Robert Needham Philips DL (1815 – 28 February 1890) was an English merchant and manufacturer in the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

textiles business, a

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 ...

politician, and the grandfather of the Whig historian

G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was a British historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to the ...

. He lived in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, and after holding at least three ceremonial appointments he was the

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 the borough of

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, a

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

which was then in Lancashire, for a total of 22 years between 1857 and 1885.

Family and early life

Philips was the youngest son Robert Philips, a merchant of The Park, Manchester, and his wife Anne ''née'' Needham. His older brother

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

(1800–1873) was one of the first two MPs to be elected for Manchester in 1832, after the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

had given city parliamentary representation for the first time. The family's extensive estate on the boundary of Whitefield and

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish o ...

, in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

(now within the

Metropolitan Borough of Bury The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, just north of Manchester, to the east of Bolton and west of Rochdale. The borough is centred around the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bu ...

), is now Philips Park. His father's business partnership, ''Philips, Wood & Co'', was dissolved in 1844 after the death of both partners. The younger Robert 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 at Manchester College. He married twice, firstly in 1845 to Anna Maria Yates, daughter of Joseph Brooks Yates from Liverpool, who died in 1850. He married again in 1852 to Anna Maria's cousin, Mary Ellen Yates from London. His daughter Caroline was married in 1869 to

George Otto Trevelyan Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, (20 July 1838 – 17 August 1928) was a British statesman and author. In a ministerial career stretching almost 30 years, he was most notably twice Secretary for Scotland under William Ewart Gladstone and ...

(1838–1928), who was later a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

; their youngest son was the historian

(1876–1962), and their eldest son was the Liberal MP Sir Charles Trevelyan (1870–1958), who later joined the Labour Party and served in

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

's cabinets as

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

. His residences were listed in 1881 as ''The Park, Manchester'', and ''Welcombe,

Stratford upon Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-wes ...

, Warwickshire''. He had inherited

Welcombe House Welcombe Hotel occupies a 19th-century former country mansion house near Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, which was previously known as Welcombe House. It is a Grade II* listed building. History Some of the lands at Welcombe, which are record ...

in 1873 on the death of his brother, and on his death the estate passed to his daughter Caroline.

Business interests

He was a partner in a partnership of smallware manufacturers, with interests in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, Lancashire,

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

and London, which was dissolved in 1855. He was also engaged in a similar partnership which was restructured in 1867. After his death in 1890 at the age of 75, a further partnership was dissolved, which had involved a bleaching and dyeing enterprise at Bagley in Lancashire, and bobbin manufacturing at

Staveley Staveley may refer to: Places * Staveley, Cumbria, village in the former county of Westmorland and now in Cumbria, England ** Staveley railway station * Staveley-in-Cartmel, village formerly in Lancashire, now in Cumbria, England * Staveley, D ...

in Westmorland.

Political career

Philips was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire 1853, and of

in 1855. He was

Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Sheriff, High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High She ...

from 1856 to 1857. He was elected as the MP for

at the 1857 general election, but held the seat for only two years until he stood down from 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. ...

at the 1859 general election. He stood again in

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

, after which he held the seat until he retired from

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

at the 1885 general election.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Philips, Robert Needham 1815 births 1890 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury People educated at Rugby School Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire Deputy Lieutenants of Warwickshire High Sheriffs of Lancashire

Family and early life

Business interests

Political career

See also

References

External links