Sir Henry William Peek, 1st Baronet DL (26 February 1825 – 26 August 1898) was an importer of spices, tea and other groceries, philanthropist 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 i ...

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 of ...

(MP).

Parents, marriage and residence

Peek was born in 1825 to James Peek of Watcombe, Torquay, Devon and Elizabeth, his first wife. He married in 1848, Margaret Maria (d 1884), second daughter of William Edgar of Clapham Common, Surrey. Wimbledon House,

Wimbledon Village Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which include ...

stood near the west end of its short High Street, about west of the parish church. It was probably built about the middle of the 18th century. It housed

Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph de Bourbon (9 August 1736 – 13 May 1818) was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of '' Prince du Sang''. Youth Born on 9 August 1736 at Chantilly, Louis J ...

in some of his final years (died 1818), MP

Joseph Marryat Joseph Marryat (7 October 1790 – 24 September 1876) was a British politician. The son of Joseph Marryat, he was born in Grenada, where his father owned plantations worked by slaves. He followed his father in becoming a shipowner, banker a ...

then after a time Peek. It was demolished about 1900-1902 passing to a building syndicate.

Political work

At the 1865 general election he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Eastern division of Surrey but a new dual-member constituency was created along its western belt ( Mid Surrey) under the

Second Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...

, where he was elected in 1868 MP. He was re-elected in his seat until his

resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

in 1884. Hansard shows he made 93 speeches or questions in Parliament, from 1869 to 1884, contributing in each year.

Title and legacy

He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 13 May 1874, of

Rousdon Rousdon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Combpyne Rousdon, in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is off the A3052 road between Colyford and Lyme Regis in Dorset. In 1931 the parish had a popu ...

in the County of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. Sir Henry's probate was resworn in 1900 as leaving assets of and his son died the next year. His son in turn died in 1927, with assets of £172,685 and the baronetcy reached the fifth generation in 2004. In Surrey

Cranleigh Cranleigh is a village and civil parish, about southeast of Guildford in Surrey, England. It lies on a minor road east of the A281, which links Guildford with Horsham. It is in the north-west corner of the Weald, a large remnant forest, the ma ...

's old Peek Institute was founded by Peek in memory of his late wife, namely a club, with reading and billiard rooms, and a library.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peek, Henry 1825 births 1898 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy Lieutenants of Devon UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom