Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 11th Baronet, FRS (25 May 1809 – 29 May 1898) was a British educational reformer and a politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1837 and 1886 initially as a

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

and later, after an eighteen-year gap, as a

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 ...

Chambers Biographical Dictionary ''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'' provides concise descriptions of over 18,000 notable figures from Britain and the rest of the world. It was first published in 1897. The publishers, Chambers Harrap, who were formerly based in Edinburgh, cla ...

, , page 6.

Early life

Acland was the eldest son of

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet (29 March 1787 – 22 July 1871) was a British politician and baronet. Background Born in London, he was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet and his wife, Henrietta Anne Hoare, daughter ...

and his wife Lydia Elizabeth Hoare. Among his siblings was prominent physician, Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, and politician John Acland. His paternal grandparents were Sir Thomas Acland, 9th Baronet and his wife Henrietta Anne Hoare (daughter of Sir Richard Hoare, 1st Baronet). His maternal grandfather was Henry Hoare of Mitcham Grove of

Hoare's Bank C. Hoare & Co., also known as Hoares, is a British private bank, founded in 1672 by Richard Hoare (banker), Sir Richard Hoare; it is a twelfth generation family business and is owned by eight of Sir Richard's direct descendants. It is the oldest ...

. He was educated at

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

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he was friends with

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

and

Lord Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, ( ; 20 July 176614 November 1841), often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures ...

among others.Debretts Guide to the House of Commons
1886.

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

. In 1839, he was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Career

In 1837, Acland entered Parliament for

Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...

as a

. During the tensions within the Tory party in the 1840s over the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

, Acland supported Sir Robert Peel's free trade policy. He did not stand for Parliament in the 1847 general election and was to remain out of the

for nearly twenty years. Acland showed a strong interest in and commitment to educational reform. He initially promoted the maintenance and defence of church schools and the establishment of diocesan theological colleges. However, he later became a supporter of educational projects of a more Liberal character and played a leading role in the establishment of the Oxford local examinations system in 1858. He was also involved in agricultural issues and was a Trustee of the Royal Agricultural Society. Acland was influential in the recruitment of

Augustus Voelcker John Christopher Augustus Voelcker FRS (24 September 1822 – 5 December 1884) was a Royal Agricultural Society of England chemist. Voelcker was known for his methodical and precise analytical practices as applied to agricultural chemistry. He ...

as consultant agricultural chemist to the

Royal Bath and West of England Society The Royal Bath and West of England Society is a charitable society founded in 1777 to promote and improve agriculture and related activities around the West Country of England. Based at the Royal Bath and West of England Society Showground nea ...

around 1849. Acland served as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the Royal 1st Devonshire Yeomanry Cavalry, and when the

1st Administrative Battalion, Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps The Exeter & South Devon Volunteers was the premier unit of Britain's Volunteer Force. Formed in 1852 it went on to become a battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Both its active service battalions went to garrison India on the outbreak of the Fi ...

, was formed at

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

in August 1860, he became its Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1881, when it became the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, he was made its Honorary Colonel.''Army List''. He was also a J.P. for

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He contested

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

as a moderate Liberal in 1859, but was defeated by

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

. In 1865, Acland returned to the House of Commons as a Liberal when he was elected as one of two representatives for Devonshire North. Between 1869 and 1874, he served as a Church Estates Commissioner. He never held ministerial office, but was sworn of the Privy Council in 1883. The Devonshire North constituency was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 and Acland was instead returned to Parliament for

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He voted for the

First Home Rule Bill The Government of Ireland Bill 1886, commonly known as the First Home Rule Bill, was the first major attempt made by a British government to enact a law creating home rule for part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was intr ...

in June 1885 and this led to him being defeated at the 1886 general election. Apart from his public career Acland was also a patron of art. He was a friend of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

and an early admirer of

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

Personal life

Acland married firstly Mary Mordaunt, daughter of Sir Charles Mordaunt, 8th Baronet, in 1841. Before her death in 1851, they had three sons and two daughters, including: *

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 12th Baronet Sir Charles Thomas Dyke Acland, 12th Baronet, DL, JP (16 July 1842 – 18 February 1919), of Killerton in Devon and of Holnicote in the parish of Selworthy in Somerset, was a large landowner and a British politician and Barrister-at-Law ...

(1842–1919), who married Gertrude Walrond, a daughter of Sir John Walrond, 1st Baronet. * Mary Lydia Acland (b. 1846), who married the Rev. Richard Hart-Davis in 1872. *

Sir Arthur Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet Sir Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet, PC (13 October 18479 October 1926) was a British Liberal politician and political author. He is best remembered for his involvement in education, serving as Vice-President of the Council of Educat ...

(1847–1926), who married Alice Cunningham, a daughter of Rev. Francis Macaulay Cunningham. * Agnes Henrietta Acland (1851–1935), who married Frederick Henry Anson, son of Rev. Frederick Anson. He married secondly Mary Erskine, only surviving child of John Erskine, in 1856. This marriage was childless. Lady Acland died in May 1892. Acland survived her by six years and died in May 1898, aged 89. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, who was also a politician. Acland's second son

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, who succeeded to the baronetcy in 1919, also had a successful political career.

Notes

References

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Thomas Dyke, 11th Baronet 1809 births 1898 deaths

207 Year 207 (Roman numerals, CCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 960 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...

Thomas Dyke 1809 People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry officers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Oxford Union Church Estates Commissioners