William Cuthbert Quilter Vanity Fair 1889-02-09

Sir William Cuthbert Quilter, 1st Baronet (29 January 1841 – 18 November 1911) was an English stock broker, art collector and Liberal/

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

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 ...

from 1885 to 1906.

Life

Quilter was born at Finsbury, the son of William Quilter (1808–1888) and his wife Elizabeth Harriet Cuthbert. His father was a prominent accountant with the firm of Quilter, Ball & Co and was instrumental in the foundation of the Institute of Accountants. Quilter was educated privately. He became a stockbroker and would eventually head the firm of Quilter Balfour & Co.Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
/ref> He was an art collector, and one of the founders of the

National Telephone Company The National Telephone Company (NTC) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British telephone company, which from 1881 to 1911 consolidated smaller local companies in the early years of telephone adoption. The British government natio ...

. He was commodore of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club and a member of the council of the Yacht Racing Association. In the 1885 general election, Quilter was elected Member of Parliament for

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

as a Liberal, and was returned in

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

as a

. In 1886, he introduced a bill 'for better securing the Purity of Beer'. He held the seat until 1906. Quilter built

Bawdsey Manor Bawdsey Manor stands at a prominent position at the mouth of the River Deben close to the village of Bawdsey in Suffolk, England, about north-east of London. Built in 1886, it was enlarged in 1895 as the principal residence of Sir Will ...

in 1886 and established a steam powered chain ferry ( Bawdsey Ferry) in 1894 to cross the

River Deben The River Deben is a river in Suffolk rising to the west of Debenham, though a second, higher source runs south from the parish of Bedingfield. The river passes through Woodbridge, turning into a tidal estuary before entering the North Sea at ...

and provide access to

Felixstowe railway station Felixstowe railway station is the eastern passenger terminus of the Felixstowe Branch Line, in the east of England and is the only surviving station serving the coastal town of Felixstowe, Suffolk. It is down the line from and measured from ...

which ran until 1931. He enlarged the manor house in 1895. He also owned Hintlesham Hall. Quilter was created a

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 ...

on 13 September 1897. Quilter married Mary Ann Bevington in 1867. Their eldest son

Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

succeeded to the baronetcy and was also MP for Sudbury. His second son, Lt. Col. John Arnold Cuthbert Quilter served in the Royal Naval Division in World War 1, and was killed at Gallipoli on 6 May 1915. Quilter's battalion had included the poet Rupert Brooke, who had died of illness on 23 April. Another son

Roger Quilter Roger Cuthbert Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the English ...

was a composer. Quilter's younger brother

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

was an eminent art critic. Quilter died at the age of 70.

References

External links

* * 1841 births 1911 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 British stockbrokers Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub