Robert Armitage (22 February 1866 – 10 February 1944) 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

Leeds Central Leeds Central is a constituency recreated in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1999 by Hilary Benn of the Labour Party. A former guise of the seat spanned 1885 to 1955. Boundaries 1885–1918: The Municip ...

, England, from 1906 to 1922 and

Lord Mayor of Leeds The Lord Mayor of Leeds (until 1897 known as the Mayor of Leeds) is a ceremonial post held by a member of Leeds City Council, elected annually by the council. By charter from Charles I of England, King Charles I in 1626, the leader of the gov ...

in 1904–05.

Background

Armitage was a son of William James Armitage and Emily Nicholson of Farnley, Leeds. He was the nephew of Edward Armitage and Thomas Rhodes Armitage, the uncle of Robert Selby Armitage, and second cousin once removed of Edward Leathley Armitage. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

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 ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1888. He first married in 1891, Caroline Katharine Ryder, a daughter of Dudley Henry Ryder of Westbrook-Hay, Hemel-Hempstead.Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1922 They had three sons and four daughters. She died in 1933. He then married in 1936, Mrs Mary Dorothea Russell, widow of Rev. E. Bacheler Russell.(2007, December 01). Armitage, Robert, (22 Feb. 1866–10 Feb. 1944). WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. Ed. Retrieved 27 Mar. 2019, from http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-221967. He lived at Farnley Hall, Leeds.

Career

Armitage 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 ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1889. He was director of several mining companies including

Brodsworth Brodsworth is a village, civil parish and suburb of Doncaster in the City of Doncaster district in South Yorkshire, England. situated about five miles north-west of Doncaster. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 2,875, increasi ...

Main Colliery Company,

Llay Llay ( cy, Llai; meaning meadow; ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It borders several other villages including Gwersyllt and Gresford. At the 2001 Census, the total population of the community of Llay, including Ll ...

Main Colllieries,

Markham Main Colliery Markham Main Colliery was a coal mine in Armthorpe, on the eastern edge of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It could be seen, and was a landmark, from the nearby M18. History Plans for the pit started in June 1913 when Earl Fitzwilliam le ...

and Wagon Finance Corporation.Durham Mining Museum page cached at Google

Politics

Armitage served as Lord Mayor of Leeds from 1904–05 and Deputy Lord Mayor from 1905–06, 1906–07 and 1908–09. 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 the City of Leeds. He gained Leeds Central from the Conservative in 1906, the first time the Liberals had won the constituency. He was comfortably re-elected in both 1910 elections. He supported the wartime Coalition government. At the 1918 election he received endorsement by the government and did not get a Unionist opponent and was easily re-elected. At the 1922 election he stood as a candidate of the official Liberal party rather than as a National Liberal supporter of Lloyd George. As a result he not only faced a Labour party opponent but a Unionist opponent and lost his seat, finishing third. He did not stand for parliament again.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Robert Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Lord Mayors of Leeds English businesspeople Politicians from Leeds 1866 births 1944 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Westminster School, London Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies