Sir Henry Cosmo Orme Bonsor, 1st Baronet, DL (2 September 1848 – 4 December 1929) was an English brewer and businessman and a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician who 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 1885 to 1900.

Biography

Bonsor was born in

Polesden Lacey Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian era, Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties. This Regenc ...

on 2 September 1848, the son of Joseph Bonsor. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and with his father and brother became a partner in the brewing firm of Combe & Co. He was a director of the Bank of England, and a Governor of

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

. Bonsor married Emily Gertrude Fellowes in 1872. She died in London on 18 July 1882, and he remarried to Mabel Grace Brand on 3 March 1886. In 1885 Bonsor was elected M.P. for

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

and held the seat until 1900. Also in 1885, Bonsor purchased the estate of Kingswood Warren, Surrey from Sir John Cradock Hartopp and lived there until 1906 when he put it on the market because of the rising cost of maintenance. In 1898 Bonsor organised the brewery amalgamation to form

Watney Combe & Reid Watney Combe & Reid was a leading brewery in London. At its peak in the 1930s it was a constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. It produced Watney's Red Barrel. History The Watney family were the m ...

, of which he remained chairman until 1928. Bonsor was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 26 January 1925. He died four years later at the age of 81 in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionSouth Eastern Railway (SER), and was elected chairman of that railway following the death of the incumbent, Sir George Russell, Bart, on 7 March 1898. At the start of 1899 the SER entered into a working union with its neighbour and hitherto competitor, the

London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through Lond ...

(LCDR). Each of the two railways provided four members of the new South Eastern & Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee, and Bonsor was elected Chairman of that body, retaining his SER post. He retired from railway service upon the formation (by amalgamation of the SER, LCDR and other railways) of the Southern Railway at the start of 1923. In 1899 he formed a private syndicate to extend the Tattenham Corner Line from Kingswood railway station to

Tattenham Corner railway station Tattenham Corner railway station is in Surrey, in England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern, and it is the terminus of the Tattenham Corner Line. It is from . It lies on the outskirts of Epsom and is the close ...

to take the racegoing traffic to

Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 including ...

. A train named in his honour formerly ran as part of the Southern services to

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

. The train stock was of Class 456. 456024 "Sir Cosmo Bonsor"
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonsor, Cosmo 1848 births 1929 deaths British businesspeople People educated at Eton College Masters of the Worshipful Company of Brewers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies

Cosmo Cosmo may refer to: Business and media * ''Cosmopolitan'' (magazine), a magazine for women, sometimes referred to as "Cosmo" * ''Cosmo'' (book), 2012 short story collection * Cosmo On-Line, a Brazilian generic Internet portal * Cosmo Radio, ...

Deputy lieutenants of Surrey UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 South Eastern and Chatham Railway people