George Woodyatt Hastings (25 September 1825 – 21 October 1917) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

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 1880 to 1892.

Life

Hastings was the only son of

Sir Charles Hastings Sir Charles Hastings (11 January 1794 – 30 July 1866) was a medical surgeon and a founder of the British Medical Association, the BMA, (then known as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association) on 19 July 1832. He was also a notable life ...

, M.D., D.C.L., founder of the British Medical Association, of Barnard's Green, Malvern, and his wife Hannah Woodyatt. He was a relation of

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...

(1732–1818) Governor of Bengal from 1772. The family had owned the estate of Daylesford in Gloucestershire from the 12th century. Hastings was educated at

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

and at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

. In 1850, he was called to the bar at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. He was secretary of the Law Amendment Society and Hon. secretary of the National Reformatory Union. From 1857 to 1868, he was General Secretary of the

National Association for Promotion of Social Science The National Association for the Promotion of Social Science (NAPSS), often known as the Social Science Association, was a British reformist group founded in 1857 by Lord Brougham. It pursued issues in public health, industrial relations, penal ref ...

, and was Chairman of their Council from 1868 to 1883. He was chairman of Worcester School Board from 1871 to 1883. He was a J.P. and vice-chairman of Quarter Sessions for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, and a J.P. and a Deputy Lieutenant of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. Hastings stood for parliament unsuccessfully in

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

at by-election in 1854, and in

West Worcestershire West Worcestershire is a constituency in Worcestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Harriett Baldwin, a Conservative. The constituency first existed from 1832 to 1885, formally known as the Western Div ...

at the 1874 general election. At the 1880 general election he was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

East Worcestershire East Worcestershire was a county constituency in the county of Worcestershire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election, and elected two Me ...

, and was re-elected in

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

and as a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

. He held the seat until 1892, when he was expelled from the

and convicted of fraudulent conversion. As a Trustee for property under the will of John Brown, he had appropriated over £20,000 from the estate, leaving Brown's four children with £7,000. Hastings married firstly Catherine Anna Mence, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Mence, rector of Ulcombe Kent in 1858. She died in 1871 and he married again in 1877 to Frances Anna Pillans, daughter of the Rev. William Huntingdon Pillans, Rector of Himley. His son Major William George Warren Hastings married Hazel Hastings in 1919. He died on 21 October 1917 aged 92.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, George 1825 births 1917 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge British politicians convicted of fraud Deputy lieutenants of Herefordshire English fraudsters English politicians convicted of crimes Expelled members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Members of the Middle Temple People educated at Bromsgrove School UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 19th-century English businesspeoplebr>789STEP