Rowland Edmund Prothero, 1st Baron Ernle, (6 September 1851 – 1 July 1937) was a British agricultural expert, administrator, journalist, author and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician. He played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

between 1875 and 1883.

Background and education

Prothero was the son of the Reverend Canon

George Prothero Sir George Walter Prothero (14 October 1848 – 10 July 1922) was an English historian, writer, and academic who served as president of the Royal Historical Society from 1901 to 1905. Life and writings Prothero was born in Wiltshire to Georg ...

, Rector of St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, and his wife, Emma, only daughter of the Reverend William Money-Kyrle, of Homme House, Herefordshire. He was the brother of Sir George Prothero and Admiral Arthur Prothero. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

,thepeerage.com Rowland Edmund Prothero, 1st Baron Ernle
/ref> where he gained a 1st class honours degree in Modern History in 1875. In 1878 he was

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Academic and literary career

Prothero was a Fellow of

All Souls' College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

between 1875 and 1891, during which time he played

with Hampshire, and was also

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

between 1883 and 1884. He edited the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

'' between 1893 and 1899. From 1898 to 1918, he was chief agent for the 11th Duke of Bedford.

Writings

Prothero published ''The Pioneers and Progress of English Farming'' in 1888. His other works include, ''English Farming Past and Present'', ''The Psalms in Human Life'', ''Life and Correspondence of

Arthur Penrhyn Stanley Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, (13 December 1815 – 18 July 1881), known as Dean Stanley, was an English Anglican priest and ecclesiastical historian. He was Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he wa ...

'', published in 1893, and ''Letters and Journals of Lord Byron'' (1898–1901). His autobiography was entitled ''From Whippingham to Westminster''. In 1901 he was appointed a

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(MVO).

Political career

Prothero unsuccessfully contested

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its es ...

in 1910 but was elected as

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

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

at a by-election in 1914, holding the seat until 1919. He held office under

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

as President of the Board of Agriculture, with a seat in the cabinet, between December 1916 and 1919, in which role he introduced a guaranteed price for wheat. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1916 and on 4 February 1919 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Ernle, ''of

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in the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

'', a title chosen in reflection of his pride in his own matrilineal descent from the

Ernle Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay. Origins Onomastic Onomasticians say that t ...

family, one of the historic landed families of Sussex and Wiltshire.

Cricket career

Prothero played six first-class cricket matches between 1872–1883. Twice for a Gentleman of England team against

and in four matches for

. Prothero played for Hampshire between 1875–1883 before retiring from first-class cricket. Prothero's high score of 110 came for the Gentleman of England against Oxford University on 4 June 1879.

Family

Lord Ernle was twice married. He married firstly Mary Beatrice, daughter of John Bailward, in 1891. They had one son and one daughter. After her death in May 1899 he married secondly Barbara Jane, daughter of C. O. Hamley, in 1902. They had no children. She died in November 1930. Lord Ernle survived her by seven years and died in July 1937, aged 85. The barony became extinct upon his death, his only son, Rowland John Prothero (1894–1918), having died from wounds received in action in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Selected publications

Articles

* *

Books

* * *as editor:
vol.1vol.2
*as editor: * *as editor: * *

Pamphlets

References

*''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain'', 1863 edition, p. 1231 (lineage of ''Prothero of Malpas Court'', co. Monmouth) *''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' *''From Whippingham to Westminster'' (autobiography of R. E. Prothero, later 1st and last Baron Ernle) *''Who Was Who'' *''Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Society Magazine'', 1919.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernle, Rowland Prothero, 1st Baron 1851 births 1937 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Prothero, Rowland Prothero, Rowland Prothero, Rowland Prothero, Rowland UK MPs who were granted peerages Prothero, Rowland Prothero, Rowland People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Royal Victorian Order Ernle family Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Prothero, Rowland British sportsperson-politicians Barons created by George V