Christopher Turnor MP, JP, DL (4 April 1809 – 7 March 1886), was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

from 1841 to 1847, and a promoter of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

architecture. Christopher Turnor was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a 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 college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, a justice of the peace for parts of Kesteven and Lindsey in Lincolnshire, and

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

in 1834. Turnor was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for South Lincolnshire in April 1841, and served until the 1847 general election. He was a member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History ...

. Christopher Turnor's great grandfather was Edmund Turnor (–1769), of

Stoke Rochford Stoke Rochford is a small English village and civil parish south of Grantham in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 230 (including Easton). It has two notable Grade I listed buildings: ...

Kesteven The Parts of Kesteven ( or ) are a traditional division of Lincolnshire, England. This division had long had a separate county administration ( quarter sessions), along with the two other Parts of Lincolnshire, Lindsey and Holland. Etymology ...

, and Panton in

East Lindsey East Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The population of the district council was 136,401 at the 2011 census. The council is based in Manby. Other major settlements in the district include Alford, Wragby, Spi ...

, Lincolnshire. His father was

Edmund Turnor (1755–1829) Edmund Turnor (born 1755 or 1756; died 1829), FRS, FSA, JP, was an English antiquarian, author, landowner and a British politician. Family Turnor was the son of Edmund Turnor (died 1805) and his wife Mary (died 1818), daughter of John Disn ...

, FRS, FSA, MP for

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

, antiquarian, and the author of ''Collections for the History of the Town and Soke of Grantham Containing Authentic Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton''."The Diaries of Dora Turnor"
,

Chetham's Library Chetham's Library in Manchester, England, is the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world.Nicholls (2004), p. 20. Chetham's Hospital, which contains both the library and Chetham's School of Music, was established in ...

. Retrieved 3 January 2015 The main frontage of Stoke Rochford Hall - geograph

Turnor married on 2 February 1837 Lady Caroline Finch-Hatton (6 July 1816 – 13 March 1888), daughter of George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea (1791–1858). The Finch-Hatton family owned lands in Hertfordshire and parts of

Hatton Garden Hatton Garden is a street and commercial zone in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, abutting the narrow precinct of Saffron Hill which then abuts the City of London. It takes its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, a favour ...

in London. Turnor's son was Edmund Turnor (24 March 1838 – 15 December 1903), Member of Parliament for

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln a ...

in 1868, and for South Lincolnshire from 1868 to 1880. A second son was Christopher Hatton Turnor (b. 16 Dec 1840), whose son was Christopher Hatton Turnor, author and architect, of Stoke Rochford (23 November 1873 – 1940), who married on 7 August 1907 Sarah Marie Talbot, daughter and heir of Admiral The Hon. Walter Cecil Carpenter, formerly Talbot. Christopher Turnor and Lady Caroline Finch Hatton's children: * Edmund Turnor (1838-1903) * Christopher Hatton Turnor (1840), had issue Christopher Hatton Turnor (1872-1940) *

Algernon Turnor Algernon Turnor (14 November 1845 – 11 December 1921), CB, was a British civil servant who was financial secretary to the British General Post Office. Turnor married Lady Henrietta Caroline, daughter of Randolph (Stewart) 9th Earl of Galloway, ...

(1845-1921), had issue Major Herbert Turnor who married Lady Victoria Rachel Fane, their daughter Rosemary Sybil Turnor married Alastair McCorquodale. * Edith Georgiana Turnor, m. 3rd Earl of Cawdor, had issue 4th Earl Cawdor. * Graham Augustus Turnor * Bertha Kathleen Turnor * Dora Agnes Caroline Turnor (1858-1899), m. Benjamin Bloomfield Trench, had issue.

Architecture

Christopher Turnor's property and seat was the now Grade I listed Stoke Rochford Hall, today a hotel and conference centre. In 1839 architect

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred to ...

was commissioned by Turnor to rebuild the previous 1794 Hall in Jacobean style, while the estate was emparked, extended and redesigned which required the removal of the village of North Stoke, its

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

being conjoined to South Stoke. The associated of the Stoke Rochford Estate, at the time the third largest in Lincolnshire, is still owned by the Turnor family. Turnor rebuilt and added houses and designed farm building complexes throughout Lincolnshire to a unified and coherent design using local materials. He provided for building design not just in Lincolnshire, or in Stoke Rochford which he turned into an

estate village An estate village is a village wholly within and part of a private estate. Usually several hundred years old, they are often well preserved by the family that owns the estate. They often have small commercial operations such as pubs, craft shops, an ...

. His particular church and farmhouse additions and alterations were at

Great Ponton Great Ponton is an English village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, south of Grantham on the A1 trunk road, which bisects the village. The tower of the parish church is a roadside landmark. The 2001 Census ...

, Panton, Lissington, Langworth, East Torrington, East Barkwith, Wragby,

Binbrook Binbrook is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1203 road, and north-east from Market Rasen. Previously a larger market town,Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' pp. 64 ...

and Kirmond le Mire. Turnor also promoted Lincolnshire county railways. While in London the Turnor's family home was 34

Chesham Place Chesham Place is a street in Belgravia, London UK, running between Belgrave Square and Pont Street. It is home to several embassies and has had many distinguished residents. It was first laid out in 1831, and includes a number of listed buildin ...

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dange ...

."Stoke-Mandeville - Stoke, West", in ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', ed. Samuel Lewis (London, 1848), pp. 220–224Squires, Stewart
"Christopher Turnor 1809-1886 and his Influence on Lincolnshire Buildings"
, Historic Farm Buildings Group, Institute of Historic Building Conservation. Retrieved 3 January 2015 Christopher Turnor designed his and his wife's memorial for the north

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

chapel in St Andrew and St Mary's Church, Stoke Rochford.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnor, Christopher 1809 births 1886 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1841–1847 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Deputy Lieutenants of Lincolnshire High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire