Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet (28 October 1870 – 24 January 1958) was a British

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 ...

, and later Labour Party, politician and landowner. He served as

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

in 1924 and between 1929 and 1931 in the first two Labour administrations of

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

, the first Labour Prime Minister.

Background

Born into a liberal aristocratic family (see Trevelyan baronets of Nettlecombe, 1662), Charles was the eldest son of Sir George Trevelyan , and his wife Caroline, daughter of

Robert Needham Philips Robert Needham Philips DL (1815 – 28 February 1890) was an English merchant and manufacturer in the Lancashire textiles business, a Liberal Party politician, and the grandfather of the Whig historian G. M. Trevelyan. He lived in Manchester a ...

.Trevelyan, Sir George Otto, Bart
(

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

1911, Volume 27, p. 255, at theodora.com, Retrieved 7 March 2021 He was the grandson of Sir Charles Trevelyan , the elder brother of the poet R. C. Trevelyan and the historian

G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was an English historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to th ...

, and the great-nephew of

Lord Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was an English historian, poet, and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 184 ...

. He was the great-great-grandson of Sir John Trevelyan (1735–1828). Family legend traced their ancestry to Sir Trevillian, one of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

's knights, who swam ashore on horseback when the legendary land of

Lyonesse Lyonesse ( /liːɒˈnɛs/ ''lee-uh-NESS'') is a kingdom which, according to legend, consisted of a long strand of land stretching from Land's End at the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England, to what is now the Isles of Scilly in the Celtic ...

sank. The family kept three houses year round: Wallington in Northumberland, which the family had owned since 1777, Welcombe House in Warwickshire, and a town house in Westminster, No.14

Great College Street Great College Street is a street in Westminster, London. The street was first laid out in the 1720s but it has seen many alterations and much rebuilding in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Its proximity to the Palace of Westminster has m ...

. The family estates comprised more than 11,000 acres. After

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

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 ...

, Charles Philips Trevelyan decided upon a political career.

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociology, sociologist, economist, feminism, feminist and reformism (historical), social reformer. She was among the founders of the Lo ...

, his friend, described him as "a man who has every endowment – social position, wealth, intelligence, an independent outlook, good looks, good manners".''A Very British Family: the Trevelyans and their world'', Laura Trevelyan, London 2006, page 102

Life and career

Trevelyan was first a Liberal and later a Labour MP. His eventual political achievements were uneven. As a member of the landed gentry serving in the Labour Party, he was considered by some to be a walking anachronism. Despite this, his own privileges and gentlemanly pursuits always remained intact. Trevelyan was elected

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 ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for

Elland Elland is a market town in Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is situated south of Halifax, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Elland was recorded as ''Elant'' in the Domesday Book of 1086. It ha ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, in a by-election in 1899. He served under

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom Government. The Board of Education Act 1899 abolished the Committee of the Privy Council which had been responsible for education matters ...

between 1908 and 1914, when, as an opponent of British entry into the

First World War 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 ...

, he resigned from the government. In 1914, also, he founded the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifism, pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World Wa ...

an all-party organisation rallying opposition to the war. In the 1918 general election he lost his Elland seat, running as an

Independent Labour The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidate ...

candidate. He won Newcastle Central for Labour in 1922 and held it until 1931. He was a member of

's Labour cabinets as

between January and November 1924 and between 1929 and 1931, resigning when his Education Bill was rejected by 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 ...

a few months before the Labour government collapsed. The bill was opposed not only by

Conservatives 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 civilizati ...

but by

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

members of the Labour Party who feared that it would allow

local governments Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

to seize control of

parochial schools A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The w ...

, leading to a decline in Catholic support for the party in the 1930s. In 1924 he was sworn of the Privy Council. Succession Charles and Mary Trevelyan

In early 1939, following

Stafford Cripps Sir Richard Stafford Cripps (24 April 1889 – 21 April 1952) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, barrister, and diplomat. A wealthy lawyer by background, Cripps first entered Parliament at a 1931 Bristol East by-election ...

and with

Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...

among others, Trevelyan was briefly expelled from the Labour Party for persisting with support for a " popular front" (involving co-operation with the Liberal Party and Communist Party) against the National Government. Apart from his political career Trevelyan was also

Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Northumberland. Since 1802, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Northumberland. Lord-lieutenants are the Crowns representative in every County. Dr Caroline Pryer ...

between 1930 and 1949. In 1942, although he had a son and heir, Trevelyan and his wife donated Wallington, complete with its estate of farm land, which he had inherited in 1928, to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, the first donation of this kind. He was the last surviving member of the first British Labour Cabinet.

Family

Trevelyan married Mary Katherine Bell, a younger half-sister of

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...

and the daughter of

Sir Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet, (10 February 1844 – 29 June 1931) was an English industrialist, landowner, Justice of the Peace, and administrator. A Deputy Lieutenant of County Durham, he was High Sheriff of Durham in 1895 and Lord L ...

. They had seven children including his eldest son, Sir George Trevelyan, whom he disinherited. He died in January 1958, aged 87.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trevelyan, Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet 1870 births 1958 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Secretaries of State for Education Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Lord-lieutenants of Northumberland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 Members of the London School Board Macaulay family (Lewis) Expelled members of the Labour Party (UK) Trevelyan family

Background

Life and career

Family

References

Further reading

External links