Charles Morrison
Encyclopedia
Sir Charles Andrew Morrison (25 June 1932 – 9 May 2005) was a Conservative
politician in the United Kingdom
, MP
for Devizes constituency
from 1964 until 1992.
, a Wiltshire
landowner and Conservative
Member of Parliament
who was later ennobled as Baron Margadale
, and was educated at Eton
.
Morrison's great-great-grandfather James Morrison created the family's great fortune by stockpiling black crepe fabric in readiness for the mourning
of King William IV in 1837, becoming known as "the richest commoner in the Empire". In the 1830s, he circumvented high tariffs on pairs of gloves by importing right-handed gloves through Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
, and left-handed ones through Southampton
.
Morrison was the brother of Peter Morrison
, who became member of parliament for Chester
, while his sister, Dame Mary Morrison, was a Woman of the Bedchamber
to Queen Elizabeth II for forty years.
After Eton and National Service
in the Life Guards
, Morrison went up to Cambridge
for two years, but left, explaining later that "I was just wasting my time and didn't feel like a third year... But I did leave voluntarily." He then trained at the Royal Agricultural College
, Cirencester
, before starting work on managing the family estates.
and chaired its Education Committee in 1963-1964. He entered Parliament in May 1964 at a by-election
in the Devizes constituency
which followed the death of Percivall Pott
, holding the seat for the Conservatives against all opinion poll forecasts and against the trend in three other by-elections held on the same day. This was put down to his being well-known, popular and active in the constituency. His campaign had the support of Ian Fleming
, a relation by marriage of Morrison's wife Sara, who wrote an article called To Westminster with Love beginning with the words "Charles Morrison - Licensed to Kill."
Soon after his election to parliament, Morrison supported Ted Heath's bid for the party leadership and went on to serve as shadow minister for sport. However, when his party returned to power under Heath in 1970, Morrison failed to be given a job in the new government.
In 1966, Morrison bought Fyfield Manor near Pewsey in Wiltshire
from the former Prime Minister
Anthony Eden
. As a landowner and Conservative Party MP his moderate views did not find favour with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
.
He was Member of Parliament
for Devizes from 1964 until his retirement in 1992, when he was succeeded by Michael Ancram
. He was knight
ed in 1988.
and his wife Frances Laura Charteris. They had two children, but the marriage ended in divorce. In 1984 he married secondly Rosalind Elizabeth Lygon. They also divorced.
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Devizes constituency
Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)
Devizes is a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is now represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England....
from 1964 until 1992.
Background
Morrison was the son of John MorrisonJohn Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale
Major John Granville Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale, TD, DL was a British Conservative Party politician.He was appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 1938 and was Member of Parliament for Salisbury from 1942 until 1965....
, a Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
landowner and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
who was later ennobled as Baron Margadale
Baron Margadale
Baron Margadale, of Islay in the County of Argyll, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1965 for the Conservative politician John Morrison. As of 2009 the title is held by his grandson, the third Baron, who succeeded his father in 2003. The barony of Margadale is the...
, and was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
.
Morrison's great-great-grandfather James Morrison created the family's great fortune by stockpiling black crepe fabric in readiness for the mourning
Mourning
Mourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate...
of King William IV in 1837, becoming known as "the richest commoner in the Empire". In the 1830s, he circumvented high tariffs on pairs of gloves by importing right-handed gloves through Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Yarmouth is a port and civil parish in the western part of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of mainland England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river...
, and left-handed ones through Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
.
Morrison was the brother of Peter Morrison
Peter Morrison
Sir Peter Hugh Morrison PC was a British Conservative politician, MP for Chester from 1974 to 1992, and Parliamentary Private Secretary to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.-Education:...
, who became member of parliament for Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, while his sister, Dame Mary Morrison, was a Woman of the Bedchamber
Woman of the Bedchamber
In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Woman of the Bedchamber is used to describe a woman attending either a queen regnant or queen consort, in the role of Lady-in-Waiting...
to Queen Elizabeth II for forty years.
After Eton and National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the Life Guards
Life Guards
Life Guards may refer to several military regiments:*Life Guards *Life Guards *Russian Imperial Guard*Garde du Corps , during the Ancien Régime...
, Morrison went up to Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
for two years, but left, explaining later that "I was just wasting my time and didn't feel like a third year... But I did leave voluntarily." He then trained at the Royal Agricultural College
Royal Agricultural College
The Royal Agricultural College is a higher education institution located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English speaking world...
, Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, before starting work on managing the family estates.
Career
In 1958, Morrison became a member of Wiltshire County CouncilWiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county....
and chaired its Education Committee in 1963-1964. He entered Parliament in May 1964 at a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in the Devizes constituency
Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)
Devizes is a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is now represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England....
which followed the death of Percivall Pott
Percivall Pott (politician)
Henry Percivall Pott, usually known as H. Percivall Pott was a British farmer, company director and politician...
, holding the seat for the Conservatives against all opinion poll forecasts and against the trend in three other by-elections held on the same day. This was put down to his being well-known, popular and active in the constituency. His campaign had the support of Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, a relation by marriage of Morrison's wife Sara, who wrote an article called To Westminster with Love beginning with the words "Charles Morrison - Licensed to Kill."
Soon after his election to parliament, Morrison supported Ted Heath's bid for the party leadership and went on to serve as shadow minister for sport. However, when his party returned to power under Heath in 1970, Morrison failed to be given a job in the new government.
In 1966, Morrison bought Fyfield Manor near Pewsey in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
from the former Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
. As a landowner and Conservative Party MP his moderate views did not find favour with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
He was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Devizes from 1964 until his retirement in 1992, when he was succeeded by Michael Ancram
Michael Ancram
Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian, PC, QC , known as Michael Ancram, is a United Kingdom Conservative Party politician. He is a member of the House of Lords, former Member of Parliament, and a former member of the Shadow Cabinet...
. He was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1988.
Marriages
Morrison married firstly, on 28 October 1954, Antoinette Sara Frances Sibell Long, the only child of the 2nd Viscount LongWalter Long, 2nd Viscount Long
Walter Francis David Long, 2nd Viscount Long was a British peer.The eldest son of Brigadier General Walter Long, CMG, DSO , Long was educated at St David's School, Reigate, and later at Eton on the insistence of his mother, who had remarried in 1921 to Baron Glyn. Traditionally the Longs were...
and his wife Frances Laura Charteris. They had two children, but the marriage ended in divorce. In 1984 he married secondly Rosalind Elizabeth Lygon. They also divorced.