Robert Bullock Marsham (17 June 1786 – 27 December 1880) was an English academic, Warden of Merton College, Oxford for 54 years. Marsham was the son of Jacob Marsham, Canon of Windsor (son of

Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

) and his wife Amelia Frances Bullock (daughter of

Joseph Bullock Joseph Bullock (1731–1808) was an English country landowner of Caversfield, Bicester and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1770 to 1775. Biography Bullock was the son of Henry Bullock of Stanwell, Middlesex and his wife Mary and ...

). He 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, C ...

, and entered

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1803, graduating

B.A. 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 ...

1807,

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

1814, D.C.L. 1826. He was a Fellow of

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

1812–1826, and 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 ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1813. He became Dean of Merton College in 1824, and was Warden of Merton College from 1826 until his death on 27 December 1880, aged 94.

Politics

At the 1830 general election, Marsham stood against James Balfour at Anstruther Burghs in Scotland. Marsham's wife's late first husband Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther had previously represented Anstruther Burghs, as had many members of the Anstruther family, which was locally influential. Marsham had appealed to Home Secretary

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

for backing from the Tory government: Peel refused, as Balfour was also a Tory supporter of the government. Balfour retained the seat, with Marsham winning only one vote from the seat's four voting constituent burghs. (

Kilrenny Kilrenny ( gd, Cill Reithnidh) is a village in Fife, Scotland. Part of the East Neuk, it lies immediately to the north of (but inland and separate from) Anstruther on the south Fife coast. The first element of the name is from the Scottish Ga ...

, the seat's fifth burgh, had been disenfranchised as a result of legal problems.) In the controversy over the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They were ...

, Marsham was a protectionist. In the winter of 1842–43, he remarked that although workers could not buy bread, they "rejoiced in potatoes". He was ridiculed by opponents of the Corn Laws, earning the nickname ''Potato Dick''.

Family

On 27 March 1828, Marsham married Janet ("Jessie"), Lady Carmichael-Anstruther (1793–1881), daughter of Major-General David Dewar and widow of Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther . They had two daughters and three sons: * Charles Jacob Bullock Marsham (1829–1901), cricketer * Mary Amelia Frances Bullock Marsham (1830–1861) * Jessie Elizabeth Bullock Marsham (1832–1922), married Charles Montague Style * Robert Henry Bullock Marsham (1833–1913), cricketer, barrister and magistrate * Cloudesley Dewar Bullock Marsham (1835–1915), cricketer and clergyman Lady Carmichael-Anstruther also had a son John, born posthumously after her first husband's death in 1818, killed in a shooting accident at Eton in 1831, aged 13.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsham, Robert Bullock 1786 births 1880 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Wardens of Merton College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn