Henry Strutt, 2nd Baron Belper, (20 May 1840 – 26 July 1914), styled The Honourable Henry Strutt between 1856 and 1880, was a British businessman, courtier and politician. Initially a Liberal, he left the party over

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

and later held office as

Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

from 1895 to 1905 in the Unionist administrations headed by

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

and

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

Background and education

Henry Strutt was born at St Helen's House,

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, the son of

Edward Strutt, 1st Baron Belper Edward Strutt, 1st Baron Belper Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC Royal Society, FRS (26 October 1801 – 30 June 1880), was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancast ...

, and his wife, Amelia Harriet Otter. He was educated at Harrow and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, from which he held the degrees of

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and MA. In 1862 he played cricket for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and from 1863 to 1865 for

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC) against the universities. He became president of the family cotton business W. G. & J. Strutt.

Capture by pirates

Whilst on a hunting expedition with Lord John Hervey and Mr Coore he visited

Astakos Astakos (, meaning "lobster") is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xiromero, of which it is a municipal unit.

. They went to a more remote area in search of animals to shoot. Not expecting an encounter with brigands, they had not arranged for an escort of

gendarme A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

s on this occasion. Having been captured, the pirates agreed to release two of them with a ransome demand. Mr Coore was chosen by lot to remain a captive. Strutt and Hervey were released on parole with a demand for £3,000 in gold to secure Mr Coore's release. They returned with the support of HMS Chanticleer which remained out of sight while the release of Mr Coore was negotiated.

Political career

Initially a Liberal, Strutt was elected Member of Parliament for East Derbyshire in 1868, a seat he held until 1874. At the 1880 general election he was returned for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, which he represented until he succeeded his father in the barony on 30 June 1880 and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Belper later left the Liberal Party over

and joined the

Liberal Unionists 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 ...

. When

formed his last administration in 1895, Belper was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed

, a post he held until the fall of the government in 1905, the last three years under the premiership of

. Belper was also an Aide-de-Camp to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

and

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

between 1894 and 1914. He was also a lieutenant-colonel in the South Nottinghamshire Yeomanry, a justice of the peace for

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

and

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

and a deputy lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.

Family

Belper married Lady Margaret Coke, daughter of

Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester Thomas William Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester (26 December 1822 – 24 January 1909), known as Viscount Coke from 1837 to 1842, was a British peerage, British peer. Background Leicester was the son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (seventh ...

, at

Holkham Holkham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is dominated by the stately home and estate, Holkham Hall, and a beach, Holkham Gap, at the centre of Holkham National Nature Reserve. Holkham is loc ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, on 2 May 1874. They had three sons and five daughters: *William Strutt (8 February 1875 – 5 October 1898). *Norah Strutt (17 June 1876 – 14 September 1948) married, Major Robert Lee Morris, son of General Morris, on 20 November 1911. Secondly, Reverend Joseph David Samuel Parry-Evans, son of Major Samuel Evans, in 1920. *Lilian Strutt (31 October 1877 – 22 February 1956) married Vernon Austen Malcolmson on 10 January 1901. *Hilda Strutt (25 May 1879 – 28 April 1923) married Charles Israel Loraine Allix on 23 October 1906. *Reginald Edward Strutt (12 July 1881 – 10 May 1888). * Algernon Henry Strutt, 3rd Baron Belper (6 May 1883 – 20 May 1956). *Margaret Strutt (4 February 1886 – 23 April 1980). *Muriel Strutt (30 October 1890 – 8 August 1976) married Major Frank Haultain Hornsby, son of lieutenant-colonel Henry Francis Hornsby, on 30 November 1916. Belper died at Kingston Hall, Nottinghamshire, in July 1914, aged 74, and was succeeded in the barony by his third but eldest surviving son, Algernon.

References

External links

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

People educated at Harrow School