John George Dodson, 1st Baron Monk Bretton, PC (18 October 1825 – 25 May 1897), known before 1884 as John George Dodson, was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

politician. He was

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 ...

(Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons) between 1865 and 1872 and later held office under

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...

President of the Local Government Board The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the ...

and

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

. In 1884 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Monk Bretton.

Background and education

Dodson was the only son of Sir John Dodson, a judge and

Dean of the Arches The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary tribun ...

St George's Hanover Square Church St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

, London. His mother was Frances Priscilla, daughter of George Pearson, MD, FRS. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

(1837–1842), where he won HRH the

Prince Consort A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as ''prince''. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be ...

's Prize for French and Italian in 1842, and came second for French and German in 1841 and 1842, and was later a Fellow (1876–1880). He 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 ...

on 9 June 1843, (BA 1847, MA 1851), got a First, and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, in 1853. His exact contemporaries at Eton included

William George Mount William George Mount DL (18 July 1824 – 14 January 1906) was a British landowner, Conservative politician, and the first Member of Parliament for the Newbury constituency. He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford.‘MO ...

and the

Earl of Kimberley Earl of Kimberley, of Kimberley in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1866 for the prominent Liberal politician John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse. During his long political career, he no ...

Political career

Dodson unsuccessfully contested

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

in 1852 (he came third with 1637 votes, behind

Augustus Eliott Fuller Augustus Eliott Fuller (7 May 1777 – 5 August 1857) was a British Conservative politician. Fuller was the son of John Trayton Fuller, of Ashdown House, Sussex, and his wife Anne, daughter of George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield. In 18 ...

with 2155 and Charles Hay Frewen with 1974) and March 1857, but was elected for the constituency in April 1857. He would hold this seat until 1874. He served as

(Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons) from February 1865 to April 1872 and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1872. In 1873 he was appointed

in the Liberal administration of

, a post he held until the government fell the following year. In 1874 Dodson was elected to parliament for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, and served as Chairman of the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

from 1874 to 1876. In 1880 he was again elected for

and appointed

, with a seat in the cabinet, in Gladstone's second

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. According to the rules at the time, he was then forced to contest his constituency again. Dodson was duly elected, but shortly after the original election was declared void on petition. This caused him to seek re-election for another constituency. In July he was returned for

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, a seat he would hold until 1884. Dodson remained President of the Local Government Board until 1882, and then served as

from 1882 to 1884. On 4 November 1884 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Monk Bretton, of Conyboro and Hurstpierpoint in the County of Sussex. Lord Monk Bretton later disagreed with Gladstone over

Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

. He was also active in local politics, and served as the first Chairman of the

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes Brighton and Hove. East ...

from 1889 to 1892. He was a long serving director and trustee of the Rock Life Assurance Company and a director of Brill's Brighton Baths Company. He was a member of the university,

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

, and

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

Clubs. Late in life he became concerned about the fate of the

African elephant African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...

, whose salvation he mooted, in letters to ''The Times'', could come through domestication.

Family

Lord Monk Bretton married Caroline-Florence, second daughter of William John Campion of

Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...

Hurstpierpoint Hurstpierpoint is a village in the Mid Sussex district, in the county of West Sussex, England, southwest of Burgess Hill, and west of Hassocks railway station. It sits in the civil parish of Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common which has an ...

, Sussex, by Harriet Kemp (daughter of

Thomas Read Kemp Thomas Read Kemp (23 December 1782 – 20 December 1844) was an English property developer and politician. Life He was the son of Sussex landowner and Member of Parliament Thomas Kemp, and his wife Anne, daughter of Henry Read of Brookla ...

) in 1856. They had one son and three daughters. They lived at 6, Seamore Place in Mayfair, and at Conyboro', near

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

, Sussex. In 1878

Edward Walford Edward Walford (1823–1897) was an England, English magazine editor and a compiler of educational, biographical, genealogical and touristic works, perhaps best known for the final four volumes of ''Old and New London'' (Cassell (publisher), Cas ...

described Seamore Place as follows: "Seamore Place is the name of a row of handsome but somewhat old-fashioned mansions, which occupy a sort of cul de sac at the western end of

Curzon Street Curzon Street is a street in Mayfair, London, within the W1J postcode district, that ranges from Fitzmaurice Place, past Shepherd Market, to Park Lane. It is named after Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 2nd Baronet, who inherited the landholding during ...

. They are only nine in number, and their chief fronts look westward over Hyde Park". Lord Monk Bretton died in May 1897, aged 71, and was succeeded in the barony by his only son John William Dodson. image:JohnGeorgeDodsonILN.jpg, J. G. Dodson, MP, in the Illustrated London News, 1865. File:John George Dodson Vanity Fair 16 December 1871.jpg, Lithographic reproduction, after

James Tissot Jacques Joseph Tissot (; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), better known as James Tissot ( , ), was a French painter, illustrator, and caricaturist. He was born to a drapery merchant and a milliner and decided to pursue a career in art at a y ...

, published in ''Vanity Fair'', 16 December 1871. File:Lord Monk Bretton Vanity Fair 25 January 1894.jpg, Lithographic reproduction, after

Leslie Ward Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (21 November 1851 – 15 May 1922) was a British portrait artist and caricaturist who over four decades painted 1,325 portraits which were regularly published by ''Vanity Fair (British magazine), Vanity Fair'', under th ...

, published in ''Vanity Fair'', 25 January 1894. Image:LordMonkBrettonRA.jpg, Lord Monk Bretton, by Topham's son (Frank William Warwick Topham), as seen in the Royal Academy, 1897. File:Lord Monk Bretton as described by Debrett's Peerage, London, 1888.jpg, Lord Monk Bretton as described by Debrett's Peerage, London, 1888.

Arms

References

* ''

Dod's ''Dods Parliamentary Companion'' (formerly "Dod's Parliamentary Companion") is an annual politics reference book published in the United Kingdom. It provides biographies and contact information on members of the Houses of Parliament and the Ci ...

Parliamentary Companion'', Whittaker & Co., 1878. * Thomas Skinner, ''The Directory of Directors for 1897'', London, 1897. (& for 1880). * Edward Walford, ''Old and new London'', chapter 28, ''Mayfair'', 1878.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodson, John George Monk Bretton, John Dodson, 1st Baron Monk Bretton, John Dodson, 1st Baron Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Deputy speakers of the British House of Commons 1 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College

Monk Bretton Monk Bretton is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately two miles north-east from Barnsley town centre. Until 1974 it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History Monk Bretton has bee ...

UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs who were granted peerages Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria