Dennis Henry Herbert, 1st Baron Hemingford, (25 February 1869 – 10 December 1947) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Life

Herbert was the eldest son of Reverend Henry Herbert, Rector of

Hemingford Abbots Hemingford Abbots is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Hemingford Abbots lies approximately east of Huntingdon, and is almost continuous with neighbouring Hemingford Grey. Hemingford Abbots is si ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

. He was elected to 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 ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

at the 1918 general election, a seat he held until 1943. From 1928 to 1929 he served as Deputy

Chairman of Ways and Means In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies. The current holder is Nusrat Ghani, following her election to the position on 23 July 2024. H ...

and from 1931 to 1943 as Chairman of Ways and Means (Deputy

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

). Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1929, Herbert was admitted to the Privy Council in 1933 and on 1 February 1943 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Hemingford, of Watford in the County of Hertford. Lord Hemingford married Mary, daughter of

Valentine Graeme Bell Valentine Graeme Bell (27 June 1839 – 29 May 1908) was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on the railway system of Jamaica. Life Born in London on 27 June 1839, he was youngest son of William Bell, a merchant of Aldersgate St ...

, on 9 June 1902. He died in December 1947, aged 78, and was succeeded in the barony by his son Dennis Herbert. Lady Hemingford died in 1966. Between 1918 and 1943, Herbert lived in a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

at 36 Clarendon Road, Watford. This

locally listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

was later used as a

registry office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration ...

until it was demolished in 2015 by

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

to make way for a

block of flats An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) th ...

and offices. A 1944 portrait of Herbert by the Scottish painter

George Harcourt George Granville Harcourt (''né'' Venables-Harcourt and Vernon-Harcourt, 6 August 1785 – 19 December 1861) was a British Whig and then Conservative Party politician. Background Harcourt was the eldest son of clergyman Edward Venables-Verno ...

hangs in the

Watford Museum Watford Museum is a local museum in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Watford Borough Council and is located on the Lower High Street in Watford. The museum opened in 1981 and is housed in a Grade II-listed Georgia ...

, and there are also photographic portraits of Herbert by the high-society portrait photographers Bassano & Vandyk in the collection of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

in London.

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Dennis 1869 births 1947 deaths 1 Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Hertfordshire Deputy speakers of the British House of Commons Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who were granted peerages Barons created by George VI