Heythrop in Oxfordshire. It was designed by the architect Thomas Archer in the Baroque style for Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury. A fire in 1831 destroyed th ...

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...

, Oxfordshire, and at 29

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Ke ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Family

Brassey married the Hon. Maria Matilda Helena, daughter of John Charles Robert Bingham, 4th Baron Clanmorris, in 1871. They had three sons and five daughters. He died in January 1918, aged 73. His wife, who was appointed an OBE in 1919, died in July 1943. Their eldest son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

also represented Banbury in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

very briefly in 1910.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* The Rowers of Vanity Fair - Brassey, Albert - “The Master of the Heythrop” * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brassey, Albert 1844 births 1918 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Albert Brassey People educated at Eton College Alumni of University College, Oxford 14th King's Hussars officers High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire English male rowers Directors of the Great Western Railway Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars officers