Sir Richard Winfrey (5 August 1858 – 18 April 1944) 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, newspaper publisher and campaigner for agricultural rights. He served as Member of Parliament for

South West Norfolk South West Norfolk is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 by Terr ...

, 1906–1923, and for Gainsborough, 1923–1924.

Biography

Winfrey was born at Long Sutton in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

on 5 August 1858. He married Annie Lucy Pattinson of Ruskington, Lincolnshire, in 1897. His wife's brothers, Samuel Pattinson (1870–1942) and Sir Robert Pattinson (1872–1954), were later both Liberal MPs; Samuel for

Horncastle Horncastle is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, England. It is east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls rema ...

from 1922 to 1924 and Robert for

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

from 1922 to 1923. In religion Winfrey was a Congregationalist. He was made a

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in 1914. He died on 18 April 1944 i
Castor House
Castor,

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Publishing

In 1887, Richard Winfrey purchased the '' Spalding Guardian'', a local newspaper that was to provide the basis for the Winfrey family's newspaper interests. His next purchase was the '' Lynn News''; he also started the '' North Cambs Echo'' and bought the '' Peterborough Advertiser''. During World War II Winfrey's newspaper interests began to be passed over to his son, Richard Pattinson 'Pat' Winfrey (1902–1985) who had himself unsuccessfully stood in the Holland with Boston by-election in 1924. In 1947, under the direction of Pat Winfrey, the family's newspaper titles were consolidated to form the East Midland Allied Press, later the

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media group.

Politics

Winfrey stood in eight general elections. He first contested

as a Liberal at the general election of 1895 and tried again in 1900. He was elected Liberal MP for South West Norfolk at the 1906 Liberal landslide election and he held the seat with the help of the

Coalition Coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...

until

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

. He also represented Gainsborough from 1923 to 1924. His first career had been as a chemist, and he steered the Poisons and Pharmacy Act 1908 through Parliament.

Office

Between 1906 and 1910, Winfrey served as Parliamentary Secretary to Earl Carrington and Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture from 1916 to 1918. In August 1914 as Mayor of Peterborough he was one of the last to read the

Riot Act The Riot Act (1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled ...

after anti-German disturbances. Winfrey also served as a Justice of the Peace. He was Chairman of the Lincolnshire and Norfolk Small Holdings Association, Ltd and sometime Chairman of the National Educational Association.''The Liberal Year Book'', National Liberal Federation, Liberal Central Association (Great Britain); Liberal Publication Dept., 1933, p. 21. At its foundation in 1906 he was Treasurer of the Eastern Counties Agricultural Labourers & Small Holders Union which in 1920 became the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winfrey, Richard 1858 births 1944 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 Mayors of Peterborough People from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians