John George Butcher, 1st Baron Danesfort, KC (15 November 1853 – 30 June 1935), known as Sir John Butcher, Bt, between 1918 and 1924, was a British barrister and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Background and education

Butcher was the second son of the Most Reverend Samuel Butcher,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Unt ...

, the grandson of Vice-Admiral Samuel Butcher (1770–1849), and the younger brother of

Samuel Henry Butcher Samuel Henry Butcher DCL LLD (; 16 April 1850 – 29 December 1910) was an Anglo-Irish classical scholar and politician. Life Samuel Henry Butcher was born in Dublin to Samuel Butcher, Bishop of Meath and Mary Leahy. He was educated at M ...

. His mother was Mary, daughter of John Leahy. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and

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

, and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, in 1878.thepeerage.com John George Butcher, 1st and last Baron Danesfort
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Political career

Butcher was

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

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

from 1892 to 1906 and from 1910 to 1923, in 1918 becoming the first Member of Parliament for York to be the sole parliamentary representative, as the constituency had previously had two MPs. He was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1897, awarded the honorary freedom of the City of York in 1906 and created 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 ...

, of Danesfort in the County of Kerry, in 1918. In 1924 he was further honoured when he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Danesfort, of Danesfort in the County of Kerry.

Personal life

Lord Danesfort married

Alice Mary Gordon Alice Mary Gordon (22 October 1854 – 18 June 1929) was a British author and writer on the aesthetics of domestic electricity. During her life she was known by her husbands' names, making her ''Alice Gordon'' or ''Mrs J E H Gordon'' as well as ' ...

, author and domestic electrical pioneer, daughter of J. E. L. Brandreth, and widow of J.E.H. Gordon in 1898. There were no children from the marriage, but three step children from her previous marriage. Alice, Lady Danesfort died on 18 June 1929. Lord Danesfort survived her by six years and died in June 1935, aged 81, at which time the baronetcy and barony became extinct.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danesfort 1853 births 1935 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Butcher, John Butcher, John Butcher, John Butcher, John Butcher, John Butcher, John Butcher, John Butcher, John UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn 19th-century King's Counsel Barons created by George V