Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe, (24 February 1901 – 18 September 1984), was an English aristocrat and politician.

Biography

Assheton was born on 24 February 1901.National Portrait Gallery
/ref> His father was Sir Ralph Assheton, 1st Baronet (1860–1955), and his mother, Mildred Estelle Sybella Master (1884–1949). He was educated at

Summer Fields School Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi"). H ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. Assheton was

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

Rushcliffe Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 111,129. Its councilRushcliffe Borough Council City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

from 1945 to 1950, and for Blackburn West from 1950 to 1955. In the wartime government under

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, he was

Minister of Supply The Minister of Supply was the minister in the British Government responsible for the Ministry of Supply, which existed to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. The position was campaigned for by many sceptics of the for ...

in 1942, and

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Excheq ...

from 1942 to 1944. He was sworn of the Privy Council in the

1944 New Year Honours The 1944 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1944 for the Britis ...

, and served as

Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in government, the off ...

from 1944 to 1946. After retiring from 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 ...

at the 1955 general election, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Clitheroe, ''of Downham in the County Palatine of Lancaster'', on 21 June 1955. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet on 21 September 1955. He was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire on 16 November 1955, and later served as

Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of thes ...

, from 1971 to 1976. He was appointed a Knight of the

Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(KStJ) in February 1972, and appointed to the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

as a Knight Commander in 1977 on his retirement from the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Family

He married

Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

Sylvia Benita Frances Hotham, daughter of Frederick William Hotham, 6th Baron Hotham (1863–1923), on 24 January 1924. They had four children: * Anne Assheton (born & died 22 December 1924) * Hon. Bridget Assheton (born 20 August 1926, died 22 May 2004). Married Sir Marcus Worsley, Bt, brother of

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent, (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Roman Ca ...

* Ralph John Assheton, 2nd Baron Clitheroe (born 3 November 1929) * Hon. Nicholas Assheton, CVO (born 23 May 1934, died 27 November 2012) Treasurer to

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

from 1998 to her death in 2002. Lord Clitheroe died in 1984.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clitheroe, Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron 1901 births 1984 deaths People educated at Summer Fields School People educated at Eton College Chairmen of the Conservative Party (UK) Assheton, Ralph Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire English justices of the peace Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Lancashire Assheton, Ralphe Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II Politicians awarded knighthoods Assheton, Ralph Assheton, Ralph Assheton, Ralph Assheton, Ralph Assheton, Ralph UK MPs who were granted peerages Hulme Trust