Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British
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 ...
politician who served as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of his father in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the
4th Earl of Rosebery, in 1868, he was known by the
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some context ...
of Lord Dalmeny.
Rosebery first came to national attention in 1879 by sponsoring the successful
Midlothian campaign of
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
. His most successful performance in office came as chairman of the
London County Council
The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
in 1889. He entered the Cabinet in 1885 and was twice
Foreign Secretary, paying special attention to French and German affairs. He succeeded Gladstone as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party in 1894; the Liberals lost the
1895 election. He resigned the party leadership in 1896 and never again held political office.
Rosebery was widely known as a brilliant
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...
, an outstanding sportsman and marksman, a writer and historian, connoisseur and collector. All of these activities attracted him more than politics, which grew boring and unattractive. Furthermore, he drifted to the right of the Liberal party and became a bitter critic of its policies.
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, observing that he never adapted to democratic electoral competition, quipped: "He would not stoop; he did not conquer."
Rosebery was a
Liberal Imperialist who favoured strong national defence and imperialism abroad and social reform at home, while being solidly
anti-socialist. Historians judge him a failure as foreign minister and as prime minister.
Origins and early life
Archibald Philip Primrose was born on 7 May 1847 in his parents' house in
Charles Street, Mayfair, London. His father was
Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (1809–1851), son and
heir apparent
An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
to
Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery (1783–1868), whom he predeceased. Lord Dalmeny was a courtesy title used by the Earl's eldest son and heir apparent, during the Earl's lifetime, and was one of the Earl's lesser
Scottish titles
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
. Lord Dalmeny (died 1851) was MP for
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
from 1832 to 1847 and served as
First Lord of the Admiralty
First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...
under
Lord Melbourne.
Rosebery's mother was Lady
(Catherine Lucy) Wilhelmina Stanhope (1819–1901), a historian who later wrote under her second married name "the Duchess of Cleveland", a daughter of
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope
Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope FRS (7 December 1781 – 2 March 1855), was an English aristocrat, chiefly remembered for his role in the Kaspar Hauser case during the 1830s.
Origins
He was the eldest son and heir of Charles Stanhope ...
. Lord Dalmeny died on 23 January 1851, having predeceased his father, when the
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some context ...
passed to his son, the future Rosebery, as the new heir to the earldom. In 1854 his mother remarried to Lord Harry Vane (later after 1864 known as
Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Cleveland). The relationship between mother and son was very poor. His elder and favourite sister Lady Leconfield was the wife of
Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield.
Education and youth
Dalmeny attended Bayford House school in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
,
a school in Brighton run by Mr Lee, and then
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
(1860–65).
At Eton, he formed a close attachment to his tutor
William Johnson Cory: they visited
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
together in 1864, and maintained correspondence for years afterwards. Dalmeny proceeded to
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 ...
, matriculating in January 1866. During his time at Oxford he was a member of the
Bullingdon Club. He left Oxford in 1868: Dalmeny bought a horse named Ladas, although a rule banned
undergraduates
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
from owning horses. When he was found out, he was offered a choice: to sell the horse or to give up his studies. He chose the latter, and subsequently was a prominent figure in British horseracing for 40 years.
The three Prime Ministers from 1880 to 1902, namely
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
,
Salisbury
Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
and Rosebery, all attended both Eton and Christ Church. Rosebery toured the United States in 1873, 1874 and 1876. He was pressed to marry
Marie Fox, the sixteen-year-old adopted daughter of
Henry Fox, 4th Baron Holland
Henry Edward Fox, 4th Baron Holland of Holland, 4th Baron Holland of Foxley (7 May 1802 – 18 December 1859) was briefly a British Whig politician and later an ambassador.
Early life
Fox was born at Holland House, London, the eldest legiti ...
. She declined him because she was unwilling to renounce
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Succession to earldom
When his grandfather died in 1868, Dalmeny became 5th
Earl of Rosebery
Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's w ...
. The earldom did not of itself entitle Archibald Primrose to sit in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. The title is part of the old
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...
, from which 16 members (
Scottish representative peer
This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...
s) were elected to sit in the Lords for each session of Parliament. However, in 1828, Rosebery's grandfather had been created 1st
Baron Rosebery in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...
, which did entitle Rosebery to sit in the Lords like all peers of the United Kingdom, and barred him from a career 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 ...
.
Rosebery inherited his title from
his grandfather in 1868, aged 21, together with an income of £30,000 a year (equivalent to £ in present-day terms). He owned 40,000 acres (160 km
2) in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and land in
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, Hertfordshire, and
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
.
Career
Rosebery is reputed to have said that he had three aims in life: to win
the Derby, to marry an heiress, and to become
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. He managed all three.
Early political career
At Eton, Rosebery notably attacked
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649.
Charles was born ...
for his
despotism
In political science, despotism () is a government, form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute Power (social and political), power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies whi ...
, and went on to praise his
Whig forebears – his ancestor,
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope (1673 – 5 February 1721) was a British army officer and Whig politician who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He was also the last Chancellor of the Exchequer to sit in the House o ...
, was a minister to
George I of Great Britain
George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. ...
.
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
often met with Rosebery in the 1870s to try to recruit him for his party, but this proved futile. Disraeli's major rival,
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
, also pursued Rosebery, with considerable success.
As part of the Liberal plan to get Gladstone to be MP for
Midlothian
Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...
, Rosebery sponsored and largely ran the
Midlothian Campaign of 1879. He based this on what he had observed in
elections in the United States
Elections in the United States are held for Official, government officials at the Federal government of the United States, federal, State governments of the United States, state, and Local government in the United States, local levels. At the ...
. Gladstone spoke from open-deck trains, and gathered mass support. In 1880, he was duly elected Member for Midlothian and returned to the premiership.
Rosebery served as Foreign Secretary in Gladstone's brief third ministry in 1886. He served as the first chairman of the London County Council, set up by the Conservatives in 1889. Rosebery Avenue in Clerkenwell is named after him. He served as
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
of the first day of the 1890
Co-operative Congress.
In 1892 he was appointed a
Knight of the Order of the Garter. Rosebery's second period as Foreign Secretary, 1892–1894, predominantly involved quarrels with France over
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
. To quote his hero
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, Rosebery thought that "the Master of Egypt is the Master of India"; thus he pursued the policy of expansion in Africa. He helped Gladstone's Second Home Rule Bill in the House of Lords; nevertheless it was defeated overwhelmingly in the autumn of 1893. The first bill had been defeated in the House of Commons in 1886.
Prime Minister
Rosebery became a leader of the Liberal Imperialist faction of the Liberal Party and when Gladstone retired, in 1894, Rosebery succeeded him as Prime Minister, much to the disgust of Sir
William Harcourt, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
and leader of the more left-wing Liberals. Rosebery's selection was largely because
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
disliked most of the other leading Liberals. Rosebery was in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, but Harcourt controlled 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 ...
, where he often undercut the prime minister.
Rosebery's government was largely unsuccessful, as in the
Armenian crisis of 1895–96. He spoke out for a strongly pro-Armenian and
anti-Turkish policy. Gladstone, a prime minister in retirement, called on Britain to intervene alone. The added pressure weakened Rosebery.
His designs in foreign policy, such as an expansion of the fleet, were defeated by disagreements within the Liberal Party. He angered all the European powers.
The Unionist-dominated House of Lords stopped the whole of the Liberals' domestic legislation. The strongest figure in the cabinet was Rosebery's rival, Harcourt. He and his son
Lewis were perennial critics of Rosebery's policies. There were two future prime ministers in the Cabinet,
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
, and
Secretary of State for War
The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. ...
. Rosebery rapidly lost interest in running the government. In the last year of his premiership, he was increasingly haggard: he suffered
insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
due to the continual dissension in his Cabinet.
On 21 June 1895, the government
lost a vote in committee on army supply by just seven votes. While this might have been treated merely as a vote of no confidence in Secretary for War Campbell-Bannerman, Rosebery chose to treat it as a vote of censure on his government. On 22 June, he and his ministers tendered their resignations to the Queen, who invited the Unionist leader,
Lord Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
, to form a government. The following month, the Unionists won a crushing victory in the
1895 general election, and held power for ten years (1895–1905) under Salisbury and
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...
. Rosebery remained the Liberal leader for another year, then permanently retired from politics.
Lord Rosebery's government, March 1894 – June 1895
*Lord Rosebery –
First Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Traditional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the Prime Mi ...
,
Lord President of the Council
The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...
, and
Leader of the House of Lords
The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...
*
Lord Herschell –
Lord Chancellor
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
*
Lord Tweedmouth –
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...
*
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
–
Secretary of State for the Home Department
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
*
Lord Kimberley –
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to:
* Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain)
*Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK)
The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...
*
Lord Ripon –
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire.
The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...
*Sir
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. ...
–
Secretary of State for War
The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...
*
Sir Henry Hartley Fowler –
Secretary of State for India
His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...
*Sir
William Harcourt –
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
and
Leader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...
*
Lord Spencer –
First Lord of the Admiralty
First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...
*
Anthony John Mundella –
President of the Board of Trade
The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...
*
Arnold Morley –
Postmaster-General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters.
History
The practice of having a government officia ...
*
George John Shaw-Lefevre –
President of the Local Government Board The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the ...
*
James Bryce James Bryce may refer to:
* James Bryce (geologist) (1806–1877), Irish naturalist and geologist
* James Bryce (footballer) (1884–1916), Scottish footballer
* James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), British jurist, historian and politicia ...
–
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...
*
John Morley –
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...
*Sir
George Otto Trevelyan –
Secretary for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
*Sir
Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland –
Vice-President of the Council
Changes
*May 1894: James Bryce succeeds A. J. Mundella at the Board of Trade. Lord Tweedmouth succeeds Bryce at the Duchy of Lancaster, remaining also Lord Privy Seal.
Later life
Liberal Imperialists
Rosebery resigned as leader of the Liberal Party on 6 October 1896, to be succeeded by William Harcourt and gradually moved further and further from the mainstream of the party. With the Liberals in opposition divided over the
Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
which started in 1899, Rosebery, although officially politically inactive, emerged as the head of the "
Liberal Imperialists" faction of the party, opposed to Irish
Home rule
Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...
. He supported the war, and brought along many nonconformists likewise. However the war was opposed by a younger faction of Liberals, including
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
and the party leader
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Liberal Party (UK)#Liberal le ...
.
Rosebery's acolytes, including
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
and
Edward Grey, regularly implored him to return as party leader and even Campbell-Bannerman said he would serve under Rosebery, if he accepted fundamental Liberal party doctrine. In a much trailed speech to the Chesterfield Liberal Association in December 1901, Rosebery was widely expected to announce his return but instead delivered what Harcourt's son and private secretary
Lewis described as "an insult to the whole past of the Liberal party", by telling the party to "clean its slate". In 1902 Rosebery was installed as president of the newly formed "
Liberal League" which superseded the Liberal Imperialist League and counted amongst its vice presidents Asquith and Grey.
He was
Honorary Colonel of the
1st Midlothian Artillery Volunteers from January 1903 until his death in 1929.
1905 onwards
Rosebery's positions made it impossible to join the Liberal government that returned to power in 1905. Rosebery turned to writing, including biographies of
Lord Chatham
Earl of Chatham, of Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the County of Kent, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1766 for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, William Pitt the Elder on his appointment as Lord Privy Seal, along with ...
,
Pitt the Younger,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, and
Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British aristocrat and politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term "One-nation conservatism, Tory democracy". He participated in the creation ...
. Another one of his passionate interests was the collecting of rare books.
The last years of his political life saw Rosebery become a purely negative critic of the Liberal governments of
Campbell-Bannerman and
Asquith. His crusade "for freedom as against bureaucracy, for freedom as against democratic tyranny, for freedom as against class legislation, and ... for freedom as against Socialism" was a lonely one, conducted from the crossbenches in the Lords. He joined the die-hard unionist peers in attacking
Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
's redistributive
People's Budget
The 1909/1910 People's Budget was a proposal of the Liberal government that introduced unprecedented taxes on the lands and incomes of Britain's wealthy to fund new social welfare programmes, such as non-contributary old age pensions under Ol ...
in 1909 but stopped short of voting against the measure for fear of bringing retribution upon the Lords. The crisis provoked by the Lords' rejection of the budget encouraged him to reintroduce his resolutions for Lords reform, but they were lost with the dissolution of parliament in December 1910.
After assaulting the "ill-judged, revolutionary and partisan" terms of the
1911 Parliament Bill, which proposed to curb the Lords' veto, he voted with the government in what proved to be his last appearance in the House of Lords. This was effectively the end of his public life, though he made several public appearances to support the
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
effort after 1914 and sponsored a "
bantam battalion" in 1915. Though Lloyd George offered him "a high post not involving departmental labour" to augment his 1916 coalition, Rosebery declined to serve.
Personal life
Marriage
On 20 March 1878, 31-year-old Rosebery married 27-year-old
Hannah de Rothschild (1851–1890), only child and sole heiress of the Jewish banker
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild, and the wealthiest British heiress of her day. Her father had died four years previously in 1874, and bequeathed to her the bulk of his estate. The wedding was held (registered) at the office of the
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.
England and Wales
Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...
in
Mount Street, London. Later the same day, the marriage was blessed at a Christian ceremony in Christ Church, Down Street,
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...
.
The Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
and the Queen's cousin, the army commander
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...
, were among the guests who attended the ceremony.
The marriage was a happy one. In January 1878, Rosebery had told a friend that he found Hannah "very simple, very unspoilt, very clever, very warm-hearted and very shy ... I never knew such a beautiful character." Hannah's death in 1890 from
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
, compounded by
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...
, left him distraught.
More than a decade after his wife's death, in July 1901, it was speculated that Rosebery intended to marry the widowed
Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany, widow of
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (Leopold George Duncan Albert; 7 April 185328 March 1884) was the eighth child and youngest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Leopold was later created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow. He ...
, youngest son of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. Princess Helena was also the sister of
Queen Emma of the Netherlands. However, Rosebery never remarried.
Progeny
By his wife Hannah de Rothschild, Rosebery had two sons and two daughters, with whom, according to
Margot Asquith
Emma Alice Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite and author. She was married to British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith from 1894 to his ...
, he loved to play:
*
Albert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery known as ''Harry'' (8 January 1882 – 30 May 1974) he married Lady Dorothy Grosvenor (granddaughter of
Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster through his third son Lord Henry Grosvenor) on 15 April 1909 and was divorced from her in 1919. They had two children. He married Hon. Eva Isabel Bruce (daughter of
Henry Campbell Bruce, 2nd Baron Aberdare) on 24 June 1924. They had two children.
*
Neil James Archibald Primrose (14 December 1882 – 18 November 1917), who married Lady Victoria Stanley (daughter of
Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby
Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (4 April 1865 – 4 February 1948), styled The Hon. Edward Stanley from 1886–93 and Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908, was a British peer, soldier, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politic ...
) on 7 April 1915. They had one daughter:
Ruth Wood, Countess of Halifax.
*
Lady Sybil Primrose (18 September 1879 – 25 February 1955), who married General Sir
Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* C.J. Grant (Charles Jameson Grant, ), American editorial cartoonist
* Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist
* Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor
* Charles G ...
on 28 March 1903. They had one son.
*
Lady Margaret "Peggy" Etrenne Hannah Primrose (1 January 1881 – 13 March 1967), who married
Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe
Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe (12 January 185820 June 1945), known as The Honourable Robert Milnes from 1863 to 1885, The Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and as The Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, was a British Lib ...
on 20 April 1899. They had a son, who died in childhood, and a daughter:
. As Lady Crewe, she became one of the first seven women appointed as magistrates in 1919 following the passing of the
Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919
Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an o ...
.
Sexuality
Throughout his life, it was rumoured that Rosebery was
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
or
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
. He was a notorious
misogynist, and liked to surround himself with younger men.
As a student at Eton, beyond his close relationship with his tutor,
William Johnson Cory, he likely had feelings for at least one fellow student, Frederick Vyner. He was devastated by Vyner's
murder at the hands of Greek brigands in 1870, keeping the anniversary sacred for the rest of his life.
Like
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
, he was hounded by
John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry
John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry (20 July 184431 January 1900), was a British nobleman of the Victorian era, remembered for his atheism, his outspoken views, his brutish manner, for lending his name to the " Queensberry Rules" t ...
for his association with
Francis Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig, Queensberry's first born son – who had become his private secretary in 1892 when Rosebery became Foreign Secretary. A few months later he arranged for Drumlanrig, who was 26 at the time, to be made a junior member of the government with a seat in the House of Lords.
During the preliminary hearing of the case against Wilde, a letter from Queensberry was produced referring to him as 'a damned cur and coward of the Rosebery type'.
On 18 October 1894, sixteen months after his ennoblement, Drumlanrig died from injuries received during a shooting party. The inquest returned a verdict of "accidental death", but his death was rumoured potentially to be suicide or murder. It was speculated at the time that Drumlanrig may have had a romantic, if not sexual, relationship with Rosebery.
The suggestion was that Queensberry had threatened to expose the Prime Minister if his government did not vigorously prosecute Wilde for the latter's relationship with Drumlanrig's younger brother,
Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford University he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carr ...
. Queensberry believed, as he put it in a letter, that "Snob Queers like Rosebery" had corrupted his sons, and he held Rosebery indirectly responsible for Drumlanrig's death. He claimed to have evidence of Rosebery's transgressions but that was never confirmed.
Using a minor defeat in Parliament that did not warrant such action, Rosebery resigned from the Premiership on 22 June 1895. This was a few months after the death of Drumlanrig and not quite a month after Wilde was convicted on 25 May, his life and reputation destroyed by a man who was also pursuing Rosebery for the same reason he was after Wilde. In August 1893, Queensberry had followed Rosebery to the spa town of
Bad Homburg with the declared intention of giving him a horse-whipping, and had to be dissuaded by the Prince of Wales who was also staying there.
In his recollections, Rosebery wrote: "I cannot forget 1895. To lie awake night after night, wide awake, hopeless of sleep, tormented of nerves, and to realise all that was going on, at which I was present, so to speak, like a disembodied spirit, to watch one's own corpse, as it were day after day, is an experience which no sane man would repeat."
Sir Edmund Backhouse wrote in his unpublished memoirs that he had been one of Rosebery's lovers – although it has been suggested that many of Backhouse's claims were dubiously made.
Robert Rhodes James, who wrote a biography of Rosebery in 1963 (when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain), makes no mention of homosexual relationships at all, while for
Leo McKinstry, who was writing in 2005, the evidence that Rosebery was homosexual is circumstantial.
Michael Bloch
Michael Anthony Bloch (born 24 September 1953) is an author and historian.
Educated at Portadown College and St John's College, Cambridge, he was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1978 and in 1979 became an assistant to Maître Suzan ...
, in 2015, has, however, no doubt that Rosebery was at least romantically interested in men, making him one of the four figures presented in the first chapter of his book on homosexual and bisexual British politicians of the 20th century. In his view, any remaining evidence (of which he gives a long list) can only be circumstantial in any case, considering Rosebery's paranoid taste for secrecy.
Death and burial
The last year of the war was clouded by two personal tragedies: his son
Neil
Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. As a surname ...
's death in Palestine in November 1917 and Rosebery's own
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
a few days before the
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
. He regained his mental powers, but his movement, hearing, and sight remained impaired for the rest of his life. His sister Constance described his last years as a "life of weariness, of total inactivity, and at the last of almost blindness".
John Buchan
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
As a ...
remembered him in his last month of life, "crushed by bodily weakness" and "sunk in sad and silent meditations".
Rosebery died at his
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...
, Surrey home of The Durdans on 21 May 1929, to the accompaniment, as he had requested, of a gramophone recording of the "
Eton Boating Song". Survived by three of his four children, he was buried in the small church at
Dalmeny
Dalmeny () is a village and civil parish in Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, southeast of South Queensferry and west of Edinburgh city centre. It lies within the traditional boundaries of West Lothian, and ...
. By the time of his death, he was the last
Victorian-era British Prime Minister alive.
Sporting interests
Horse racing
As a result of his marriage to Hannah de Rothschild, Rosebery acquired the
Mentmore Towers
Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George ...
estate and Mentmore
stud near
Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills.
It is nor ...
which had been built by
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild. Rosebery built another stable and stud near Mentmore Towers at
Crafton, Buckinghamshire, called
Crafton Stud.
Rosebery won several of the five
English Classic Races. His most famous horses were
Ladas who won the 1894
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
,
Sir Visto who won it in 1895 (Rosebery was Prime Minister on both occasions), and
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
in 1905.
Football
Rosebery became the first president of the
London Scottish Rugby Football Club in 1878, also developed a keen interest in association football and was an early patron of the sport in Scotland. In 1882 he donated a trophy, the
Rosebery Charity Cup, to be competed for by clubs under the jurisdiction of the East of Scotland Football Association. The competition lasted over sixty years and raised thousands of pounds for charities in the
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
area.
Rosebery also became Honorary President of the national
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
, with the representative
Scotland national team and Honorary President of
Heart of Midlothian. The national team occasionally forsook their traditional dark blue shirts for his traditional racing colours of primrose and pink. This occurred nine times during Rosebery's lifetime, most notably for the 1900
British Home Championship match against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which the Scots won 4–1. These colours were used for the away kit of the Scotland national team in 2014 and were Heart of Midlothian's away colours for season 2016/17.
Literary interests
He was a keen collector of fine books and amassed an excellent library. It was sold on 29 October 2009 at
Sotheby's
Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
, New Bond Street. Rosebery unveiled the statue of
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
in
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
on 6 April 1882.
Landholdings

Rosebery was the owner of twelve houses. By marriage, he acquired:
*
Mentmore Towers
Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George ...
in Buckinghamshire, a huge neo-Renaissance stately home, sold in the 1970s
*Number 40,
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...
, in London.
With his fortune, he bought:
*
Malleny House and Garden in 1882
*a shooting lodge at
Carrington in
Midlothian
Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...
*a Georgian villa at
Postwick in
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
*In 1897, he bought Villa Delahente in
Posillipo
Posillipo (; ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples.
From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Romans along the mo ...
, overlooking the
Bay of Naples
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
, currently an official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, still known as
Villa Rosebery
*38 Berkeley Square, London
*The Durdans,
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...
, where he died in 1929.
As Earl of Rosebery, he was laird of:
*
Dalmeny House on the banks of the
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate ...
(pictured)
*
Barnbougle Castle in the grounds of Dalmeny Estate, used by Rosebery (an insomniac) for privacy.
He rented:
*a home in Randolph Crescent,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
*
Lansdowne House, in London, from the Marquess of Lansdowne.
Legacy and evaluations
Rosebery's position in British politics was puzzling to contemporaries and historians due to the enigmatic nature of his private and public lives. He had an air of privileged detachment, which persisted throughout his brief stint in the political limelight and his significant years in the background. Although he was an orator and statesman in the mold of his original leader, Gladstone, his fifteen-month term as Liberal Prime Minister in 1894-5 was an unhappy spectacle. Lord Rosebery's failure to live up to his potential disappointed Liberals of all kinds. Journalists and biographers have criticized his lack of character and sense of failure, possibly influenced by his Scottish
Calvinist
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
upbringing. Despite his love for luxury and pleasure, his motives for leaving and returning to politics may not have been solely self-indulgent. He was known for his passion for racehorses, even ending his studies at Oxford to pursue them.
Place-name tributes
The ''
Oatlands'' area in the South Side of
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
was laid out in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, contemporary with Rosebery's most prominent period. The area is much changed since it was originally laid out, but several of the original street names had an association with him or areas around his estate to the northwest of Edinburgh: Rosebery Street, Dalmeny Street, Queensferry Street, Granton Street and Cramond Street.
In London,
Rosebery Avenue, running between
Holborn
Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...
and
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England.
Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...
, was named after him, in recognition of his service as the
London County Council
The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...
's first chairman.
Rosebery, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, is named after him. A major street, Dalmeny Avenue, runs through the area.
Rosebery, Tasmania
Rosebery is a town on the West Coast, Tasmania, west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is at the northern end of the West Coast Range, in the shadow of Mount Black (Tasmania), Mount Black and adjacent to the Pieman River, now Lake Pieman.
It lie ...
is also named after him, via the name of a mining company.
Dalmeny, New South Wales, a suburb on the New South Wales
South Coast, is named after him. Roseberry Avenue in the suburb of South Perth,
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, is also named after him. The former township of Rosebery in South Australia (now part of Collinswood) was named for him, as was modern-day Rosebery Lane in Collinswood.
Rodney Cockburn
Rodney Cockburn (21 October 1877 – 28 September 1932) was a South Australian journalist, author of a popular reference book on South Australian place names.
History
Cockburn was born in Kent Town, South Australia, a son of George (c. 1835 � ...
, What's in Name? Nomenclature of South Australia,Ferguson, 1984. Rosebery in the north west of Victoria, some 15 km south of Hopetoun is also named after him.
Rosebery House,
Epsom College
Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a benevolent institution which provided a boarding school education for sons of poor or deceased members ...
, in Epsom, is named after him.
Rosebery School sits on an area of land given to the borough by Lord Rosebery.
In October 1895 Lord Rosebery opened the new ''Liberal Club'' on Westborough, in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
, only months after resigning as
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. The building now houses a
Wetherspoons
J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim ...
, which is named in his honour.
Ancestry
Works
* ''Lord Chatham''
* ''Lord Randolph Churchill''
* ''Napoleon: The Last Phase''
* ''Pitt'' (about William Pitt the Younger)
See also
*
Lady Stair's House
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
Bloch, Michael. ''Closet Queens: Some 20th Century British Politicians'' (Little, Brown, 2015) ''Chapter 1: Archie, Regie, Loulou and Bill''
*
Crewe, The Marquess of. ''Lord Rosebery'' (2 vols., John Murray, 1931).
* Hamer, D. A. ''Liberal politics in the age of Gladstone and Rosebery: a study in leadership and policy'' (Clarendon Press, 1972).
* Jacobson, Peter D. "Rosebery and Liberal Imperialism, 1899 – 1903". ''Journal of British Studies'' 13.1 1973, pp. 83–107. .
* Leonard, Dick. ''Nineteenth-Century British Premiers: Pitt to Rosebery'' (Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008)
*
McKinstry, Leo. ''Rosebery: Statesman in Turmoil'' (2005)
online* Martel, Gordon. ''Imperial Diplomacy: Rosebery and the failure of foreign policy'' (McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986
online*
Raymond, E. T. ''The Life of Lord Rosebery'' (1923
online* Raymond, John. "The First Phase" ''History Today'' (Feb 1959) 9#2 pp 75–82; covers 1847 to 1880.
** Raymond, John. "Office and Eclipse" ''History Today'' (Mar 1959) 9#3 pp 176–184. on Rosebery 1880 to 1895.
* Rhodes James, R. ''Rosebery'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1963), a major scholarly biography
online
External links
*
Earl Of Rosebery 1847–1929biography from the Liberal Democrat History Group
More about The Earl of Roseberryon the Downing street website.
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosebery, Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl Of
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