Sir Reuben Vincent Barrow (27 April 1838 – 13 February 1918) was an English

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and Liberal Party politician. He was the

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 Bermondsey from 1892 to 1895. Barrow was elected at the 1892 general election as MP for Bermondsey, defeating the sitting Conservative MP

Alfred Lafone Alfred Lafone (13 February 1821 – 26 April 1911) of Hanworth Park, Feltham, Middlesex, was a British leather merchant and Conservative Party politician in London. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey from 1886 to 1892, and fro ...

. However, he served only three years in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, losing his seat to Lafone at the 1895 general election. After his defeat, he did not stand again. During his time in the House of Commons he introduced the London (Equalization of Rates) Bill, which was enacted in 1894. In its first ten years of operation, about £6million was distributed from richer parishes to poorer ones. He had moved to

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in 1873, and when the town was given its borough charter in 1883, he was elected to the council, becoming the third Mayor of Croydon in 1885. He was also Chairman of

magistrates bench for 21 years. He was a Commissioner of income tax, and an active member of the

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

. Barrow was made a freeman of Croydon in 1909, and was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in the

1912 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1912 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1911. Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross (GCB) ; ...

; the title was conferred on 8 March 1912. Barrow died at this home in Croydon on 13 February 1918, aged 79, and was buried in

Queen's Road Cemetery Queen's Road Cemetery is a cemetery in Croydon, England. It opened in 1861, and was followed in 1897 by the larger Croydon Cemetery in Mitcham Road. Both cemeteries are now managed by the London Borough of Croydon. Queen's Road Cemetery covers a ...

, after a funeral service at West Croydon Tabernacle.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, Reuben 1838 births 1918 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 Politics of the London Borough of Southwark People from Croydon Mayors of places in Greater London English Baptists Knights Bachelor Councillors in the London Borough of Croydon