Thomas Gair Ashton, 1st Baron Ashton of Hyde (5 February 1855 – 1 May 1933), was a British

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, Liberal

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 ...

and peer.

Early life and career

Ashton was born at

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a bustling area of Manchester with a population of 14,869 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east&n ...

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 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, the son of Thomas Ashton (died 1898) and Elizabeth Gair, daughter of Samuel Stillman Gair of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. Ashton was baptised on 5 February 1855. The Ashton family had been prominent in the cotton and cloth manufacturing industry for many years. He was educated at Rugby and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, and later managed the family business.

Political career

Ashton was elected to 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 ...

for Hyde in 1885 but lost his seat the following year. Ashton then married Eva Margret James in 1866 at All Saints Church. He unsuccessfully contested the same seat again in 1892, but in 1895 he was returned for

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, a seat he held until 1911. That year, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Ashton of Hyde in the County of Chester. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as Chairman of the Cotton Exports Committee. Apart from his political career, Ashton was a Justice of the Peace for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and Mountfield, East Sussex, elected to membership of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society on 18 October1881 and was invested as an Honorary

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in 1923.

Family

Two of Ashton's sisters married the Lupton brothers: Sir Charles Lupton to Katharine and Arthur Lupton to Harriet. Lord Ashton's first cousin, Helen Potter (née Leech), was the mother of

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

. Ashton married Eva Margaret James, daughter of

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

and his wife, Jane Ramsden Ashworth, in 1886. They had four children: two sons and two daughters: * Thomas Henry Ashton (8 October 1887 – 20 September 1897) * Marion Evelyn Ashton (born 1890) married Major Robert Wood. * Margaret Joan Ashton (born 1893) married

Hugh Whistler Hugh Whistler (28 September 1889 – 7 July 1943), Zoological Society of London, F.Z.S., British Ornithologists' Union, M.B.O.U. was an England, English police officer and ornithologist who worked in India. He wrote one of the first field guides t ...

. * Thomas Henry Raymond Ashton (2 October 1901 – 21 March 1983) succeeded his father in the barony.

Death

Ashton died on 1 May 1933, aged 78, in Vinehall Street, Sussex, and was succeeded in the title by his second but eldest-surviving son, Thomas Henry Raymond Ashton. Lady Ashton of Hyde died in 1938.

References

Sources

*Legg, L. G. Wickham Legg (editor). ''The Dictionary of National Biography, 1931-1940''. Oxford University Press, 1949. *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton Of Hyde, Thomas Ashton, 1st Baron 1855 births 1933 deaths 1 People from Fallowfield People educated at Rugby School Alumni of University College, Oxford Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas Ashton, Thomas UK MPs who were granted peerages

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 ...

Barons created by George V