British School - John Reginald Yorke (1836–1912), as a Small Child - 884911 - National Trust

John Reginald Yorke (25 January 1836 – 2 March 1912) was an English landowner 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 ...

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. ...

between 1864 and 1886.

Background and education

A member of the Yorke family headed by the

Earl of Hardwicke Earl of Hardwicke is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1754 for Philip Yorke, 1st Baron Hardwicke, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1737 to 1756. He had already been created Baron Hardwicke, of Hardwicke in ...

, he was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of Joseph Yorke, of Forthampton Court,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and his wife Frances Antonia, daughter of Reginald Pole-Carew. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. Yorke was a second cousin of Charles Lyttleton, 5th Baron Lyttleton, whose mother dowager Lady Lyttelton referred to Yorke as "tall and magnificent and promising as ever".

Political career

Yorke 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 ...

(MP) for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...

in 1864 but in 1868 representation for the seat was reduced to one member. He was elected MP for East Gloucestershire between 1872 and held the seat until it was abolished in 1885. He was then elected M.P. for Tewkesbury again in 1885 until 1886. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, and in 1892 he was

High Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...

. He was also a Deputy Lieutenant of Worcestershire and captain in the Tewkesbury Rifle Volunteers. He was also a Fellow of the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. Yorke died at the age of 76.

Family

Yorke married Augusta Emmiline Monteath Douglas at St Georges Hanover Square on 4 March 1862. They had a son but Augusta died on 19 February 1863. He married, secondly, to Sophia Matilda de

Tuyll Tuyll is the name of a noble Dutch family, with familial and historical links to England, whose full name is Van Tuyll van Serooskerken. Several knights, members of various courts, literary figures, generals, ambassadors, statesmen and explorers ...

de Serooskerken, daughter of Baron Vincent de

de Serooskerken, on 11 January 1868 and they had four children. His son Vincent Wodehouse Yorke was the father of Henry Vincent Yorke, better known as the novelist

Henry Green Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke (29 October 1905 – 13 December 1973), an English writer best remembered for the novels ''Party Going'', ''Living'' and '' Loving''. He published a total of nine novels between 1926 and 1952 ...

.Molten Treasure (1949)- TIME
/ref>
/ref> Another son, Ralph Maximilian Yorke, reached the rank of

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yorke, John Reginald 1836 births 1912 deaths People educated at Eton College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire Deputy Lieutenants of Worcestershire English landowners 19th-century British businesspeople