Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, 1st Baronet, (30 September 1819 – 9 June 1900) was an English

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 ...

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

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 1869 and 1892.

Life

Brooks was the son of Samuel Brooks, a banker of Manchester and his wife Margaret Hall daughter of Thomas Hall. Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> After his education at Rugby and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

he was called to the Bar at

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 1847. He went 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, ...

until the death of his father in 1864 when he became sole partner of Cunliffe Brooks and Co,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He opened Brooks and Co., 81

Lombard Street, London Lombard Street () is a street notable for its connections with the City of London's merchant, banking and insurance industries, stretching back to medieval times. From Bank junction, where nine streets converge by the Bank of England, Lombard ...

. He was a J.P. for Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester, and deputy lieutenant for Lancashire and Aberdeen. His main residence for most of that time was the historic Barlow Hall,

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Chorlton (ward), Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, and Chorlton Park (w ...

. In 1869 Brooks was elected at a by-election as a

Member of Parliament (MP) for East Cheshire. He held the seat until it was divided under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

, and at the 1885 general election he unsuccessfully contested the new Macclesfield division. The

baronet 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 ...

cy was conferred on him on 4 March 1886. Sayers, R. S. (1957) ''

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...

in the History of English Banking''. London: Oxford University Press, p. 331. At the 1886 election he was elected as MP for

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

, holding the seat until he stood down at the 1892 general election. Brooks was a notable benefactor to Sale, Cheshire;

Hale, Greater Manchester Hale is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and became part of Greater Manchester in 1974. It lies about southwest ...

; and

. He had a major influence on the estate of Glen Tanar, near

Aboyne Aboyne (, ) is a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis cou ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. At first he leased the estate from

Charles Gordon, 11th Marquess of Huntly Charles Gordon, 11th Marquess of Huntly, PC, DL, JP (5 March 1847 – 20 February 1937), styled Lord Strathavon until 1853 and Earl of Aboyne between 1853 and 1863, was a Scottish Liberal politician. He served under William Ewart Gladstone, ...

, who married his elder daughter. He then bought the estate in 1890. Brooks lavished money on Glen Tanar, building a large house, cottages for estate workers, a school, stables and kennels. He also installed numerous carved stones and memorials in the surrounding countryside, many of which make playful references to his name or celebrate the virtues of drinking water rather than alcohol. Brooks died at Glen Tana (as he preferred to spell the name) at the age of 80.

Family

Brooks married Jane Elizabeth Orrell, daughter of Ralph Orrell in 1842. They had no sons but two daughters (other children died in infancy). Their elder daughter, Amy, married Charles Gordon, 11th Marquis of Huntly. Their second daughter, Edith, married Lord Francis Horace Pierrepont Cecil, second son of

William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter William Alleyne Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter PC (30 April 1825 – 14 July 1895), styled Lord Burghley between 1825 and 1867, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household between 1866 and 1867 and a ...

. They have many descendants in both England and America, including Sir James Cockburn, Lady Ethel Cecil, Diana Lewis and Isabella Overington. After the death of his wife, in 1879 Brooks married secondly Jane Davidson (1852-1946), daughter of Lieutenant Colonel David Davidson KCB of

Haddington, East Lothian The Royal Burgh of Haddington (, ) is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the six ...

.Grave of Jane Davidson, St Marys Haddington

References

9. Brooks Peerage, wills, letters, and family papers.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Sir William Cunliffe, 1st Baronet 1819 births 1900 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy lieutenants of Lancashire English bankers People educated at Rugby School UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1886–1892 19th-century English businesspeople Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society People from Aboyne