Evelyn Violet Elizabeth Emmet, Baroness Emmet of Amberley DL (née Rodd; 18 March 1899 – 10 October 1980) was a British Conservative Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

from 1955 to 1965, when she was elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Early life

Emmet was the daughter of Lilias Georgina (Guthrie) and the diplomat

Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell James Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell, (9 November 1858 – 26 July 1941), known as Sir Rennell Rodd before 1933, was a British diplomat, poet and politician. He served as British Ambassador to Italy during the First World War. Early life R ...

. She was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, where her father was working at the time. Among her siblings were

Francis Rodd, 2nd Baron Rennell Major-General Francis James Rennell Rodd, 2nd Baron Rennell (25 October 1895 – 15 March 1978), known as Lord Rennell, was an army officer and the second but eldest surviving son of the diplomat Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell. He served as ...

(who married the Hon. Mary Constance Vivian Smith), Hon. Gloria Rodd (wife of painter

Simon Elwes Lt. Col. Simon Edmund Vincent Paul Elwes, (29 June 1902 – 6 August 1975) was a British war artist and society portrait painter whose patrons included presidents, kings, queens, statesmen, sportsmen, prominent social figures and many members ...

), Hon. Peter Rodd (who married

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973) was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford family#Mitford sisters, Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the ...

, one of the famous

Mitford sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic British family who became particularly well known in the 1930s for the six Mitford sisters, the daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife, Sydney Bowles. They were celebrated and ...

), and Hon. Gustaf Rodd (who married Yvonne Mary Marling, daughter of diplomat Sir Charles Murray Marling). She was educated at

St Margaret's School, Bushey St Margaret's School is an independent co-educational boarding and day school for pupils aged 2–18 in Bushey, Hertfordshire. As well as day places, the school offers boarding options for pupils from year 7 (age 11) and is situated in of ...

and at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

Marriage

On 9 June 1923, she was married to Thomas Addis Emmet, a son of Maj. Robert Emmet (and descendant of

Thomas Addis Emmet Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. In Ireland, in the 1790s, he was a senior member of the Society of United Irishmen as it planned for an insurrection against the British Crown ...

) and the former Louise Garland (daughter of James Albert Garland). Emmet was a cousin of New York philanthropist Charles Garland. They were married until his death in 1934, and had four children: * Hon. Gloria Lavinia Eileen Emmet (1924–2012), who married Maj. Mark Winton Slane Fleming in 1950. * Hon. Christopher Anthony Robert Emmet (1925–1996), who married Lady Miranda Mary Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 3rd Baron Howard of Glossop in 1947. * Hon. David Alastair Rennell Emmet (b. 1928), who married Sylvia Delia Knowles, daughter of Willis Knowles, in 1967. * Hon. Penelope Ann Clare Emmet (b. 1932), who married Hugo Money-Coutts, 8th Baron Latymer, son of Thomas Burdett Money-Coutts, 7th Baron Latymer. The Emmet family owned

Amberley Castle Amberley Castle stands in the village of Amberley, West Sussex (). The castle was erected as a 12th-century manor house and fortified in 1377, giving it a rhomboid shaped stonework enclosure with high curtain walls, internal towers in each cor ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

Career

Local politics

She was elected to the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

in 1925, representing Hackney North until her defeat in 1934. Afterward, she relocated to Amberley Castle. She served on the

West Sussex County Council West Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of West Sussex in England. The county also contains seven district and borough councils, and 158 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county c ...

from 1946 to 1967. Emmet was the first Chairman of the Children's Committee of West Sussex County Council and also Chairman of the Child Guidance Committees. Emmet was a member of the Conservative Women's National Advisory Committee 1951 to 1954.

Parliament

At the 1955 general election, she was elected as Member of Parliament for

. She held the seat until 1965, when she was elevated to a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Emmet of Amberley, of Amberley in the

County of Sussex Sussex ( /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom and, later, a county. It includes the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and We ...

, triggering a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in East Grinstead. She was particularly noted for advocating women's equality across numerous contexts, including equal pay, taxation, pensions, and increasing the number of women in Parliament. She also supported the legalisation of homosexuality and the United Kingdom's membership in the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. In the

, she served as deputy speaker from 1968 to 1977. Lady Emmet died at Amberley Castle on 10 October 1980, at the age of 81.

Arms

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmet, Evelyn 1899 births 1980 deaths 20th-century English women politicians Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Emmet Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Emmet of Amberley, Evelyn Emmet, Baroness Emmet of Amberley, Evelyn Emmet, Baroness Deputy lieutenants of West Sussex Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies British baronesses Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of London County Council Members of West Sussex County Council People educated at St Margaret's School, Bushey People from Amberley, West Sussex UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs who were granted peerages Women councillors in England