James Nicholson Richardson (7 February 1846 – 11 October 1921) was an Irish

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 who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1880 to 1885. Richardson was the son of

John Grubb Richardson John Grubb Richardson (13 November 1813 – 1891) was an Irish linen merchant, industrialist and philanthropist who founded the model village of Bessbrook near Newry in 1845, in what is now Northern Ireland. Five years later he founded a major ...

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

and

Bessbrook Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles (5 km) northwest of Newry and near the Newry bypass on the main A1 Belfast-Dublin road and Belfast-Dublin railway line. Today the village of Bessbrook str ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

, and his first wife Helena Grubb, daughter of Richard Grubb of Cahir Abbey,

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

. He was educated at home until 1857 and then at Grove House Academy, a Quaker school in Tottenham.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref>Emily Boyle, ‘Richardson, James Nicholson (1846–1921)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 6 Dec 2010
/ref> His mother died in 1849 during childbirth and his father remarried Jane Marion Wakefield; through the Wakefield family the Richardsons inherited their estate at Moyallon House, Gilford, County Down. At the 1880 general election Richardson was elected

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 ...

for

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

and held the seat until 1885. He was a supporter of the interests of the tenant farmers of Ireland and a member of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. Richardson died at the age of 75 and is buried in the grounds of Bessbrook Friends' Meeting House, close to his home. Richardson married Sophia Malcolmson, daughter of William Malcolmson of Portlaw in 1867. The couple honeymooned in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and made their home at Mount Caulfield House, Bessbrook. Richardson would go on to sell 5,000 acres of his estate under the Wyndham Acts. He died at

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

References

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* * 1846 births 1921 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Armagh constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1880–1885 Irish Quakers People from County Armagh Irish Liberal Party MPs {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub