Frederick George Banbury, 1st Baron Banbury of Southam (2 December 1850 – 13 August 1936), known as Sir Frederick Banbury, 1st Baronet from 1903 to 1924, was a British businessman,

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 ...

Member of Parliament and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

activist, serving as chairman of the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

Early life

Frederick Banbury was born on 2 December 1850. He was the eldest son of Frederick Banbury and Cecilia Laura (née Cox) of Shirley House,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

Business career

Banbury was admitted to the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

in 1872 and was head of Frederick Banbury and Sons,

stockbrokers A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and m ...

, of London, between 1879 and 1906, as well as chairman of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and a director of the London and Provincial Bank.

Politics

Banbury was elected to represent Camberwell, Peckham in 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 ...

at the 1892 general election, and held the seat in

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

. At the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

he lost the seat as the

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 ...

won a large majority. Later in the year he returned to parliament when he was returned unopposed in a by-election for the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. He held the seat until 1924. He was a diligent member of the Commons, and was known for his formal attire and punctuality. Although he remained on the back benches he was regarded as an institution in the House. Banbury was created a baronet, "of Southam in the County of Warwick", in 1903, and admitted to the Privy Council in 1916. When the bill which led to the initial extension of the franchise to women was passing through parliament, Banbury said during a debate:

"Women are likely to be affected by gusts and waves of sentiment. Their emotional temperament makes them so liable to it. But those are not the people best fitted in this practical world either to sit in this House ... or to be entrusted with the immense power which this bill gives them."

During

World War I 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 ...

, Banbury headed the Unionist War Committee with Ronald McNeill. This was an organisation that campaigned for "vigorous prosecution of the war." In March 1922, Banbury was one of several Conservative politicians who signed the "Diehard Manifesto" circulated by the journalist H. A. Gwynne and later published in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. This Manifesto pledged to protect ''

Laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

in the United Kingdom. After his retirement from the House of Commons in January 1924, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Banbury of Southam, of Southam in the County of Warwick.

Railways

He was the last chairman of the Great Northern Railway (GNR), which lost its identity when, under the

Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...

, it was grouped with several other railways on 1 January 1923 to become a constituent of the

London & North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At tha ...

(LNER). Sir Frederick was a strong opponent of the railway grouping, and had voted against the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

during its passage through Parliament; he wanted no part of the future LNER, and decided to retire from his railway positions at the end of 1922. In late September 1922, the GNR honoured Sir Frederick by naming its newest express passenger locomotive no. 1471 ''Sir Frederick Banbury''. This locomotive belonged to GNR Class A1, was built in July 1922 and remained in service until November 1961.

Personal life

Banbury married Elizabeth Rosa, daughter of Thomas Barbot Beale, of Brettenham, Suffolk in 1873. She died in 1930. Banbury survived her by six years and died in August 1936 at his home,

Warneford Place Warneford Place, also known as Sevenhampton Place, is a Grade II listed country house in Sevenhampton, south of Highworth, in Wiltshire, England. The main house is modern but is listed because it incorporates some features from the original 18 ...

, Sevenhampton, near

Highworth Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about north-east of Swindon town centre. The 2021 Census recorded a population of 8,258. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...

in Wiltshire, aged 85. He was buried at Sevenhampton parish church. He was succeeded in the barony by his grandson Charles, his only son Captain Charles William Banbury having been killed in the First World War. Banbury was an animal lover, and for many years was on the council of the

, and served as its chairman.

Notes

References

* *

Sources

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

St Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 ...

, 1990, * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banbury, Frederick George Banbury of Southam, Frederick Banbury, 1st Baron Banbury of Southam, Frederick Banbury, 1st Baron People educated at Winchester College Banbury of Southam, Frederick Banbury, 1st Baron British animal welfare workers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs who were granted peerages Directors of the Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the City of London Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Barons created by George V RSPCA workers