Sir Edward Thomas Davenant Cotton-Jodrell (29 June 1847 – 13 October 1917), known until 1890 as Edward Thomas Davenant Cotton, was a British Army officer and

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

politician who sat in 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. ...

from 1885 to 1900.

Early life and education

Cotton-Jodrell was the son of Rt. Rev. George Edward Lynch Cotton and his wife Sophia Ann Tomkinson and baptised with the name of Edward Thomas Davenant Cotton. His father was a master at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

and, from 1852, headmaster of

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

until appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1858. The young Edward Cotton was consequently educated at Rugby and Marlborough College before entering the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

Military career

On completing his military training he was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 15 July 1868. He joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and became captain on 1 August 1879. After having commenced his political career, he assumed command of the volunteer territorial Cheshire (Railway Battalion) of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1888, and was granted the honorary rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

ten years later.

Burke's Landed Gentry ''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cent ...

: He was on the Headquarters Staff of the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

from 1906 to 1912 and was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in 1909.

Political and public career

Cotton was elected as

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 of ...

(MP) for Wirral at the 1885 general election and held the seat until he stood down at the 1900 general election. Cotton-Jodrell was J.P. for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the county in 1901. He was invested as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(K.C.B.) in 1902. citing:

Family, death and succession

On the death of his great-uncle

Thomas Jodrell Phillips Jodrell use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Bristol , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coor ...

, his maternal uncle Henry Richard Tomkinson made a

deed of gift A deed of gift is a signed legal document that voluntarily and without recompense transfers ownership of real, personal, or intellectual property – such as a gift of materials – from one person or institution to another. It should include a ...

of the resulting inheritance in his favour. In accordance with a covenant of the will, on 10 July 1890, he assumed the surname and

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Jodrell by Royal Licence and became known as Edward Thomas Davenant Cotton-Jodrell. Cotton-Jodrell had residences in Cheshire in the Tomkinson family home at Reaseheath near

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

, but also at Yeardsley and at Shallcross. His London address was 13

Stratton Street Stratton Street is a street in the Mayfair district of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Berkeley Street in the north to Piccadilly in the south. History Stratton Street started to be built in 1693 on land occupied at some time ...

, former abode of his great-uncle. Cotton-Jodrell married Mary Rennell Coleridge, daughter of William Rennell Coleridge of Salston,

Ottery St Mary Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the villages of Metcombe, Fair ...

, Devon, and Katherine Frances Barton, on 24 April 1878 and had two surviving daughters. He died on 17 October 1917, at the age of 70 and was succeeded by his eldest daughter, Dorothy Lynch Ramsden who, with her husband Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Ramsden, assumed the surname and arms of Jodrell by Royal Licence on 15 March 1920. The Jodrell Trust Estates were subsequently sold by auction on 14 November 1923.

References

External links

* 1847 births 1917 deaths Royal Artillery officers Royal Engineers officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy Lieutenants of Cheshire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1840s-stub