Sir Robert William Perks, 1st Baronet (24 April 1849 – 30 November 1934) was a British Liberal politician. Robert William Perks Grave

He was the son of George Thomas Perks (1819 – 1877), a Wesleyan Methodist preacher. He was educated at Kingswood School 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 ...

(1867–71). He then qualified as a solicitor, and became a partner of

Henry Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton Henry Hartley Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton, (16 May 183025 February 1911) was a British solicitor and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1908 when he was raised to the peerage. A member of the Wesleyan Me ...

. He was elected to Parliament at the 1892 general election as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Louth. Perks was a prominent member of the Liberal Imperialists and its successor the Liberal League, in both organisations acting as treasurer. He was made a baronet in 1908, and retired from Parliament at the 1910 general election. In 1898, Perks proposed the creation of the Wesleyan Methodist Twentieth Century Fund (also known as the 'One Million Guinea Fund') which aimed to raise one million guineas (£1.1s. or £1.05) to build a church in Central London. The fund had raised £1,073,682 by the time it closed in 1909, part of which was used to purchase the former Royal Aquarium site for the construction of the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. In 1932 at the age of 83 Perks was elected vice-president of the Methodist Conference as the man most responsible for Methodist Union. He died in 1934 aged 85 and is buried in Brookwood Cemetery. His son succeeded him in the baronetcy. His daughter, Edith Mary, married Sir Bertram Allen in 1908.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perks, Robert William 1849 births 1934 deaths People educated at Kingswood School, Bath Alumni of King's College London Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Burials at Brookwood Cemetery People associated with transport in London English tax resisters