Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, 1st Baronet, (30 September 1819 – 9 June 1900) was an

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barrister,

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

and

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who sat in the

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between 1869 and 1892.

Life

Brooks was the son of Samuel Brooks, a banker of Manchester and his wife Margaret Hall daughter of Thomas Hall. Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> After his education at Rugby and St John's College, Cambridge he was called to the Bar at

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 ...

in 1847. He went on the

Northern Circuit {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Northern Circuit is a court circuit in England. It dates from 1176 when Henry II sent his judges on circuit to do justice in his name. The Circuit encompassed the whole of the North of England but in 1876 i ...

until the death of his father in 1864 when he became sole partner of Cunliffe Brooks and Co,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He opened Brooks and Co., 81

Lombard Street, London Lombard Street () is a street notable for its connections with the City of London's merchant, banking and insurance industries, stretching back to medieval times. From Bank junction, where nine streets converge by the Bank of England, Lombard ...

. He was a J.P. for Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester, and deputy lieutenant for Lancashire and Aberdeen. His main residence for most of that time was the historic

Barlow Hall Barlow Hall is an ancient manor house and Grade II listed building in Chorlton-cum-Hardy in the suburbs of Manchester, England. A house has existed on the site since at least the 13th century, but the present building dates back no further than th ...

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the city centre. Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the 2011 census, and Chorlton Park 15,147. By the 9th century, there was an Anglo-Saxon settlement her ...

. In 1869 Brooks was elected at a by-election 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 o ...

(MP) for East Cheshire. He held the seat until it was divided under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

, and at the 1885 general election he unsuccessfully contested the new Macclesfield division. The

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 14t ...

cy was conferred on him on 4 March 1886.Sayers, R. S. (1957) ''

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...

in the History of English Banking''. London: Oxford University Press, p. 331. At the 1886 election he was elected as MP for

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

, holding the seat until he stood down at the 1892 general election. Brooks was a notable benefactor to Sale, Cheshire;

Hale, Greater Manchester Hale is a suburb and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the village taken at the 2011 Census was 15,315. It is contiguous with the southeast of Altrincham, about southwe ...

; and

. He had a major influence on the estate of Glen Tanar, near

Aboyne Aboyne ( sco, Abyne, gd, Abèidh) is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis courts, a bowling green and ...

in Aberdeenshire. At first he leased the estate from

Charles Gordon, 11th Marquess of Huntly Charles Gordon, 11th Marquess of Huntly, PC, DL, JP (5 March 1847 – 20 February 1937), styled Lord Strathavon until 1853 and Earl of Aboyne between 1853 and 1863, was a Scottish Liberal politician. He served under William Ewart Gladstone, ...

, who married his elder daughter. He then bought the estate in 1890. Brooks lavished money on Glen Tanar, building a large house, cottages for estate workers, a school, stables and kennels. He also installed numerous carved stones and memorials in the surrounding countryside, many of which make playful references to his name or celebrate the virtues of drinking water rather than alcohol. Brooks died at Glen Tana (as he preferred to spell the name) at the age of 80.

Family

Brooks married Jane Elizabeth Orrell, daughter of Ralph Orrell in 1842. They had no sons but two daughters (other children died in infancy). Their elder daughter, Amy, married Charles Gordon, 11th Marquis of Huntly. Their second daughter, Edith, married Lord Francis Horace Pierrepont Cecil, second son of

William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter William Alleyne Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter PC (30 April 1825 – 14 July 1895), styled Lord Burghley between 1825 and 1867, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household between 1866 and 1867 and as ...

. They have many descendants in both England and America, including Sir James Cockburn, Lady Ethel Cecil, Diana Lewis and Isabella Overington. After the death of his wife, in 1879 Brooks married secondly Jane Davidson (1852-1946), daughter of Lieutenant Colonel David Davidson KCB of

Haddington, East Lothian The Royal Burgh of Haddington ( sco, Haidintoun, gd, Baile Adainn) is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is ...

.Grave of Jane Davidson, St Marys Haddington

References

9. Brooks Peerage, wills, letters, and family papers.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Sir William Cunliffe, 1st Baronet 1819 births 1900 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire English bankers People educated at Rugby School UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1886–1892 19th-century English businesspeople Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society