Nags Head, Covent Garden, WC2 (4500783206)

Sir Philip Edward Pilditch, 1st Baronet (12 August 1861 – 17 December 1948), was a British architect and Unionist politician.

Early life

Born in Compton, Plymouth, he was the eldest son of Philip John Pilditch and Emma Rosa Pilditch (née Willmott). He was educated at Cheveley Hall, Mannamead and at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Career

Pilditch was active in the Conservative Party, and stood unsuccessfully at St Ives at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

and at

Islington East Islington East was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United ...

December 1910 The following events occurred in December 1910: December 1, 1910 (Thursday) * Porfirio Diaz was inaugurated for his eighth term as President of Mexico."Record of Current Events", ''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (January 1911), pp ...

. In 1907 Pilditch was elected to the London County Council, representing Islington East. He was a member of the Conservative-backed Municipal Reform Party which took control of the council from the Progressive Party which was allied to the Liberal Party. The Islington seat was marginal, and at the next council elections in 1910 he was returned for the safer electoral division of Strand. He held the seat in 1913 and remained on the council until 1919. He was a prominent member of the council, and served as vice-chairman in 1913–1914. Pilditch held a commission in the 1st Sussex Volunteer Artillery, retiring with the rank of captain. During the First World War he was active in the raising of fifty battalions for the New Army in Surrey, Middlesex and London, and acted as honorary treasurer for the battalion funds. Pilditch was elected to the House of Commons at the 1918 general election becoming the first Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Spelthorne in Middlesex. He held the seat at successive elections until he stood down in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. He had a great interest in the preservation of ancient monuments, helping to pilot the Ancient Monuments Act 1931 through parliament. He was also involved in the preservation of the Elizabethan architecture of his home town and served as the president of the Old Plymouth Society. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1918 and created a baronet, "of Bartropps in the parish of Weybridge in the County of Surrey" in 1929.

Death

He died at his home near Weybridge,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in December 1948, aged 87. He was succeeded in the baronetage by his son, Philip Harold.

Personal life

In 1888 he married Emily Mary Lewis, the daughter of a director of the National Provincial Bank. The couple had two sons and a daughter, Mabel Emily who married Major Henry Hammick. He established the business of Pilditch and Chadwick, surveyors and architects, of which he was head.

References and sources

;References ;Sources *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilditch, Sir Philip, 1st Baronet 1861 births 1948 deaths Alumni of King's College London Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Members of London County Council Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 Municipal Reform Party politicians People from Plymouth, Devon