Timothy Wentworth Beaumont, Baron Beaumont of Whitley (22 November 1928 – 8 April 2008) was a British politician and an
Anglican priest. He was politically active, successively, in the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, the
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
s and the
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...
. A
life peer since 1967, in 1999 he became the first member of either of the British Houses of
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
to represent the Green Party.
Early and private life
Beaumont's father,
Michael Beaumont, was a
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 ...
MP for
Aylesbury, and his paternal grandfather,
Hubert Beaumont, was the
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 ...
MP for
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
from 1906 to 1910 and son of
Wentworth Beaumont, 1st Baron Allendale
Wentworth Blackett Beaumont, 1st Baron Allendale (11 April 1829 – 13 February 1907), was a British industrialist and Liberal politician.
Background and education
Allendale was the eldest son of Thomas Beaumont and his wife Henrietta Jane Emma, ...
. Beaumont's mother, Faith Pease, died when he was six; his maternal grandfather was the
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
Jack Pease, 1st Baron Gainford
Joseph Albert Pease, 1st Baron Gainford (17 January 1860 – 15 February 1943), known as Jack Pease, was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was a member of H. H. Asquith's Liberal cabinet between 1910 and 1916 and also served ...
.
Beaumont was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
and
Gordonstoun School
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...
. He studied agriculture at
Christ Church, Oxford, where he joined the
Bullingdon Club and founded the Wagers club, devoted, in the words of one author, to "bringing back the devil-may-care atmosphere of the Regency Bucks".
He graduated with a Fourth, and then trained for
holy orders at
Westcott House in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
. He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
as a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
in 1955 and as a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
in 1956. He married Mary Rose Wauchope (a cousin of
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon) in 1955, with whom he had two sons and two daughters.
Church career
He became an Anglican priest in
Kowloon,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
. He served as assistant
chaplain at
St John's Cathedral in Hong Kong from 1955 to 1957 and then was vicar of Christ Church,
Kowloon Tong, until 1959. Having received a substantial inheritance in that year, he returned to England to live in
Mayfair and then
Hampstead. Meanwhile, he was an honorary
curate at
St Stephen's Church in
Rochester Row,
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, from 1960 to 1963. He represented the
Diocese of London in the
Church Assembly
The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...
from 1960 to 1965. He became involved in church reform, supporting the
Parish and People movement, and was owner of the political weekly ''
Time and Tide'' and then the church reform magazine ''Prism'' (later ''
New Christian
New Christian ( es, Cristiano Nuevo; pt, Cristão-Novo; ca, Cristià Nou; lad, Christiano Muevo) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction in the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire. The term was used from the 15th century ...
'', which merged with ''
American Christian Century''). Considering his views and lifestyle incompatible with his position as a priest, he resigned from active ministry in 1973. In 1984, however, he returned to active ministry and became
priest-in-charge of
St Philip and All Saints with
St Luke, Kew in the
Diocese of Southwark, and then retired to
Clapham
Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
History
Early history ...
in 1991.
The
Mary Rose School
Mary Rose Academy (formerly Mary Rose School) is a 2-19 special school with academy status, located in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It opened in February 2007 and educates 110 pupils. The opening of Mary Rose School, due for September 2006, ...
, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, a
special school for students with severe and complex learning needs, is named after his wife.
Political career
After making a substantial donation to the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, he became its joint honorary treasurer in 1962–1963. He was made a Liberal
Life peer as
Baron Beaumont of Whitley, of
Child's Hill in
Greater London, in 1967. He was chair of the Liberal Party in 1967–1968 and then
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
in 1969–1970. In Parliament he was Liberal spokesman on education and the arts until 1986. He also served as leader of the Liberals in the
Council of Europe. He was co-ordinator of the
Green Alliance from 1978 to 1980.
He joined the
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
s, but, objecting to their support for
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...
, he moved to the
Green Party in 1999, and became the Green Party spokesman on agriculture. He stood for election to Lambeth Council for the Green Party in Clapham Common ward in 2006.
Beaumont was a Eurosceptic, and for many years he was a vice-president of the cross-party
Campaign for an Independent Britain
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
* Bl ...
, which campaigned against British membership of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
.
In a memorable action, Beaumont put forth in May 1996 a
bill to "draw up a plan to prohibit piped music and the showing of television programmes in the public areas of hospitals and on public transport; and to require the wearing of headphones by persons listening to music in the public areas of hospitals and on public transport."
Other achievements
Beaumont was a patron of
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
equality campaign group
Press for Change. He was chairman of the
Albany Trust between 1969 and 1971, chairman of the
Institute of Research into Mental and Multiple Handicap
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institute, research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countr ...
between 1971 and 1973, president of the
British Federation of Film Societies between 1973 and 1979, and a member of the executive of
Church Action on Poverty. He was chairman of "Exit" (as the
Voluntary Euthanasia Society, since 2005
Dignity in Dying
Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to hav ...
, was known in the early 1980s) in 1980. He edited ''The Selective Ego'', an abridged volume of the diaries of
James Agate
James Evershed Agate (9 September 1877 – 6 June 1947) was an English diarist and theatre critic between the two world wars. He took up journalism in his late twenties and was on the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1907–1914. He later ...
, published in 1976, and a ''Liberal Cookbook'', published in 1972. He also wrote a food column for the ''
Illustrated London News
''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...
'' from 1976 to 1980, and wrote the book ''The End of the Yellowbrick Road'', published in 1997.
Baron Beaumont of Whitley died at
St Thomas' Hospital in London after being hospitalised for several weeks.
Arms
References
External links
Obituary—Lord Beaumont ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 11 April 2008
The Rev Lord Beaumont of Whitley ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', 11 April 2008
Green Party – Green Party peer Lord Beaumont dies, aged 80*
Green Party's Lord Beaumont dies ''
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', 10 April 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Timothy Wentworth
1928 births
2008 deaths
20th-century English Anglican priests
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Chairs of the Liberal Party (UK)
Beaumont of Whitley, Timothy Beaumont, Baron
Beaumont of Whitley, Timothy Beaumont, Baron
Beaumont of Whitley, Timothy Beaumont, Baron
Ordained peers
People educated at Eton College
People educated at Gordonstoun
Presidents of the Liberal Party (UK)
Hong Kong Anglicans
LGBT rights activists from the United Kingdom
Pease family
Bullingdon Club members
Life peers created by Elizabeth II