Sir Robert Charles Kirkwood Ensor (16 October 1877 – 4 December 1958) was a British writer, poet, journalist, liberal intellectual and historian. He is best known for ''England: 1870-1914'' (1936), a volume in the ''

Oxford History of England The Oxford History of England (1934–1965) was a book series on the history of the United Kingdom. Published by Oxford University Press, it was originally intended to span from Roman Britain to the outbreak of the First World War in fourteen vol ...

'' series edited by George Clark.

Biography

Born in Milborne Port,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, he was the son of Robert H Ensor and his wife Olivia ''née'' Currie. He was educated at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

where he achieved a first in Greats and also the Chancellor's Latin verse prize. He was President of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

in 1900. He became involved in left-wing politics, publishing a selection of writings of leading socialist theorists as ''Modern Socialism'' in 1903. He failed at his attempts to become a fellow of Merton, St John's and All Souls (twice) but later became a tutor at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

. In 1902 he became leader writer for ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. In 1905 he moved to London where he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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 ...

. From 1909 - 1911 he worked for the '' Daily News'' and from 1912 - 1930 for the '' Daily Chronicle''. Ensor lived in Poplar, and from 1910 - 1913 represented the area on 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 ...

as a Labour Party councillor. Following the closure of the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, he retired from regular journalistic work, although he continued to contribute to various publications as an editor and reviewer. In 1931 he took up a post as a lecturer in the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, but a year later returned to Oxford where he acted as deputy to Arthur Salter, Gladstone Professor of Political Theory and Institutions. George Clark commissioned him a volume of the ''

'', covering the years 1870 to 1914. Reviewer Richard Hammond noted that he devoted six of his fifteen chapters to 'Economics and Institutions' and 'Mental and Social Aspects', and "these are both well-informed and up-to-date." Published in 1936 as the final volume, Ensor's book has sold more copies than any other in the original fourteen part series. He was subsequently made a research fellow of Corpus Christi College and a research lecturer of All Souls College in 1937 and a faculty fellow of Nuffield College in 1938. He was commissioned in 1937 to write a sequel to his volume of the ''Oxford History of England'' but he resumed his journalism during the Second World War with a weekly column on foreign affairs in the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. The book, a volume covering the years 1914 to 1945, was eventually written by A.J.P. Taylor.

Personal life

Ensor married Helen Fisher of Manchester in 1906, and the couple had two sons and three daughters. The family made their home at Upper Sands, near

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. He retired in 1953 and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1955. Ensor was teetotal and a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

.Crawford, Keith. (2016). ''Arthur Mee: A Biography. Lutterworth Press''. p. 77. He died in a

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

nursing home in December 1958, aged 81.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ensor, Robert Presidents of the Oxford Union 1877 births 1958 deaths 19th-century British poets 20th-century British poets 20th-century British historians British male journalists Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Members of the Fabian Society Members of London County Council People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Academics of the London School of Economics Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford Knights Bachelor Historians of the University of Oxford British male poets