Archibald Cameron Corbett, 1st Baron Rowallan (23 May 1856 – 19 March 1933), was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Member of Parliament and

Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

politician.

Early life

The second son of Thomas Corbett, a

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

merchant and philanthropist, and Sarah (née Cameron), he was educated at home and at the Glasgow Academy. With his older brother Thomas, he took up the offer of a world tour rather than go to university. On his return, he briefly studied sculpture in

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

and then managed his father's estates in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

which he bought from his uncle after his father's death in 1880. He became one of the principal developers of the eastern suburbs of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Political career

An interest in philanthropy led him into politics and first contested

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough includes the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Coleshill, and the large villages of Hartshill, Kingsbury, Ma ...

in 1884 at the age of 28. At the 1885 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Tradeston, first as a Liberal and from 1886 as a Liberal Unionist. In August 1908, he crossed the floor of the House and rejoined the Liberal Party. In the same year, he served as president of the Scottish Permissive Bill and Temperance Association. He held Glasgow Tradeston until his retirement from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

in 1911, when he was created 1st Baron Rowallan, of Rowallan in the

County of Ayr Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

Family life

In 1887, he married Alice Mary Polson, a daughter of John Polson, the co-founder of the corn merchants firm of Brown & Polson. They had a daughter, Elsie Cameron, and two sons; Thomas Godfrey Polson and Arthur Cameron who joined the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

(RNAS) and was killed in 1916. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Elsie was a VAD, and served as an ambulance driver with the Scottish Women's Hospital for Foreign Service. She was taken into captivity in 1915 while in the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

. As well as the War and Victory medals, she was awarded the Serbian Gold Medal for Devoted Service. Her photograph appears on the front page of the ''Daily Record'' of 25 December 1915, noting that she was still in Serbia. In 1901, the Corbetts bought the 6,000 acre Rowallan Estate in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

. Their previous Scottish home at Rouken Glen was donated to the citizens of Glasgow as a public park. In 1906, he donated the Ardgoil Estate to Glasgow as well.Rowallan: the autobiography of Lord Rowallan, Paul Harris Publishing Ltd, 1976, pp. 31–32. Lord Rowallan died on 19 March 1933 aged 76 and was succeeded by his son.

Arms

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowallan, Archibald Corbett, 1st Baron 1856 births 1933 deaths People from Kilmaurs Nobility from Glasgow People educated at the Glasgow Academy Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Barons Rowallan Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald Corbett, Archibald UK MPs who were granted peerages Barons created by George V Archibald