Sir John Scurrah Randles (25 December 1857 – 11 February 1945) was a British businessman 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 in ...

politician.

Biography

John Scurrah Randles was born on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

, 25 December 1857 in

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hul ...

, the son of a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

minister, Rev. Marshall Randles D.D (1826–1904) and Sarah Dewhurst. He was educated at the Woodhouse Grove School in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

and lived at Bristowe Hill, Keswick, Cumbria. In 1883 Randles married Elizabeth Hartley (? - 1853). An industrialist in the coal and steel business, amongst his positions he was the chairman and managing director of the Moss Bay Hematite Iron and Steel Company and a director of the Workington Iron and the Beckermet Mining Companies. Randles was elected Member of Parliament for

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

in the 1900 general election. He lost the seat in the 1906 election, but regained it in a by-election later the same year. Defeated in the December 1910 election, he won Manchester North West in a 1912 by-election, and when the constituency was abolished, held Manchester Exchange until 1922, when he retired following the takeover by

United Steel Companies The United Steel Companies was a steelmaking, engineering, coal mining and coal by-product group based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. History The company was registered in 1918 and the following year saw a joining together of ste ...

of his Workington Iron and Steel Company. Randles was knighted in 1905. A member of the executive of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, he gave land on the shores of

Derwentwater Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria. The lake occupies part of Borrowdal ...

to the Trust. He was also a member of Cumberland County Council and was active in setting up the Workington Technical College. He funded an operating theatre in his wife's name at Keswick Cottage Hospital. After the First World War, he was awarded the 'Insignia Commander of the Order of the Crown' medal by the King of the Belgians, 1919 and in 1920 Sir John was also awarded The Insignia of the Second Class of the Order of the Rising Sun. Randles donated money to purchase land for the construction of Kingswood College in Kandy, Ceylon. He died at his home in Keswick in February 1945. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth.

References

* * Obituary, ''The Times'', 12 February 1945 * Hansar
Bio with d.o.b.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Randles, John Scurrah 1857 births 1945 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor Members of Cumberland County Council UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922