John St Aubyn, 1st Baron St Levan (23 October 1829 – 14 May 1908), known as Sir John St Aubyn, 2nd Baronet, from 1872 to 1887, 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 ...

, and later

Liberal Unionist 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 ...

, politician who sat 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 ...

from 1858 until 1887 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

Early life

St Aubyn was the son of Sir Edward St Aubyn, 1st Baronet, of

St Michael's Mount St Michael's Mount (, meaning "Hoarfrost, hoar rock in woodland") is a tidal island in Mount's Bay near Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The island is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and his wife Emma (née Knollys), daughter of General William Knollys. 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 ...

, and at

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 ...

. St Aubyn was Hon. Colonel of the 3rd Bttn

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd ( ...

. He was also a Deputy Lieutenant and J.P. for Cornwall, and Deputy Special Warden of the Stannaries. He was president of the

Royal Geological Society of Cornwall The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in ...

from 1891 to 1892.

Parliamentary service

St Aubyn was elected Member of Parliament for Cornwall West as a Liberal in 1858, a seat he held until 1885 when the constituency was replaced under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

. In his original election address, according to ''The Times'', he promised to vote for: *abolition of

Church Rate The church rate was a tax formerly levied in each parish in England and Ireland for the benefit of the parish church. The rates were used to meet the costs of carrying on divine service, repairing the fabric of the church and paying the salaries of ...

s *for the fullest extent of

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

*strict economy of the public service *admission of Jews to Parliament *abolition of the

property qualification Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

*for the ballot, in the event of any constituency needing the protection of it Whilst representing West Cornwall, he was always elected unopposed. At the 1885 general election, St Aubyn was elected as MP for St Ives in a contest that was fiercely contested. "The fight was severe", according to ''The Times''. He disagreed with

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 ...

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 sat as a Liberal Unionist from 1886 to 1887. In the latter year St Aubyn was raised to the peerage as

Baron St Levan Baron St Levan, of St Michael's Mount in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 July 1887 for the former Member of Parliament Sir John St Aubyn, 2nd Baronet, becoming John St Aubyn, 1st B ...

, of

in the County of

Marriage, children and death

Lord St Levan married Lady Elizabeth Clementina, daughter of

John Townshend, 4th Marquess Townshend Rear Admiral John Townshend, 4th Marquess Townshend (28 March 1798 – 10 September 1863), known as John Townshend until 1855, was a British nobleman, peer, politician, and naval commander. Townshend was the son of Lord John Townshend, younger ...

, in 1856. They had six sons and seven daughters He died on 14 May 1908, aged 78.''The Times'', Friday, 15 May 1908; pg. 12; Issue 38647; col F "Obituary. Lord St. Levan." He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(23 September 1857 – 1940). Lady St Levan died in 1910.

Notes

References

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Levan, John Saint Aubyn, 1st Baron 1829 births 1908 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers 1 Deputy lieutenants of Cornwall English justices of the peace Politicians from Cornwall Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall

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 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs who were granted peerages Presidents of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall Liberal Unionist Party peers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for St Ives Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria