John Dodson, 1st Baron Monk Bretton
Encyclopedia
John George Dodson, 1st Baron Monk Bretton PC (18 October 1825 – 25 May 1897), known before 1884 as John George Dodson, was a British
Liberal politician. He was Chairman of Ways and Means
(Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons) between 1865 and 1872 and later held office under William Ewart Gladstone
as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
, President of the Local Government Board
and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
. In 1884 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Monk Bretton
.
, of St. George's Hanover Square, London
, and his wife Frances Priscilla, daughter of George Pearson, MD, FRS. He was educated at Eton
(1837–1842), where he won HRH the Prince Consort's Prize for French and Italian in 1842, and came second for French and German in 1841 and 1842, and was later a Fellow (1876–1880). He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford
on 9 June 1843, (BA 1847, MA 1851), and was called to the Bar
, Lincoln's Inn
, in 1853.
in 1852 (he came third with 1637 votes, behind Augustus Eliott Fuller with 2155 and Charles Hay Frewen with 1974) and March 1857, but was elected for the constituency in April 1857. He would hold this seat until 1874. He served as Chairman of Ways and Means
(Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons) from February 1865 to April 1872 and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1872.
In 1873 he was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury
in the Liberal administration
of William Ewart Gladstone
, a post he held until the government fell the following year. In 1874 Dodson was elected to parliament for Chester, and served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 1874 to 1876.
In 1880 he was again elected for Chester and appointed President of the Local Government Board
, with a seat in the cabinet, in Gladstone's second administration
. According to the rules at the time, he was then forced to contest his constituency again. Dodson was duly elected, but shortly after the original election was declared void on petition. This caused him to seek re-election for another constituency. In July he was returned for Scarborough
, a seat he would hold until 1884.
Dodson remained President of the Local Government Board until 1882, and then served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
from 1882 to 1884. On 4 November 1884 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Monk Bretton, of Conyboro and Hurstpierpoint in the County of Sussex. Lord Monk Bretton later disagreed with Gladstone over Home Rule
.
He was also active in local politics, and served as the first Chairman of the East Sussex County Council from 1889 to 1892. He was a long serving director and trustee of the Rock Life Assurance Company and a director of Brill's Brighton Baths Company. He was a member of the University, Reform
, and Brooks's
Clubs. Late in life he became concerned about the fate of the African elephant, whose salvation he mooted, in letters to The Times, could come through domestication.
, Hurstpierpoint
, Sussex
, in 1856. They had one son and three daughters. They lived at 6, Seamore Place in Mayfair, and at Conyboro', near Lewes
, Sussex. In 1878 Edward Walford described Seamore Place as follows: "Seamore Place is the name of a row of handsome but somewhat old-fashioned mansions, which occupy a sort of cul de sac at the western end of Curzon Street
. They are only nine in number, and their chief fronts look westward over Hyde Park". Lord Monk Bretton died in May 1897, aged 71, and was succeeded in the barony by his only son John William Dodson
.
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...
Liberal politician. He was Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
(Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons) between 1865 and 1872 and later held office under William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
as Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
, President of the Local Government Board
President of the Local Government Board
The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the...
and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
. In 1884 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Monk Bretton
Baron Monk Bretton
Baron Monk Bretton, of Conyboro and Hurstpierpoint in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1884 for the Liberal politician John George Dodson. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He was notably chairman of the London County Council from...
.
Background and education
Dodson was the only son of the lawyer and judge Sir John Dodson, Dean of the ArchesDean of Arches
The Dean of Arches is the judge who sits at the ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. This appeal court is commonly called the Arches Court....
, of St. George's Hanover Square, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and his wife Frances Priscilla, daughter of George Pearson, MD, FRS. He 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"....
(1837–1842), where he won HRH the Prince Consort's Prize for French and Italian in 1842, and came second for French and German in 1841 and 1842, and was later a Fellow (1876–1880). He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
on 9 June 1843, (BA 1847, MA 1851), and was called to the Bar
Call 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 a "call to the bar"...
, Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, in 1853.
Political career
Dodson unsuccessfully contested East SussexEast Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)
East Sussex was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Sussex, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system....
in 1852 (he came third with 1637 votes, behind Augustus Eliott Fuller with 2155 and Charles Hay Frewen with 1974) and March 1857, but was elected for the constituency in April 1857. He would hold this seat until 1874. He served as Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
(Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons) from February 1865 to April 1872 and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1872.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
in the Liberal administration
Liberal Government 1868-1874
The Conservative government under Benjamin Disraeli had been defeated at the General Election, so in December 1868 the victorious William Gladstone formed his first government. He introduced reforms in the Army , the legal system and the Civil Service, and disestablished the Church of Ireland...
of William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, a post he held until the government fell the following year. In 1874 Dodson was elected to parliament for Chester, and served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 1874 to 1876.
In 1880 he was again elected for Chester and appointed President of the Local Government Board
President of the Local Government Board
The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the...
, with a seat in the cabinet, in Gladstone's second administration
Liberal Government 1880-1885
After ardently campaigning against the foreign policy of Lord Beaconsfield's Conservative Government, William Gladstone led the Liberal Party to victory in the United Kingdom General Election of 1880. The nominal leader of the Party, Lord Hartington, resigned in Gladstone's favour and Gladstone....
. According to the rules at the time, he was then forced to contest his constituency again. Dodson was duly elected, but shortly after the original election was declared void on petition. This caused him to seek re-election for another constituency. In July he was returned for Scarborough
Scarborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Scarborough was the name of a constituency in Yorkshire, electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, at two periods. From 1295 until 1918 it was a parliamentary borough consisting only of the town of Scarborough, electing two MPs until 1885 and one from 1885 until 1918...
, a seat he would hold until 1884.
Dodson remained President of the Local Government Board until 1882, and then served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
from 1882 to 1884. On 4 November 1884 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Monk Bretton, of Conyboro and Hurstpierpoint in the County of Sussex. Lord Monk Bretton later disagreed with Gladstone over Home Rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
.
He was also active in local politics, and served as the first Chairman of the East Sussex County Council from 1889 to 1892. He was a long serving director and trustee of the Rock Life Assurance Company and a director of Brill's Brighton Baths Company. He was a member of the University, Reform
Reform Club
The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...
, and Brooks's
Brooks's
Brooks's is one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. From its inception, it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest social order....
Clubs. Late in life he became concerned about the fate of the African elephant, whose salvation he mooted, in letters to The Times, could come through domestication.
Family
Lord Monk Bretton married Florence, second daughter of William John Campion of DannyDanny House
Danny is an impressive Grade I listed Elizabethan red brick Mansion near Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, England. It lies at the northern foot of Wolstonbury Hill and one of the finest stately houses in Sussex, with 56 bedrooms and 28 apartments. The present house was built 1593-95 by George...
, Hurstpierpoint
Hurstpierpoint
Hurstpierpoint is a village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. Together with Sayers Common it forms one of the Mid Sussex civil parishes, with an area of 2029.88 ha and a population of 6,264 persons....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, in 1856. They had one son and three daughters. They lived at 6, Seamore Place in Mayfair, and at Conyboro', near Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex. In 1878 Edward Walford described Seamore Place as follows: "Seamore Place is the name of a row of handsome but somewhat old-fashioned mansions, which occupy a sort of cul de sac at the western end of Curzon Street
Curzon Street
Curzon Street is located within the exclusive Mayfair district of London. The street is located entirely within the W1J postcode district and is 400 yards to the north west of Green Park tube station...
. They are only nine in number, and their chief fronts look westward over Hyde Park". Lord Monk Bretton died in May 1897, aged 71, and was succeeded in the barony by his only son John William Dodson
John William Dodson, 2nd Baron Monk Bretton
John William Dodson, 2nd Baron Monk Bretton, CB , , diplomat, sometime chairman of London County Council, and landowner....
.