Sir Herbert George Denman Croft, 9th Baronet, DL (25 July 1838 – 11 February 1902), was an English

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 1868 to 1874.

Biography

Croft was the son of Sir Archer Denman Croft (1801–1865), 8th Baronet and his wife Julia Barbara Corbet (1802–1864), widow of Athelstan Corbet and daughter of Major General John Garstin (1756–1820). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, graduating BA in 1860 and MA in 1864. He was called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1861 and went the

Oxford Circuit The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

. He inherited the

baronetcy 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 ...

on the death of his father in 1865. Throughout his life he evinced considerable interest in local affairs, and was a member of the county council, chairman of the Hereford county bench of magistrates, and deputy-chairman of the Court of quarter sessions. He was a J.P. and deputy lieutenant for Herefordshire and a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Herefordshire Militia. At the 1868 general election Croft was elected as a

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

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. He held the seat until the 1874 general election, when he did not stand again. From 1892 until his death, he held the post of

Inspector of Constabulary His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...

for the North of England. Croft died at his residence, Lugwardine Court,

, 11 February 1902, at the age of 63.

Family

Croft married in 1865, his cousin Georgiana Eliza Lucy Marsh, daughter and co-heiress of

Matthew Henry Marsh Matthew Henry Marsh (1810—1881) was a politician in Great Britain and New South Wales and a Queensland pioneer pastoralist. Early life Matthew Henry Marsh was born on 10 September 1810 in Salisbury, England, the son of the Rev Matthew Marsh, ...

, of Ramridge House,

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 ...

, an MP for Salisbury. They had children: * Herbert Archer Croft (1868–1915), who succeeded as 10th Baronet * Hugh Matthew Finnes Croft (b. 1874) * William Denman Croft (1879–1968) * Owen George Scudamore Croft (b. 1880) * Jasper Brodie Croft (b. 1884) * Janet Georgiana Croft, who married in 1891 Edward Archer Greathead, and had children. * Sybil Helen Croft, who married on 24 September 1902 Sir

John Rumney Nicholson Sir John Rumney Nicholson (25 March 1866 – 22 November 1939) was a British engineer. Nicholson was born at Langwathby in 1866, the son of Isaac Nicholson, and was educated at St Bees School. His family was stated to be from Bolton, Cumbria. H ...

, CMG (1866–1939), son of Isaac Nicholson, and had children. They went to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

after the wedding, and on their return to the United Kingdom in 1919 he was knighted. They later settled in

Underskiddaw Underskiddaw is a civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in the English county of Cumbria. The parish lies immediately to the north of the town of Keswick, and includes the southern and eastern flanks of Skiddaw as well as part of the vall ...

.″Sir J. R. Nicholson′s death at Keswick″. Newcastle Evening Chronicle, 24 November 1939, p. 7. * Lucy Barbara Croft, who married in 1899 Frederick Evelyn Cairnes, of Killester House, Raheny, co. Dublin, and had children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Herbert 1838 births 1902 deaths People educated at Eton College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 Baronets in the Baronetage of England Deputy Lieutenants of Herefordshire Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Inspectors of Constabulary