Henry Gerard Sturt, 1st Baron Alington (16 May 1825 – 17 February 1904), was a British peer, Conservative Party politician, and notorious slum landlord in the East End of London.

Early life

He was the son of Henry Sturt, a landowner and politician from

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. His father purchased the Lordship of Motcombe, Dorset. His family retained the lordship into the 20th century. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

in 1843.

Political career

He was elected to Parliament in 1847 for Dorchester, and re-elected in 1852. In 1856, one of the Conservative MPs for the county of Dorset died. Sturt resigned his Dorchester seat and was elected to the vacant Dorset seat in a by-election. He was re-elected in 1857, 1859, 1865, 1868, and 1874. On 15 January 1876, he was created Baron Alington, of Crichel, and thereafter sat in 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 ...

as a Conservative peer.

Racing

Sturt became a member of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

in 1850. In partnership with Sir Frederick Johnstone, 8th Baronet, he was a successful racehorse owner, in particulatr with

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

in 1891.

Marriages and children

Sturt was twice married. On 10 September 1853, he wed his first cousin, Lady Augusta Bingham, daughter of

George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, (16 April 1800 – 10 November 1888), styled Lord Bingham before 1839, was an Anglo-Irish peer and military officer. He was one of three men, along with Louis Nolan and Lord Raglan, responsible for t ...

and Lady Anne Brudenell. They had three children: * Humphrey Sturt, 2nd Baron Alington (1859–1919), who married Lady Feodorowna Yorke (eldest daughter of Charles Yorke, 5th Earl of Hardwicke), in 1883, and died of wounds. * The Hon. Winifred Sturt (1868–1914), who married

Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, (20 June 1858 – 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916. Background and education Hardinge was the second ...

(second son of Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge) in 1890. * The Hon. Mildred Sturt (1869–1942), who married three times: to Henry Cadogan, Viscount Chelsea (eldest son of

George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan George Henry Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan (12 May 1840 – 6 March 1915), styled Viscount Chelsea from 1864 to 1873, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. Background and education Cadogan was the eldest son of Henry Cad ...

), in 1892; after his death, to Admiral The Hon. Sir Hedworth Lambton (third son of George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham) in 1910; and after his death, to Lord Charles Montagu (second son of William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester) on 4 December 1930. On 10 February 1892, Sturt wed Evelyn Henrietta Leigh.

East End landlord

Amongst other holdings, various branches of the family had owned land in London's East End for centuries and the first Lord Alington's son, second Lord Alington "was still in possession of all but a small portion of the combined Pitfield estates in Hoxton when these were submitted to public auction in 1917". Frank Chapple who grew up on Pitfield Street, Hoxton, described it as a "slum village". Lord Alington was one of the private landlords specifically named in relation to the terrible conditions in the East End in the London Poverty Maps compiled by Charles Booth in the 1890s. "Some private landlords were also criticised. Infant mortality in Shoreditch, one investigator recorded, was 22 per 1000, much higher than the London average. Quoting an anonymous interviewee, he drew attention to the 'disgraceful meanness' of Lord Alington, who owned the whole parish and 'drew £20,000 from the neighbourhood'."

Notes

External links

* * 1825 births 1904 deaths Barons Alington (third creation) Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Sturt, Henry Sturt, Henry {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1820s-stub