Sir Charles Clow Tennant, 1st Baronet
JP DL (4 November 1823 – 4 June 1906)
was a Scottish businessman,
industrialist and
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician.
Early life
Tennant was the son of John Tennant (1796–1878) and Robina (
née Arrol) Tennant.
His grandfather was the chemist and industrialist
Charles Tennant
Charles Tennant (3 May 1768 – 1 October 1838) was a Scottish chemist and industrialist. He discovered bleaching powder and founded an industrial dynasty.
Biography
Charles Tennant was born at Laigh Corton, Alloway, Ayrshire, the sixth of thi ...
.
Career
In 1843, he entered the St Rollox chemical works, Glasgow which had been established by his grandfather
Charles to produce bleaching powder and other chemicals, and went on to become the largest alkali works in Europe. Sir Charles Tennant was a global industrialist, with business across many continents in railways, steel, explosives, copper, sulphur and merchant banking. Tennant served as President of the
United Alkali Company which would become a cornerstone of
Imperial Chemical Industries becoming extremely wealthy in the process while being a supporter of political reform, and a major collector of art.
Tennant also became Chairman of the
Union Bank of Scotland and was the driving force in establishing
C. Tennant, Sons & Company as a merchant bank in the City of London.
Tennant also sat as
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 ...
(MP) for
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
from 1879 to 1880 and for
Peebles and Selkirk
Peebles and Selkirk was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) from 1868 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
Boundaries
The ...
from 1880 to 1886. He unsuccessfully contested
Partick
Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...
at a
by-election in 1890. He was appointed
Honorary Colonel of the
4th (Glasgow, 1st Northern) Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
The 4th (Glasgow, 1st Northern) Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps was a Scottish Volunteer unit of the British Army. Originally raised in Glasgow in 1859, it later became a battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). During World War I it se ...
(later 4th Volunteer Battalion, The
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)) in 1880.
He was also a Trustee of the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
and was appointed a Member of the
Tariff Commission The Tariff Commission was established in the United Kingdom in December 1903 by Joseph Chamberlain. The Commission was set up under the auspices of the Tariff Reform League. William Hewins the economist and first director of the London School of Ec ...
in 1904. In 1885, he was created a Baronet and held the office of
Justice of the Peace and
Deputy Lieutenant. Tennant was chairman of
Nobel Explosives Company from 1900 to 1906.
Personal life
![Glen House - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Glen_House_-_geograph.org.uk_-_749398.jpg)
Tennant was twice married. His first marriage was to Emma Winsloe (1821–1895), daughter of Richard Winsloe of Mount Nebo, Taunton, in 1849. In 1852, he purchased
The Glen, an estate in southern Scotland, and commissioned architect
David Bryce
David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect.
Life
Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...
to design a new house, which was completed in 1855.
Together, they were the parents of eight children, including:
[Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.'' Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999. p. 145.]
* Pauline Emma "Posie" Tennant (1855–1888), who married Thomas Duff Gordon-Duff, 9th of Drummuir and 11th of Park, son of
Lachlan Gordon-Duff.
* Charlotte Monckton "Charty" Tennant (1858–1911), who married
Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale
Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale (29 October 1854 – 21 October 1925) was a British Liberal politician.
Early life
Thomas Lister was born on 29 October 1854 in Fontainebleau, France, the eldest son of Thomas Lister, 3rd Baron Ribblesdale ...
.
*
Edward Priaulx Tennant
Edward Priaulx Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner (31 May 1859 – 21 November 1920), known as Sir Edward Tennant, 2nd Baronet, from 1906 to 1911, was a Scottish Liberal politician. In 1911 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Glenconner.
Origi ...
(1859–1920), who married
Pamela Wyndham
Pamela Adelaide Genevieve Grey, Viscountess Grey of Fallodon (born Wyndham; later Pamela Tennant, Baroness Glenconner; 14 January 1871 – 18 November 1928), was an English writer. The wife of Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, and later of ...
, a daughter of
Percy Wyndham MP.
* Katharine ''Lucy'' Tennant (1860–1942), who married Thomas Graham Smith in 1879.
* Francis John "Frank" Tennant (1861–1942), who married Annie Geraldine Redmayne, daughter of John Marriner Redmayne of South Dene.
* Octavia ''Laura'' Mary Tennant (1862–1886), who married
Alfred Lyttelton
Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports ...
.
*
Margot Tennant
Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 189 ...
(1864–1945), who was a socialite and author and the second wife of Prime Minister
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
.
*
Harold John "Jack" Tennant (1865–1935), who became a Liberal politician and married factory inspector
May Abraham in 1896.
After her death in 1895 he was remarried to Marguerite Agaranthe Miles (1868–1943), daughter of Charles William Miles and cousin of
Sir Philip Miles, in 1898. His second wife was a talented amateur musician and he bought the
Lady Tennant Stradivarius
The ''Lady of Tennant-Lafont Stradivarius'' is an antique violin made by the Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona in 1699, one year before the beginning of his so-called 'golden' period.
''Lady Tennant'' was once owned by the nineteent ...
for her as a gift. Together, they were the parents of four children, including:
* Margaret Tennant (1899–1994), who married
John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst
John de Vere Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst, (5 February 1895 – 30 October 1970) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. After serving in the army, the Foreign Office, and as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in t ...
.
* Jean Tennant (1900–1910), who died in childhood.
*
Katharine Tennant (1903–1994), who married
Walter Elliot and was created Baroness Elliot of Harwood in her own right.
* Nancy Tennant (1904–1969), who married Sylvester Govett Gates, Controller,
Ministry of Information.
She later married
Thomas Dugdale, 1st Baron Crathorne
Thomas Lionel Dugdale, 1st Baron Crathorne, (20 July 1897 – 26 March 1977), known as Sir Thomas Dugdale, 1st Baronet from 1945 to 1959, was a British Conservative Party politician. He resigned as a government minister over the Crichel Dow ...
, in 1936.
Sir Charles died in June 1906 in Broadoaks,
Byfleet
Byfleet is a village in Surrey, England. It is located in the far east of the borough of Woking, around east of West Byfleet, from which it is separated by the M25 motorway and the Wey Navigation.
The village is of medieval origin. Its win ...
,
Surrey, aged 82.
He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son
Edward,
who was later raised to the peerage as
Baron Glenconner
Baron Glenconner, of The Glen in the County of Peebles, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for Sir Edward Tennant, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Salisbury in the House of Commons as a Liberal an ...
in 1911.
His widow, Lady Tennant, died in 1943.
Descendants
![TennantArms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/TennantArms.png)
Through his son Francis, he was a grandfather of
Kathleen Tennant, who became the Duchess of Rutland through her 1916 marriage to
John Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland
Captain John Henry Montagu Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland (21 August 1886 – 22 April 1940), styled as Marquess of Granby from 1906 to 1925, was an English peer and medieval art expert.
Early life and education
Rutland was the younger son of Hen ...
.
His great-granddaughter
Lady Ursula Manners served as a maid of honour to the queen at the
Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.
[, ]
References
External links
*
Sir Charles Clow Tennant, 1st Btat the
National Portrait Gallery, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, Charles Clow
1823 births
1906 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Scottish Liberal Party MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
Charles Clow
UK MPs 1874–1880
UK MPs 1880–1885
UK MPs 1885–1886
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies