John Charlesworth Dodgson Charlesworth (1815 – 21 March 1880) was a British colliery owner and member of parliament for

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

between 1857 and 1859. Defeated by his

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 ...

opponent,

William Henry Leatham William Henry Leatham (6 July 1815 – 14 November 1889) was a British banker, poet and Liberal politician. Life He was a member of a Yorkshire Quaker family. His father was William Leatham, a banker from Heath, near Wakefield and his mother wa ...

at the 1859 general election both he and Leatham were subsequently found to have conducted extensive bribery during the campaign.

Early life

Charlesworth was the son of John Dodgson Charlesworth of Chapelthorpe,

Sandal, Wakefield Sandal Magna or Sandal is a suburb of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England with a population in 2001 of 5,432. An ancient settlement, it is the site of Sandal Castle and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is south from Wakefield, north of Ba ...

. Baptised 20 August 1815, he was educated at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, graduating from St John's with a BA in 1837 and an MA in 1840. In the 1841 census he is described as a coal master and residing in Chapelthorpe. By 1855 he had been appointed as a magistrate, moved to Woolgreaves Hall, and had purchased the shooting lodge at

Grinton Lodge Grinton Lodge is a 19th-century former shooting lodge that has been a youth hostel since 1948. A Grade II listed building, it is situated above the village of Grinton, in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, England. History The lodge was built in 18 ...

Political career

Charlesworth was adopted as the

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 ...

candidate for Wakefield for the 1857 general election and in the absence of any other candidate, he was elected unopposed. Not a frequent speaker 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 ...

, he spoke only three times in the two years he was an MP.

1859 general election and subsequent corruption inquiry

At the 1859 he was re-adopted as the Conservative candidate but was on this occasion opposed by a

candidate, William Henry Leatham. The polling was very close and when the result was announced Leatham won by three votes, 406 to 403. Following Leatham's victory, supporters of Charlesworth petitioned Parliament for the election to be declared void. Parliament's General Committee on Elections reported on 27 July that the election was void and that Leatham was, via his agents, guilty of bribery. The committee also resolved "That there is reason to believe that corrupt practices have extensively prevailed at the last election for the Borough of Wakefield". As a result of this finding a Commission was established to look into the alleged corruption. The Commission sat for three weeks between October and December 1859 and found that not only had Leatham conducted bribery on a large scale but so had Charlesworth. Leatham was found to have spent at least £3,900 and Charlesworth at least £4,150 on bribing voters. Charlesworth was also held to have hired several

prize fighter Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

s for the dual purposes of exerting an improper influence on the election and causing intimidation to voters supporting Leatham. Between them, the two candidates bribed 142 of the 866 electors of the borough. No criminal proceedings followed but it ended Charlesworth's political career and the borough of Wakefield did not elect another MP until 1862.

Later life

On 14 April 1847 at

St Mary and St Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street The parish church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is a Church of England church in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. The site has been used for worship for over 1100 years; elements of the current building are over 950 years old. The oldest s ...

, he married Sarah, daughter of Walker Featherstonhaugh. They had two sons, John Edward (born 1848) and Albany Hawke (1854–1914) and three daughters, Gertrude (born 1942), Catherine Sarah (born 1849) and Bertha Stobart (born 1851). On the death of his father, Charlesworth inherited Chapelthorpe Hall and continued to live there, managing his colliery business until his death in 1880.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlesworth, John 1815 births 1880 deaths People from Sandal Magna Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at Sedbergh School British businesspeople in the coal industry