Sir (William) Marcus John Worsley, 5th Baronet (6 April 1925 – 18 December 2012), was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament in four parliaments between 1959 and 1974, and served as High Sheriff and

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

for

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

Early life and education

Worsley was born in the family home of Hovingham Hall, near

Malton, North Yorkshire Malton is a market town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshi ...

, the eldest son of Colonel Sir William Worsley, 4th Baronet, and Joyce Morgan Brunner. He was the eldest brother of

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley; 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Catholicism i ...

. He was educated at Eton. After conscripted service in the

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

, which included a

secondment Secondment is the temporary assignment of a member of one organization to another organization. In some jurisdictions, .g., Indiasuch temporary transfer of employees is called "on deputation". Job rotation The employee typically retains their s ...

to the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the British West Africa, West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Sierra Leone ...

, he graduated as BA from

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, in 1949.

Career

Worsley was a Councillor on Malton

Rural District A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...

Council from 1955, serving as vice-chairman in 1965. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1955 election for the marginal constituency of

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. However, at the 1959 election he defeated the sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Hobson, taking the seat with a majority of only 170. At the 1964 general election, he lost his Keighley seat to Labour's John Binns, but for the 1966 election he was selected as candidate for the safe

Conservative 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 civiliza ...

seat of Chelsea in west

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He held that seat for three Parliaments, before retiring at the October 1974 general election. He served as the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the church of England's link to the House of Commons, from 1970 to 1974. In 1973, when he inherited the title and estate, he moved back into Hovingham Hall and managed the estate. In 1982 he was appointed High Sheriff of North Yorkshire. In 1978 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for North Yorkshire, serving as

from 1987 to 1999. He also served the county as High Sheriff from 1982 to 1983. He was appointed a Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John in 1987. Worsley was active in the National Trust becoming Chairman of the Yorkshire Regional Committee between 1969 and 1994 and for a time Chair of the Trust's Properties Committee, overseeing approval of the acquisition of many significant property acquisitions including Canons Ashby (1981), Belton House (1984), Calke Abbey (1985) and Keddleston Hall (1987). He served as Deputy Chairman of the Trust between 1986 and 1992.

Marriage and children

In 1955 Worsley married the Hon. Bridget Assheton (20 August 1926 – 22 May 2004), daughter of Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe, and the Hon. Sylvia Benita Frances Hotham. They had four children together: * Sir William Ralph Worsley, 6th Baronet (born 12 September 1956) * Sarah Marianne Worsley (born 25 June 1958) * Giles Arthington Worsley (22 March 1961 – 17 January 2006) * Peter Marcus Worsley (born 15 September 1963)

Death

Worsley died on 18 December 2012 at Hovingham Hall at the age of 87 and was buried in Hovingham cemetery. His eldest son William succeeded to the baronetcy.

References

External links

*
Hovingham Hall website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Marcus 1925 births 2012 deaths People from Hovingham Alumni of New College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Councillors in North Yorkshire UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 Lord-lieutenants of North Yorkshire Deputy lieutenants of North Yorkshire High sheriffs of Yorkshire Knights of Justice of the Order of St John Green Howards officers Church Estates Commissioners Marcus Worsley English justices of the peace People educated at Eton College