Harry Tichborne Davenport J.P. (31 October 1833 – 19 March 1895), known from 1890 as Harry Tichborne Hinckes, was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and Conservative Party politician who was elected to 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 ...

for constituencies in his native

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

on two occasions in the 1880s.

Early life

Davenport was the son of John Davenport of Westwood, Staffordshire, a Justice of the Peace and a Deputy Lieutenant of the county. He was educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and was called to the bar in 1860 at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. He later followed in his father's footsteps and became a magistrate, and in 1889 was appointed as an honorary

Commissioner in lunacy The Commissioners in Lunacy or Lunacy Commission was a public body established by the Lunacy Act 1845 to oversee asylums and the welfare of mentally ill people in England and Wales. It succeeded the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy. Previous ...

Political career

He first stood for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the 1874 general election in

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

, and was unsuccessful again at a by-election in

Stoke-upon-Trent Stoke-upon-Trent, also known as Stoke, is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Burslem, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall form the city of Stoke-o ...

in February 1875.Craig, 1832-1885, page 290 At the 1880 general election Davenport was elected as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for the Northern division of Staffordshire.Craig, 1832-1885, page 457 He held that seat for 5 years, until the division was abolished 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 ...

, when the two-member county divisions and many

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

s were replaced with new single-member county divisions. Davenport stood in the new Leek division at the 1885 general election, where he was narrowly beaten by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate

Charles Crompton Charles Crompton Q.C. (4 February 1833 – 25 June 1890) was an English barrister and Liberal politician. Life Crompton was born at St Pancras, London, the son of Sir Charles Crompton, a Judge of the Queen's Bench and his wife Caroline Fletc ...

. At the 1886 election, he overturned Compton's majority and was returned to the Commons as MP for Leek. However, he did not defend his seat in

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

, when he retired from Parliament.

Personal life

Davenport was married in 1868 to Georgiana Henrietta, the eldest daughter of

Sir William Curtis, 3rd Baronet There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the surname Curtis, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. One creation is extant as of 2023. * Curtis baronets of Gatcombe (1794) * Curtis ...

, a former

High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The high sheriff, 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 t ...

. They had no children. In 1881, his clubs were listed as the

United University Club The United University Club was a London gentlemen's club, founded in 1821. It occupied the purpose-built University Club House, at 1, Suffolk Street, London, England, from 1826 until 1971. Formation and membership The club was founded at a meetin ...

and the

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

. On 12 November 1890, near the end of his political career, he changed his surname by Royal Licence to Hinckes, to fulfil a condition in the will of Theodosia Hinckes. He died on 19 March 1895, and his estate was bequeathed to his nephew Ralph Tichborne Davenport.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Harry 1833 births 1895 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1886–1892 Politicians from Staffordshire Members of the Inner Temple People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford