William Cope, 1st Baron Cope, (18 August 1870 – 15 July 1946), known as Sir William Cope, Bt, between 1928 and 1945, was a Welsh Conservative Party politician, who was also notable as an international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was Member of Parliament for Llandaff and Barry from 1918 to 1929, was made 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 ...

in 1928 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Cope in July 1945.

Background and education

He was born in

Roath Roath () is a district and Community (Wales), community to the north-east of the Cardiff city centre, city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. The area is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdown in the so ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, in 1870, the son of Matthew Cope from

St Mellons St Mellons () is a district and suburb of eastern Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Prior to 1996 St Mellons was the name given to the community largely north of Newport Road (B4487) which included the old St Mellons village. After 1996 the o ...

and Margaret Harrison. He was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

and matriculated at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

in 1888, graduating B.A. in 1891 and M.A. in 1895. He was admitted to 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 ...

, and in 1894 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 ...

. He practised as a London barrister for about nine years. His father, who died in 1933, was described in an obituary as "a pioneer of the South Wales coal trade". He was associated with

Cardiff Docks Cardiff Docks () is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coalfield, South Wales coal, the Po ...

, and chaired the board of the Albion Steam Coal Company, which ran the Albion colliery. William Cope joined the board in 1907. The position came to an end in 1910, with a takeover by the Cambrian Combine.

Political career

With the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

in 1914, Cope joined the

Glamorgan Yeomanry The Glamorgan Yeomanry was a Welsh auxiliary cavalry regiment of the British Army originally raised in the late 18th century as a result of concern over the threat of invasion by the French. It was used for aiding the civil powers in South Wales ...

, rising to the rank of major. He failed a medical test for military service abroad. In 1918, he ran for Parliament, winning for the seat of Llandaff and Barry. In 1923 he became a Junior Lord of the Treasury, a post he held until 1928, with a break during the brief Labour Government of 1924. In 1928 he was created a

, of St Mellons in the County of Monmouth. After the Treasury Cope was given the role of

Comptroller of the Royal Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British Royal Households of the United Kingdom, royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptro ...

, a role he undertook for just a year when he left government in 1929. He held several offices in his home county of

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. He was a Justice of the Peace, and a Deputy Lieutenant and in 1932 was made

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires w ...

. In 1933 he was invested as a King's Council. In July 1945 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Cope, of St Mellons in the County of Monmouth.

Rugby career

Cope first came to note as a rugby player when he played for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

while a student. In 1891 he played in

The Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic ...

against Oxford, gaining a sporting Blue. From 1891 through to 1895 Cope turned out for his home club of

,Davies (1975), p. 238. and after leaving university he also represented first class English team Blackheath. During the 1891–1892 season Cope became a member of invitational team the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

in only their second year. Four years later, Cope was selected to represent Wales as part of the

1896 Home Nations Championship The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

in a match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Cope was brought in to a much changed team after a disastrous opening match of the tournament against England; the selectors reacting to a 25–0 scoreline by selecting five new caps in the pack. Cope was one of the new members, who under the leadership of Arthur "Monkey" Gould, managed to beat Scotland 6–0. Despite the victory, this was Cope's only international game, being replaced by a returning

Arthur Boucher Arthur Boucher (29 June 1870 – 25 April 1948) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport. Boucher was an adaptable player, who although selected mainly as a forward, often played at centre. He was strong ...

in the next match of the Championship.

Family

Cope married Helen Shuldham (died 21 January 1961), daughter of Alexander Shuldham of Flowerfield,

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

, Ireland, on 5 September 1900. They had two children. He died in July 1946, aged 75, when the baronetcy and barony became extinct: their son and heir to the titles William Shuldham Cope had died in Australia in the preceding years. Quarry Hill House in Cardiff was a family property. William Shuldham Cope was born in 1902. He 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 ...

, and joined the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WLSH GDS; ), part of the Guards and Parachute Division, Guards Division, is one of the Foot guards, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the World War I, First ...

. In 1928 he was a sheep farmer in New Zealand. Later he was in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, working for the Quaker Finance Corporation. The daughter, Helen Margaret Letitia, married in 1940 Stephen John Valentine Simpson of Spitchwick.

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, William 1870 births 1946 deaths Alumni of University College London Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I British sportsperson-politicians Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Cardiff RFC players Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Glamorgan Yeomanry officers High sheriffs of Glamorgan Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies Barons created by George VI People educated at Repton School Politicians from Cardiff Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Cardiff Treasurers of the Household UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs who were granted peerages Wales international rugby union players Welsh barristers Welsh rugby union players