Richard Arkwright (1835 – 14 November 1918)‘ARKWRIGHT, Richard’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 201
accessed 17 June 2014
/ref> was an English barrister and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. Arkwright was the second son of John Arkwright, of

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, and the great-grandson of the cotton-spinning industrialist Sir

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as ...

. His brother,

John Hungerford Arkwright John Hungerford Arkwright (12 July 1833 – 25 May 1905) was Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire from 27 January 1902 to 5 December 1904, and was one of the wealthiest landowners in that county. Biography Arkwright was born at the family home ...

, was

Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Herefordshire was always held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, but after the Restoration, its lieutenants were appointe ...

, whose son

John Stanhope Arkwright Sir John Stanhope Arkwright (10 July 1872 – 19 September 1954) was a British Conservative Party politician. Family life Born in London, he was the great-great grandson of the cotton-spinning industrialist Sir Richard Arkwright and the son ...

was also an MP. 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

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a 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 college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, graduating in 1857. He was called to the bar from Lincoln's Inn in 1859 and in 1862 married Lady Mary Caroline Byng, a daughter of the

Earl of Strafford Earl of Strafford is a title that has been created three times in English and British history. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in January 1640 for Thomas Wentworth, the close advisor of King Charles I. He had already suc ...

. Arkwright was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) for

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

at an unopposed by-election in February 1866, and stated that his position was not to oppose every change, but that he was against any 'great organic changes being made in matters connected with Church or State'. He held the seat until he

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

on 8 February 1876. At the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

, the Leominster seat was gained by a Liberal. After retiring from parliament, Arkwright was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Herefordshire. In 1886, Arkwright published ''Driven Home: A Tale of Destiny'' under the pseudonym Evelyn Owen. It is a mystery story with supernatural elements. In 1889, he published a second novel, ''The Queen Anne’s Gate Mystery''. This is a detective story with an aristocratic female detective Lady Geraldine accompanied by her husband, who is also the narrator.

References

* ''

Dod's Parliamentary Companion ''Dods Parliamentary Companion'' (formerly "Dod's Parliamentary Companion") is an annual politics reference book published in the United Kingdom. It provides biographies and contact information on members of the Houses of Parliament and the C ...

'', 1872

External links

* 1835 births 1918 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from Leominster People educated at Harrow School Members of Lincoln's Inn Deputy Lieutenants of Herefordshire {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1830s-stub