Thomas Gair Ashton, 1st Baron Ashton of Hyde (5 February 1855 – 1 May 1933), was a British industrialist, philanthropist,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician, and peer.

Early life and career

Ashton was born at

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

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 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, the son of Thomas Ashton (died 1898) and Elizabeth Gair, daughter of Samuel Stillman Gair of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. Ashton was baptised on the 5th February 1855. The Ashton family had been prominent in the cotton and cloth manufacturing industry for many years. He was educated at Rugby and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, and later managed the family business. Ashton was elected to 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. T ...

for Hyde in 1885, but lost his seat the following year. Ashton then became wedded to Eva Margret James in 1866 at All Saints Church. He unsuccessfully contested the same seat again in 1892, but in 1895 he was returned for

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

, seat he held until 1911. The latter year he was raised to the peerage as

Baron Ashton of Hyde Baron Ashton of Hyde, of Hyde in the County of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 June 1911 for the industrialist and Liberal politician Thomas Ashton. He had earlier represented Hyde and Luton in the ...

, in the County of Chester. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as Chairman of the Cotton Exports Committee. Apart from his political career Ashton was a Justice of the Peace for Cheshire and Sussex and was invested as an Honorary

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

in 1923.

Family

Two of Lord Ashton's sisters married Lupton brothers; Sir Charles Lupton to Katharine and Arthur Lupton to Harriet. Lord Ashton's first cousin, Helen Potter (née Leech), was the mother of

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...

. Ashton married

Eva Margaret James Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

, daughter of John Henry James and his wife

Jane Ramsden Ashworth Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fi ...

, in 1886. They had four children, two sons and two daughters: *

Thomas Henry Ashton Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

(8 October 1887 – 20 September 1897) *

Marion Evelyn Ashton Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) * Marion (surname) * Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" * Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * M ...

(born 1890); married Major Robert Wood. *

Margaret Joan Ashton Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(born 1893); married Hugh Whistler. * Thomas Henry Raymond Ashton (2 October 1901 – 21 March 1983); succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Ashton of Hyde.

Death

He died on 1 May 1933, aged 78, in

Robertsbridge Robertsbridge is a village in the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge, and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Hastings and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridge ...

, Sussex and was succeeded in the title by his second but eldest surviving son Thomas Henry Raymond Ashton. Lady Ashton of Hyde died in 1938.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources *Legg, L. G. Wickham Legg (editor). ''The Dictionary of National Biography, 1931-1940''. Oxford University Press, 1949. *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton Of Hyde, Thomas Ashton, 1st Baron 1855 births 1933 deaths 1 People from Fallowfield People educated at Rugby School Alumni of University College, Oxford Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas UK MPs who were granted peerages

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Barons created by George V