Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 11th Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 11th Baronet FRS (25 May 1809 – 29 May 1898) was a British educational reformer and a politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1837 to 1886 initially as a Tory and later, after an eighteen year gap, as a Liberal
.
Acland was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet, and his wife Lydia Elizabeth Hoare, daughter of Henry Hoare, a partner in the banking firm of C. Hoare & Co
. Sir Henry Wentworth Acland was his younger brother. He was educated at Harrow
and Christ Church, Oxford
, where he was friends with William Ewart Gladstone
and Lord Elgin
among others. He was a major in the Royal Devonshire Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1839 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society
.
In 1837 Acland entered Parliament for Somerset West
as a Tory. During the tensions within the Tory party in the 1840s over the Corn Laws
, Acland supported Sir Robert Peel's free trade policy. He did not stand for Parliament in the 1847 general election
and was to remain out of the House of Commons
for nearly twenty years.
Acland showed a strong interest in and commitment to educational reform. He initially promoted the maintenance and defence of church schools and the establishment of diocesan theological colleges. However, he later became a supporter of educational projects of a more Liberal character and played a leading role in the establishment of the Oxford local examinations system in 1858. He was also involved in agricultural issues and was a Trustee of the Royal Agricultural Society. Acland was influential on recruiting Augustus Voelcker
as consultant agricultural chemist to the Royal Bath and West of England Society
around 1849. Acland was also Honorary Colonel 3rd Volunteer Bn Devonshire Regiment and a J.P.
for Devon
and Somerset
. He contested Birmingham
as a moderate Liberal in 1859, but was defeated by John Bright
.
In 1865, Acland returned to the House of Commons as a Liberal when he was elected as one of two representatives for Devonshire North
. Between 1869 and 1874, he served as a Church Estates Commissioner. He never held ministerial office but was sworn of the Privy Council in 1883. The Devonshire North constituency was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885
and Acland was instead returned to Parliament for Wellington
. He voted for the First Home Rule Bill
in June 1885 and this led to him being defeated at the 1886 general election
.
Apart from his public career Acland was also a patron of art. He was a friend of John Ruskin
and an early admirer of John Everett Millais
.
Acland married firstly Mary Mordaunt, daughter of Sir Charles Mordaunt, 8th Baronet, in 1841. They had three sons and two daughters. After her death in 1851 he married secondly Mary Erskine, only surviving child of John Erskine, in 1856. This marriage was childless. Lady Acland died in May 1892. Acland survived her by six years and died in May 1898, aged 89. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son Thomas
, who was also a politician. Acland's second son Arthur, who succeeded in the baronetcy in 1919, also had a successful political career.
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
.
Acland was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet, and his wife Lydia Elizabeth Hoare, daughter of Henry Hoare, a partner in the banking firm of C. Hoare & Co
C. Hoare & Co
C. Hoare & Co. is England's oldest privately owned banking house. Founded in 1672 by Sir Richard Hoare, C. Hoare & Co. remains family owned and is currently managed by the 11th generation of Hoare's direct descendants....
. Sir Henry Wentworth Acland was his younger brother. He was educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and 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...
, where he was friends with 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...
and Lord Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
among others. He was a major in the Royal Devonshire Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1839 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
.
In 1837 Acland entered Parliament for Somerset West
West Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)
West Somerset or Somerset Western was the name of a parliamentary constituency in the county of Somerset between 1832 and 1885...
as a Tory. During the tensions within the Tory party in the 1840s over the Corn Laws
Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
, Acland supported Sir Robert Peel's free trade policy. He did not stand for Parliament in the 1847 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1847
-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
and was to remain out of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
for nearly twenty years.
Acland showed a strong interest in and commitment to educational reform. He initially promoted the maintenance and defence of church schools and the establishment of diocesan theological colleges. However, he later became a supporter of educational projects of a more Liberal character and played a leading role in the establishment of the Oxford local examinations system in 1858. He was also involved in agricultural issues and was a Trustee of the Royal Agricultural Society. Acland was influential on recruiting Augustus Voelcker
Augustus Voelcker
Augustus Voelcker F.R.S. , full name John Christopher Augustus Voelcker, was a Royal Agricultural Society of England chemist...
as consultant agricultural chemist to the Royal Bath and West of England Society
Royal Bath and West of England Society
The Royal Bath and West of England Society is a charitable society founded in 1777 to promote and improve agriculture and related activities around the West Country of England. Based at the Royal Bath and West of England Society Showground near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, the society is a...
around 1849. Acland was also Honorary Colonel 3rd Volunteer Bn Devonshire Regiment and a J.P.
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. He contested Birmingham
Birmingham (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the city of Birmingham, in what is now the West Midlands Metropolitan County, but at the time was Warwickshire.-Boundaries and History:...
as a moderate Liberal in 1859, but was defeated by John Bright
John Bright
John Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
.
In 1865, Acland returned to the House of Commons as a Liberal when he was elected as one of two representatives for Devonshire North
North Devon (UK Parliament constituency)
North Devon is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election....
. Between 1869 and 1874, he served as a Church Estates Commissioner. He never held ministerial office but was sworn of the Privy Council in 1883. The Devonshire North constituency was abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
and Acland was instead returned to Parliament for Wellington
Wellington (Somerset) (UK Parliament constituency)
Wellington is a former county constituency in the United Kingdom, formally known as The Western or Wellington Division of Somerset...
. He voted for the First Home Rule Bill
Irish Government Bill 1886
The Government of Ireland Bill 1886, commonly known as the First Home Rule Bill, was the first major attempt made by a British government to enact a law creating home rule for part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
in June 1885 and this led to him being defeated at the 1886 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1886
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
.
Apart from his public career Acland was also a patron of art. He was a friend of John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
and an early admirer of John Everett Millais
John Everett Millais
Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Early life:...
.
Acland married firstly Mary Mordaunt, daughter of Sir Charles Mordaunt, 8th Baronet, in 1841. They had three sons and two daughters. After her death in 1851 he married secondly Mary Erskine, only surviving child of John Erskine, in 1856. This marriage was childless. Lady Acland died in May 1892. Acland survived her by six years and died in May 1898, aged 89. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son Thomas
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 12th Baronet
Sir Charles Thomas Dyke Acland, 12th Baronet DL, JP was a British politician and Barrister-at-Law.Born in Queen Anne Street in London, he was the son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 11th Baronet and Mary Mordaunt...
, who was also a politician. Acland's second son Arthur, who succeeded in the baronetcy in 1919, also had a successful political career.