Joseph Alfred Hardcastle (1815–1899) was an English Liberal 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 ...

variously between 1847 and 1885.

Life

Hardcastle was born at Clapham, London, the son of Alfred Hardcastle of Hatcham House,

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

(then in Surrey) and the grandson of

Joseph Hardcastle Joseph Hardcastle may refer to: * Joseph Hardcastle (1752–1819), English merchant and a founder of The Missionary Society * Joseph Hardcastle (politician), British Liberal Party MP * Joseph Alfred Hardcastle, FRAS (1868–1917), grandson of Jo ...

. He was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

and the Grammar School at

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

. He then studied at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and, after matriculating at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

where he obtained a scholarship in 1836. He was also admitted 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 ...

on 2 December 1837 and called to the Bar on 11 June 1841. He was a

Cambridge Apostle The Cambridge Apostles (also known as the Conversazione Society) is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar. History Student ...

. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Surrey and a Justice of the Peace for Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> Hardcastle was elected at the 1847 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, but was defeated in

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come to ...

. At the 1857 general election he was elected for

, and held the seat until his defeat at the 1874 general election. He was re-elected at the 1880 general election, but when the borough's representation was reduced to one seat for the 1885 general election, he was defeated by 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, and did not stand again. Hardcastle died at Woodlands, Beaminster, Dorset at the age of 83.

Family

Hardcastle married firstly Frances Lambirth, daughter of H. W. Lambirth of Writtle on 24 February 1840, and had issue. He married secondly Hon. Mary Scarlett Campbell, daughter of Lord Chancellor Campbell.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardcastle, Joseph A 1815 births 1899 deaths People educated at Mill Hill School Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1880–1885 People from Clapham Members of the Inner Temple