Sir Robert Gunter, 1st Baronet (2 November 1831 – 17 September 1905) was a British Army officer, property developer and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1885 to 1905. Gunter was the son of Robert Gunter of

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

, London and his wife Fanny Thompson, daughter of E. Thompson of Durham. His grandfather

James Gunter James Gunter (25 July 1731 – 19 September 1819) was an English confectioner, market gardener and property developer who laid the foundations for what became one of the great residential estates in West London, developed by his descendants, the "R ...

was a confectioner of

Gunter's Tea Shop Gunter's Tea Shop in London's Berkeley Square had its origins in a food business named "Pot and Pine Apple" started in 1757 by Italian Domenico Negri. Various English, French and Italian wet and dry sweetmeats were made and sold from the business ...

whose purchases led to the development of some 60 acres of land in West London. Gunter was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

and joined the 4th Dragoon Guards. He served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and became captain. After the death of their father in 1852 Gunter and his brother James developed the Redcliffe Estate area, giving their name not just to "Gunter Grove", but to many other streets in the area. He settled in Yorkshire at Wetherby Grange in Collingham, near

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

. He was a J.P. for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 3rd Battalion Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment). Gunter was elected 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 ...

(MP) for

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in 1884 following the death of the sitting MP Thomas Collins. The Knaresborough constituency was abolished in the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

. In the 1885 general election, Gunter was elected MP for the new

Barkston Ash Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It was formerly known as Barkston in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History The village dates back to at least 1090, when it was spelled Barcestone. No ...

constituency. He represented the constituency until his death in 1905 at the age of 73. He was granted the dignity of a baronet 18 April 1901, of Wetherby Grange, in the parish of Collingham, in the county of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. Gunter married Jane Marguerite Benyon, daughter of Thomas Benyon of Gledhow Hall, Yorkshire in 1862. A street in Chelsea called "Edith Grove" is named after their daughter, Edith, who died of

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

aged eight.

Arms

References

External links

* 1831 births 1905 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906

Robert 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 ...

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