Charles George Milnes Gaskell PC (23 January 1842 – 9 January 1919) was an English lawyer and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. Milnes Gaskell was born in

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 ...

, the son of

James Milnes Gaskell James Milnes Gaskell (19 October 1810 – 5 February 1873) was a British Conservative politician. James Milnes-Gaskell was the only child of Benjamin Gaskell (1781–1856) of Thornes House, Wakefield, West Yorkshire and Clifton Hall, Lancashire. ...

M.P., of Thornes House,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and

Wenlock Abbey Wenlock Priory, or St Milburga's Priory, is a ruined 12th-century monastery, located in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, at . Roger de Montgomery re-founded the Priory as a Cluniac house between 1079 and 1082, on the site of an earlier 7th-century mon ...

, Much Wenlock,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, and his wife Mary Williams-Wynn. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated BA in 1863 and MA in 1866, and was called to the bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1866. He was a J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant for the West Riding of Yorkshire and was Chairman of the West Riding County Council from 1893 to 1910. Milnes Gaskell stood unsuccessfully in

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

and at

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

in 1881. At the 1885 general election he was elected as the first

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

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

and held it until he retired from parliament at the 1892 general election. He was awarded an Honorary LLD by the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 1904. and was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1908. From 1902 to 1914 he was Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. Milnes Gaskell, who lived at Thornes House, Wakefield, and at Wenlock Abbey, married Lady Catherine Henrietta Wallop, daughter of the 5th Earl of Portsmouth in 1876. She was a minor author. Milnes Gaskell had a long-standing friendship with the American

Henry Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. Presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Fr ...

who introduced him to novelist

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

. He and his wife invited both men to stay frequently at Wenlock Abbey, where the couple entertained many artists, writers, politicians and intellectuals of the day including explorer Isabella Bishop, artist Robert Bateman and writers Edith Sichel and Thomas Hardy.Gamble, Cynthia, 2015 Wenlock Abbey 1857-1919: A Shropshire Country House and the Milnes Gaskell Family, Ellingham Press. Milnes Gaskell died at Thornes House at the age of 76, and was buried in the parish churchyard at Much Wenlock. In his will he left Thornes House to his son, Evelyn, and Wenlock Abbey to his wife, who died in 1935, leaving the Abbey to their daughter, Mrs. Mary Ward.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milnes Gaskell, Charles George 1842 births 1919 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 People educated at Eton College English barristers