Robert Verdin (8 March 1836 – 25 July 1887) was a salt manufacturer, philanthropist and the

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

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

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

from 1 July 1886 to 25 July 1887.

Biography

Robert Verdin and his brothers,

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and William ran a family

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

business known as Joseph Verdin & Sons (formerly Joseph and Richard Verdin), co-founded by their father, Joseph and his brother, Richard. They owned six salt plants in various locations throughout

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, including Marston, Witton,

Moulton Moulton may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom ;In England *Moulton, Cheshire * Moulton, Lincolnshire **Moulton Windmill * Moulton St Mary, Norfolk * Moulton, Northamptonshire ** Moulton College, agricultural college ** Moulton Park, indus ...

Over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

, Wharton and

Middlewich Middlewich is a town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, east of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,595 ...

. They employed over 1,000

people A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

and produced approximately 353,000 tons of salt annually; it was the largest salt manufacturer in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

by 1881. Verdin was appointed 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 ...

. In 1885, he stood against John Brunner for 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 ...

nomination in the newly created parliamentary constituency of

. Brunner won the nomination and successfully contested the seat against the Conservative candidate, William Henry Verdin, Robert's brother. However, in the following year

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

's Liberal government was defeated over

Home Rule for Ireland The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

and an election was called. The Liberal party being split, Brunner – loyal to Gladstone – stood against Verdin, a Liberal Unionist. Verdin won the seat, but died a year later. Brunner won the subsequent by-election. As a philanthropist, Verdin gave the Victoria Infirmary, the Verdin Baths and Verdin Park to Northwich but died before they opened. A statue in his memory was erected in Verdin Park by public subscription. He died, aged 51, on 25 July 1887 at his home, The Brockhurst, a Regency house in spacious grounds at

Leftwich Leftwich is a village in Cheshire, England. It has been absorbed into the town of Northwich, and is situated within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The name, given as merely 'Wice' in the Domesday Book of 1086, is written 'L ...

where he lived with his brother Joseph and sister Mary. He never married.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verdin, Robert 1836 births 1887 deaths English philanthropists English justices of the peace Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 People from Northwich

Biography

See also

References

External links