Arms of Assheton baronets of Middleton and Downham

Sir Ralph Cockayne Assheton, 1st Baronet, (13 September 1860 – 21 September 1955), was an English public official.

Early life

Ralph Cockayne Assheton was born in 1860 in

Downham, Lancashire Downham is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is in the Ribble Valley district and at the United Kingdom 2001 census had a population of 156. The 2011 Census includes neighbouring Twiston giving a total for both parishes o ...

. His father was Ralph Assheton (1830–1907), who served as Member of Parliament for

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

from 1868 to 1880, and his mother, Emily Augusta Feilden (1834–1916). His uncle was Joseph Feilden (1824–1895), who served as Member of Parliament for North Lancashire from 1880 to 1885. He attended

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and graduated from

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

Career

He served as a member of the

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...

in 1892, as well as Justice of the Peace for the

West Riding of Yorkshire 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 Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

He also served as Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire. He then served as Alderman of Lancashire from 1902 to 1949. Moreover, he served as

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

in 1919. He was created Baronet Assheton, of Downham, on 4 September 1945.

Personal life

He married Mildred Estelle Sybella Master on 27 September 1898. They had four children: *Dorothy Winifred Assheton (1899–1972) * Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe (1901–1984) *Mary Monica Assheton (1903–1982) *Eleanor Assheton (1907–2000) They resided at

Downham Hall Downham Hall is an English country house in Downham, Lancashire, England. Overview Downham Hall was designed by George Webster (1797–1864) in 1835, though it was built on remains from the sixteenth century. It has two storeys and an attic. ...

in Downham, where he was

Lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

. Lady Assheton was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1934 New Year Honours The 1934 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1933. The recipients of honou ...

, for political and public services in Lancashire. She died 18 August 1949. Sir Ralph died in a Manchester hospital on 21 September 1955, following a short illness. The baronetcy was inherited by his only son, who had been created Baron Clitheroe a few months earlier, as part of the

1955 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assheton, Ralph, 1st Baronet 1860 births 1955 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of Lancashire County Council English justices of the peace Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Deputy lieutenants of Lancashire High sheriffs of Lancashire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

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