Egerton Leigh (7 March 1815 – 1 July 1876) was a British landowner, soldier,

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 ...

politician and author.

Personal life

Leigh was the only son of Egerton Leigh and Wilhelmina Sarah, daughter of George Stratton, and succeeded his father as head of the ancient Cheshire family of Leigh of West Hall, High Legh; the Leigh Baronets of South Carolina were a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, tit ...

of this family, while his first name was derived from his descent from

John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater PC (30 May 1623 – 26 October 1686) was an English nobleman from the Egerton family. Life He was a son of John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater and his wife Lady Frances Stanley. His maternal grandpar ...

. An earlier junior branch of the medieval Leigh family became Barons Leigh and

Earls of Chichester Earl of Chichester is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The current title was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for Thomas Pelham, 2nd Ba ...

. He was

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

s of

High Legh High Legh is a village, civil and ecclesiastical parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is north west of Knutsford, east of Warrington and south west of Manchester City Centre. Th ...

and

Twemlow Twemlow is a civil parish, containing the village of Twemlow Green in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2011 Official UK Census, the population of the entire civil parish w ...

, patron of the benefice of

and of the 1st mediety of

Lymm Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...

. 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, ...

. Leigh married Lydia Rachel, daughter of John Smith Wright, JP in 1842. They had several children, the eldest of whom was Egerton Leigh (who married first Lady Elizabeth Gore White; who died 1880) and great-grandfather of the Conservative politician Sir Edward Leigh, MP for Gainsborough (since 1983). He died on 1 July 1876; his wife survived him by 17 years and died on 3 April 1893.

Military and political career

After leaving Eton, Leigh entered the army as Cornet in the Queen's Bays, and went on to serve as a captain in the

2nd Dragoon Guards The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several t ...

and a major and brevet lieutenant-colonel in the Cheshire Militia. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire, and served as High Sheriff of the county in 1872. At a by-election in 1873 he was elected to parliament for Mid Cheshire, which seat he represented until his death three years later. He was a staunch

, in favour of the union of Church and State and of economy in public expenditure.

Published works

Leigh, also an author, wrote ''Ballads & Legends of Cheshire'' (1867) and ''A Glossary of Words Used in the Dialect of Cheshire'' (1877).Harrison S. Leigh, Egerton (1815–1876). ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press; 2004)
(accessed 14 July 2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Egerton 1815 births 1876 deaths People educated at Eton College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 High Sheriffs of Cheshire People from Cheshire

Personal life

Military and political career

Published works

See also

References

External links