Sir Ernest Jardine, 1st Baronet (1859 – 26 April 1947) was a

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England, industrialist and businessman. He was a

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 ...

and later a

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 ...

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 East Somerset from 1910 to 1918.

Business interests

Jardine took over father's lace machinery business, John Jardine. He had four factories in Nottingham and others in Draycott and

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, employing some 2,500-3,000 workers in 1907.
- Another of his factories in

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, provides the reason for his adoption as a parliamentary candidate in that county. His company exported lace-making machinery to the United States, France and Germany. In 1924, he became the owner of the Barlock Tyewriter Company, set up in Basford. The company later became the Byron Typewriter Company and was taken over by the British Oliver Typewriter Company, under licence from the US

Oliver Typewriter Company The Oliver Typewriter Company was an American typewriter manufacturer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The Oliver Typewriter was one of the first "visible print" typewriters, meaning text was visible to the typist as it was entered. Oliver ...

, in 1948. He was chairman of the Trent Navigation Company until his death.

Glastonbury Abbey

In 1907, Jardine was associated with the purchase of

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

on behalf of the Ecclesiastical authorities. The Abbey was offered for sale by auction amid considerable disquiet that it could be purchased by "an American plutocrat". Jardine's bid of £30,000 was successful. Jardine announced that he had no intention of living there, but that he would sell the Abbey to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

for what he had paid.

Politics

In the January 1910 general election, Jardine contested the East Somerset constituency as a

. He defeated the sitting MP, the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

John William Howard Thompson John William Howard Thompson (1861-17 October 1959) was a British Liberal Party politician, solicitor and soldier. Background He was educated at Carshalton and Whitgift School, Croydon. He married Antoinette Ebden Keene of Crewkerne, Somerset. T ...

, by 4,997 votes to 3,970. At the following general election, in December 1910, he again defeated Thompson, by 4,748 votes to 3,875. The Liberal Unionist and Conservative parties merged in 1912. The constituency was abolished at the 1918 general election which Jardine did not contest. He was made 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 ...

in 1919 and was

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuri ...

in 1928–9.

Personal life

Jardine was educated at Tudor House School in Nottingham and at the Lycée Impérial in

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

, France. He married Ada ''née'' Fletcher She died in 1925. They had one son, John, and a daughter, Iris. Jardine died on 26 April 1947, aged 87. His estate was valued at £502,340 gross (£480,076 net).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jardine, Ernest 1859 births 1947 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 Politicians from Nottingham High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire