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 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 .
[Trevelyan, Sir George Otto, Bart](_blank)
(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, and the great-nephew of
Lord Macaulay. 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 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. The family estates comprised more than 11,000 acres.
After
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 ...
, 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 Member of Parliament (MP) for
Elland,
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 ...
as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education 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 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
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 ...
's Labour cabinets as
President of the Board of Education 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 to seize control of
parochial schools, leading to a decline in Catholic support for the party in the 1930s. In 1924 he was sworn of the
Privy Council.

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 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.
They had seven children including his eldest son,
Sir George Trevelyan, whom he disinherited. He died in January 1958, aged 87.
References
Further reading
*Morris, A. J. A. (1977) ''C. P. Trevelyan, 1870–1958: Portrait of a Radical''. Belfast: Blackstaff Press
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