Window 12thAclandBaronet 1924 SelworthyChurch

Sir Charles Thomas Dyke Acland, 12th Baronet, DL, JP (16 July 1842 – 18 February 1919), of

Killerton Killerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public. The National Trust displays the house as a comforta ...

in Devon and of Holnicote in the parish of

Selworthy Selworthy is a small village and civil parish from Minehead in Somerset, England. It is located in the National Trust's Holnicote Estate on the northern fringes of Exmoor. The parish includes the hamlets of Bossington, Tivington, Lynch, Brand ...

in Somerset, was a large landowner and a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

politician and

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...

. He was known to family and friends as "Charlie", but demanded to be known in public as "Sir Thomas", not only because that was the traditional name of the Aclands, there having been a "Sir Thomas Acland" at Killerton for 170 years, but also because following the creation of a second and much newer Acland Baronetcy ("of St Mary Magdalen in Oxford") in 1890, for his uncle Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, 1st Baronet (the fourth son of the tenth Baronet), he wished people to know "which was the real head and owner of Killerton".

Origins

Born in Queen Anne Street in

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 was the son of

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 11th Baronet Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 11th Baronet, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (25 May 1809 – 29 May 1898) was a British educational reformer and a politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons between 1837 and 18 ...

and Mary Mordaunt.

Education

Dyke Acland was educated at

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 ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

and at

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 graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1866 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1868.

Career

In 1869 he was

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 ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. In 1898 he succeeded to his father's

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 ...

. He served in the 1st Devon Yeomanry Cavalry, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was Deputy Warden of the Stannaries and Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for East Cornwall from 1882 to 1885 and for Launceston from 1885 to 1892. In 1886, he was Church-estates Commissioner and

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom was a member of Parliament assigned to assist the Board of Trade and its President with administration and liaison with Parliament. It replaced the Vice-President of the Board ...

. Dyke Acland was a Deputy Lieutenant of

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 ...

and

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 a Justice of Peace for Somerset and Devon. In 1903, he became

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

Marriage

On 1 November 1879 in All Saints' Chapel in

Uffculme Uffculme (, ) is a village and civil parish located in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. Situated in the Blackdown Hills National Landscape, Blackdown Hills on the B3440, close to the M5 motorway and the Bristol–Exeter line, Bristol– ...

, he married Gertrude Walrond, a daughter of Sir John Walrond, 1st Baronet, of Bradfield House,

in Devon, The marriage was childless.

Gift to National Trust

In February 1917 he granted a 500-year lease of almost 8,000 acres of the picturesque and virtually pristine Holnicote Estate on

Exmoor Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...

, "one of the most beautiful pieces of wild country to be found in England" 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 ...

, in order to preserve it from future development. This more than doubled the extent of the lands controlled by the National Trust, then only recently created. His brother and successor Arthur and nephew Francis, 13th & 14th Baronets respectively, co-operated in the negotiations concerning the gift. The lease was converted into an outright gift 35 years later by his great-nephew Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland, 15th Baronet (1906-1990), who also donated Killerton.Acland, A., p. 150

Death and succession

He died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother Sir Arthur Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet (1847-1926).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Thomas Dyke, 12th Baronet 1842 births 1919 deaths 208 Thomas Dyke 1842 Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Deputy lieutenants of Devon High sheriffs of Devon People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Politicians from Cornwall Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry officers Members of the Inner Temple English Anglicans 19th-century English politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Launceston Church Estates Commissioners English barristers