Sir Arthur Pendarves Vivian (4 June 1834 – 18 August 1926) was a British industrialist, mine-owner and Liberal politician from the Vivian family, who worked in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and sat in 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 ...

from 1868 to 1885.

Early life and education

Vivian was the third son of the industrialist John Henry Vivian and his wife Sarah Jones, daughter of Arthur Jones, of

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

. His elder brother was

Henry Vivian, 1st Baron Swansea Henry Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Swansea (6 July 1821 – 28 November 1894), known between May 1882 and June 1893 as Sir Hussey Vivian, 1st Baronet, was a Welsh people, Welsh industrialist and politician from the Vivian family (baronets and bar ...

and his uncle was Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian. 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 ...

, the Freiberg Mining Academy of

Freiberg, Saxony Freiberg () is a college town, university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He left college in 1855, on his father's death, to manage the family's copper smelting and rolling works and colliery at

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

. and ''Times'' Obituary, 20 August 1926; p.13, column e.an
''A short history of the Hafod copperworks 1810 – 1924 (2007)''
p18 His residences in Cornwall were at Glendorgal in the parish of

St Columb Minor St Columb Minor () (Latin: ''Columba Minor Sancta'') is a village in the civil parish of Newquay, on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. ''St Columb'' alone by default refers to the nearby St Columb Major; both the town and the ...

and Bosahan on The Lizard.

Public and parliamentary service

Vivian was elected as one of two members of parliament for Cornwall West in 1868, a seat he held, as a Liberal, until 1885, when the constituency was divided under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

. Vivian was a Justice of the Peace (JP) and Deputy Lieutenant for

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 ...

and a JP and Deputy Warden of the Stannaries for Cornwall. In local politics, Vivian was a county councillor for Glamorgan from 1889 to 1898, and a county

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for Cornwall from 1898 to 1926. He served as High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1889. He was lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Glamorgan Rifle Volunteers,Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> and was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in 1894. He was Colonel commanding the South Wales Border Volunteer Infantry Brigade from 1895 to 1902, was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and invested as such by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 24 October 1902.

Travels and travel-writing

He was a frequent traveller and a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He published ''Wanderings in the Western Land'' (1879), describing his travels in North America, starting 14 August 1877 in St Johns,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. In 1879, he was made a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. He was President of the

Royal Geological Society of Cornwall The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in ...

for 1880–81.

Family and personal life

Vivian married firstly, 3 March 1867, Lady Augusta Emily Wyndham-Quin, daughter of 3rd Earl of Dunraven. She died on 11 February 1877. He married secondly, 10 March 1880, Lady Jane Georgina Dalrymple, daughter of 10th Earl of Stair. There were children from both marriages. His second wife died on 8 June 1914. Vivian sold his residence Glendorgal, near

Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...

on 11 December 1882 and bought the Bosahan estate, near

Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

in the same year, living there from 1885 until he died in 1926, aged 92. Cornwall Record Office holds 203 items in a deposited collection of his papers (Reference PV). Further papers, mostly relating to his Welsh business affairs are held at the West Glamorgan Archive Service. A photographic likeness of him in the 1860s is held by the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

and another, with two dogs, at Community Archives Wales.Photographic portrait at NPG
an
a Portrait with dogs at Community Archives Wales
/ref>

References

Sources

* * ''Liberalism in West Cornwall: The 1868 Election Papers of A Pendarves Vivian MP'' edited and introduced by Edwin Jaggard; Devon & Cornwall Record Society, New Series Volume 42, 2000

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vivian, Arthur 1834 births 1926 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English expatriates in Germany Politicians from Cornwall Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies High sheriffs of Cornwall Fellows of the Geological Society of London Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Welch Regiment officers Welsh justices of the peace Members of Glamorgan County Council

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

Presidents of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall Deputy lieutenants of Glamorgan British Army colonels 19th-century British Army personnel 20th-century British Army personnel