Sir George Strickland, 7th Baronet (26 May 1782 – 23 December 1874), also known as Sir George Cholmley was an English Member of Parliament and lawyer. He took the name Cholmley to succeed to the Cholmley estates in 1865.

Life

Strickland was the second son of Sir William Strickland, 6th Baronet, of Boynton in

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 ...

, but his older brother died before him and he inherited the baronetcy on his father's death in 1834. Strickland inherited

Boynton Hall Boynton Hall is a country house in the village of Boynton near Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building. Originally constructed in the late 16th century, the house has been remodelled several times. It i ...

and was Lord of the Manor of Wintringham. Strickland began his career in the law, being

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 ...

in 1810, and practised as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

on the

Northern Circuit The Northern Circuit is a circuit of the General Council of the Bar and English judiciary. The Northern Circuit stretches from Carlisle in Cumberland at its northernmost point, running through Lakeland to the port of Whitehaven in the West, ...

. However, he took an interest in politics, supporting the Whigs and being an ardent supporter of Parliamentary reform and an early advocate of the secret ballot. In 1830, at the height of the agitation over the Great Reform Bill, he stood for Parliament in the by-election for

that followed Brougham's appointment as Lord Chancellor, but was defeated by another Whig. However, at the general election the following year both men were returned unopposed, and Strickland helped vote the Reform Bill into law. His own

constituency was divided under the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), and he stood and was elected for the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...

, which he continued to represent until

1841 Events January–March * January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom and Qishan of the Qing dynasty agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. * January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the ...

. In 1840 he attended the

World Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The excl ...

in London as a corresponding member of the society. In 1841, he was instead elected member for Preston, a constituency he served for a further sixteen years. He remained a reforming member throughout his career, also advocating church reform and relief for dissenters. Boynton Hall

Strickland was a well known breeder of racehorses. He lived mainly at Boynton, though his address is recorded as Hildenley in his return as MP for Yorkshire in 1831. In 1844 it seems to have been his opposition that was the principal objection to a projected railway joining

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, proposed by

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the Railway Mania, railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a ...

, which would have passed through Boynton; the railway was never built. In 1865, he inherited from Nathaniel Cholmley extensive estates at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

, Howsham and North Elmsall. In accordance with the terms of Cholmley's will, Strickland adopted by Royal Licence the surname Cholmley and the arms of Cholmley and Wentworth in place of his own and lived the remaining nine years of his life as Sir George Cholmley. On his death in 1874, however, his eldest son and heir

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

reverted to the Strickland surname and arms.

Marriage and children

Strickland married Mary Constable, daughter of the Reverend Charles Constable of Wassand in 1818. They had three sons and at least one daughter. #

, the eldest son, succeeded to the baronetcy was one of the first winners at

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

. # Frederick, the middle son, was friends with

Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...

and whose death on 19 October 1849—from hypothermia after falling in a stream and getting lost on his snowy October descent from Mount Washington, New Hampshire—Galton described # Lucy Henrietta Strickland (1822–8 July 1871), daughter, married, on 19 December 1844, to James Marriott (died 10 October 1871). # Henry, the youngest son, by whom are descended the Strickland-Constables of Wassand who now hold the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, which they inherited after the direct Strickland line failed in 1938. He married secondly Jane Leavens (1809-1898) in May 1867 and they had three children: Harry Walter Cholmley (1841-1901), Rosamond Jane Cholmley (1843-1894), and Alfred John Cholmley (1845-1932). The latter, an amateur ornithologist, travelled in 1896 to the Sudan with the explorer Theodore Bent.''Ancestry'' (accessed 26/4/2025); ''The Ibis'', Vol.II. 7th Series, 1896, p.157.

References

Sources

* Memorial inscription, Boynton Church, Yorkshire * A Gooder (ed.) ''The Parliamentary Representation of Yorkshire, 1258-1832'' (Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Record Series, 1935) * J Holladay Philbin, ''Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965) * M Stenton (ed.), ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume I: 1832-1885'' (Hassocks: Harvester Press, 1976) * Victoria County History of the East Riding of Yorkshire

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Strickland, George 1782 births 1874 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Strickland, Sir George, 7th Baronet UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857