Sir John Henry Scourfield, 1st Baronet (30 January 1808 – 3 June 1876) was a Welsh
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 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 1852 to 1876.
Life
Scourfield was born John Henry Phillips, the son of Owen Phillips of Williamstown, Pembrokeshire, Wales and his wife Ann Elizabeth Scourfield, niece of
William Henry Scourfield
William Henry Scourfield (1776 – 31 January 1843) was a Welsh landowner and Tory politician.
Biography
Scourfield was the son of Henry Scourfield and his wife Elizabeth (daughter of Rev John Ewer of Bangor), of the Scourfield family of New Moa ...
of the
Mote and Robeston Hall. He was educated at
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
and at
Oriel College, Oxford
Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...
graduating BA 3rd class in classics in 1828 and MA in 1832.
He was a
Deputy Lieutenant and
J.P. for Pembroke and chairman of the Quarter Sessions of Pembroke. He was also
High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Pembrokeshire. 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 centuries most of the responsibilitie ...
in 1833 and Lord-Lieutenant and
Custos Rotulorum
''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...
of the borough of Haverfordwest. In 1862 he assumed the name of Scourfield by Royal Licence on succeeding to the estates of his maternal uncle.
[Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870]
/ref>
Political career
At the 1852 general election Scourfield was elected 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 Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...
and held the seat until 1868. In 1857 he narrowly held on to the seat by two votes over the Liberal candidate William Rees, in a contest characterised by accusations of intimidation.
At the 1868 general election he was elected MP for Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
and held the seat until his death aged 68 in 1876. He was created 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 ...
by Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...
on 18 February 1876 but died the following May.
He was against the Women's Disabilities Removal Bill, an early women's suffrage bill. He argued, in May 1872, that the novelist Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
would be, too, were she alive. Scourfield argued this by using a quotation from Austen's novel ''Emma'' (1816), which was itself a quotation from Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...
, taken out of context. This appears to be the first time that Austen's name was referenced in official business in parliament.
Cricket
As John Philipps, he was a cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er with amateur status who was associated with Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
(MCC) and made his first-class debut in 1830.
Works
He was the author of a number of published plays and poems.
Family
Scourfield married in 1845 Augusta Phillips, daughter of John Lort Phillips of Haverfordwest and Llawrenny Park, Pembrokeshire.[ They had two sons, the eldest of which, Owen, succeeded to the baronetcy (which became extinct on his death).
]
Notes
1808 births
1876 deaths
People educated at Harrow School
Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford
Deputy Lieutenants of Pembrokeshire
Lord-Lieutenants of Haverfordwest
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
UK MPs 1852–1857
UK MPs 1857–1859
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1865–1868
UK MPs 1868–1874
UK MPs 1874–1880
High Sheriffs of Pembrokeshire
English cricketers
English cricketers of 1826 to 1863
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
A to K v L to Z cricketers
{{Wales-Conservative-UK-MP-stub