Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel (2 July 1834 – 4 June 1913), was a British industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal politician. He sat as a Liberal Member of Parliament for

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

between 1880 and 1894, and was recognised as the leader of the Welsh MPs. He was a benefactor to the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth and served as its president from 1895 to 1913.

Background and education

Rendel was born at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter 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 ...

, the son of the civil engineer James Meadows Rendel and his wife Catherine Jane, daughter of W. J. Harris.Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel
in the ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

'' at the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

thepeerage.com Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel of Hatchlands
/ref> He was the brother of civil engineers

Alexander Meadows Rendel Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel, (3 April 1829 – 23 January 1918) was an English people, English civil engineer. Early life Rendel was born in Plymouth, the eldest son of the engineer James Meadows Rendel (engineer), James Meadows Rendel and ...

and Hamilton Owen Rendel, and of

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

George Wightwick Rendel George Wightwick Rendel (6 February 1833 – 9 October 1902) was an English engineer, and naval architect. He was closely associated with the Tyneside industrialist and armaments manufacturer, William George Armstrong. Family George was the th ...

. 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 ...

, Rendel then attended

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, graduating in 1856 with a fourth-class degree in classical studies.Grigg, John
"Rendel, Stuart, Baron Rendel (1834–1913)"
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Retrieved 19 August 2013 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 ...

in 1861, but was mostly involved in engineering, becoming manager of the London branch of

Armstrong Mitchell Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...

, the engineering company specialising in hydraulic power for civil engineering projects.

Political career

Rendel was the Liberal Member of Parliament for

between 1880 and his retirement in March 1894. Although an Englishman and an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, he was popular in his Welsh-speaking constituency, and was nicknamed "the member for Wales" because of his vocal support for Welsh-related causes, such as the creation of the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

. A close friend and associate of

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 ...

, he was recognised as the leader of the Welsh members of parliament. He also supported

disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...

. On his retirement from the House of Commons in 1894 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Rendel, of Hatchlands in the County of Surrey. Apart from his political career, Rendel was a benefactor to the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth and served as its president from 1895 to 1913. He donated land for the establishment of the

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

, where many of his papers have been deposited.

Family

Rendel married Ellen Sophy, daughter of William Egerton Hubbard, in 1857. They had four daughters. The second of these, the Honourable Maud Ernestine Rendel, married Henry Gladstone, later 1st (and last) Baron Gladstone of Hawarden, the third son of Rendel's close friend,

. In 1888 Rendel acquired

Hatchlands Park Hatchlands Park is a red-brick country house with surrounding gardens in East Clandon, Surrey, England, covering 170 hectares (430 acres). It is located near Guildford along the A246 between East Clandon and West Horsley. Hatchlands Park has b ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

from the Sumner family. Lady Rendel died in May 1912, aged 74. Her husband survived her by just over a year and died at his London home, 10 Palace Green,

Kensington Palace Gardens Kensington Palace Gardens is an exclusive street in Kensington, west of central London, near Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace. Entered through gates at either end and guarded by sentry boxes, it was the location of the London Cage, t ...

, in June 1913, aged 78. The peerage became extinct on his death, for he had no sons. Rendel's eldest daughter, Rose Ellen, married

Harry Goodhart Harry Chester Goodhart (17 July 1858 – 21 April 1895) was an English amateur footballer who played as a forward in four FA Cup Finals for Old Etonians, before going on to become Professor of Humanity at the University of Edinburgh. Early li ...

, a former international footballer who became Professor of Latin at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. Their only son,

Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (1887 in Cambridge – 21 June 1959 in Westminster, London) was a British architect, writer and musician. Life Harry Stuart Goodhart was born on 29 May 1887 in Cambridge, England. He added the additional name Rende ...

, inherited Hatchlands and became a celebrated architect.

Later life

At the

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

of William Ewart Gladstone at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, Rendel acted as a pallbearer, along with the Prince of Wales (the future King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

) and the Duke of York (the future King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

References

External links

*
History of Hatchlands Park
as seen on the National Trust's web site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rendel 1834 births 1913 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs who were granted peerages Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria