John Charles Williams (30 April 1861 – 29 March 1939) was an English

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 ...

politician and a noted gardener at

Caerhays Castle Caerhays Castle or Carhayes Castle () is a semi-castellated country house built in 1808, south of the village centre, St Michael Caerhays, Cornwall, England. It overlooks Porthluney Cove on the English Channel. The garden has a large collection ...

, Cornwall, where he grew and bred

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan region, b ...

and other plants. An important group of camellia cultivars, '' Camellia × williamsii'', was originally bred by him. He also took an interest in the development of new

daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', '' ...

cultivars.

Early life

He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

Career

In 1882 he acquired the estate of Werrington, then in Devon and since 1974 in Cornwall. He was one of the largest land-owners of north Cornwall having bought more than , mostly in the parishes of

St Columb Major St Columb Major is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay Ordnance Survey: Landran ...

St Ervan St Ervan is a rural civil parish and hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated three miles (5 km) southwest of Padstow. St Ervan is named after St Erbyn, the original patron of the church, who is said to have bee ...

and

St Issey St Issey () is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom which lies approximately two miles (3 km) south of Padstow. The parish covers an area of approximately . At the 2011 census the parish population was 940. An elec ...

, in the 1880s. He was elected at the 1892 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1895 general election. He was

High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriff ...

in 1888, and

Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Since 1742, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall. Lord Lieutenants * John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1554 * John Bourchier, 2nd ...

from 1918 to 1936.

References

External links

* 1861 births 1939 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge English gardeners High sheriffs of Cornwall Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Lord-lieutenants of Cornwall Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Truro People educated at Rugby School People from St Austell UK MPs 1892–1895 {{England-UK-MP-stub

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links