Robert Hunter (civil Servant)
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Sir Robert Hunter (27 October 1844 – 6 November 1913) was a solicitor, civil servant and co-founder of the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
. From the 1860s Hunter was interested in conservation of public open spaces, and worked with other pioneers in this field, including
Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3December 183813August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer and founder of the National Trust. Her main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteent ...
and Hardwicke Rawnsley. After acting as adviser to Hill in her campaigns to save
Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...
and other open spaces, he worked with Rawnsley to save land in the English
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
from industrial development. In 1893 the three campaigners agreed to set up a national body to acquire vulnerable properties and preserve them for the nation. At Hunter's suggestion it was entitled "the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty", generally known simply as "the National Trust". Hunter was the founding chairman of the trust's executive board. From 1882 until the year of his death Hunter was solicitor to the
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
. His negotiations in that capacity were estimated to have saved the British taxpayer many millions of pounds.


Life and career


Early years

Hunter was born at Addington Square, in the south London suburb of
Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
, the elder child and only son of Robert Lachlan Hunter, a master mariner and shipowner, and his wife, Anne, ''née'' Lachlan. He was educated privately until 1861 when he was admitted to
University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
. In the same year his family left London for
Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...
, which was his first contact with the commons and hills of
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
which he would come to love in later life. Hunter was awarded a first-class degree in logic and moral philosophy in 1863. At his father's suggestion he took up a post as an
articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...
in a firm of
solicitors A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...
in London. Finding the work uninteresting he read for a master's degree in his spare time.Smith, John Oliver
"Sir Robert Hunter"
accessed 4 June 2012
In 1866 the philanthropist and politician Henry Peek ran a contest offering prizes of £400 for essays on the best means of preserving common land for the public. Hunter's entry, "The Preservation of Commons in the Neighbourhood of the Metropolis", was one of six winning essays. He traced the history and legal standing of the rights of common: "substantial privileges which were maintainable at law. Though a person claiming common of pasture in another's soil had no interest in that soil, yet he had a certain right over it, and could prevent by legal process any dealings with it which would prejudice this right." This principle, Hunter maintained, had been extended from old grazing rights to a modern requirement that common land should not be enclosed without due regard for "the health, comfort and convenience of the inhabitants" of nearby urban areas. The six essays were published in one volume in 1867. In the same year Hunter was admitted solicitor. He became a partner in Fawcett, Horne, and Hunter, solicitors to the recently established Commons Preservation Society.Chubb, L W
"Hunter, Sir Robert (1844–1913)"
rev. Graham Murphy, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 2007, accessed 3 June 2012


Commons Preservation Society

Hunter worked with the society to save common land from enclosure. He instituted legal actions that ensured protection of
Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...
, and
Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...
,
Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Plumstead has been settled since ancient times, and London's earliest timber structure has been found here. ...
,
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
and Tooting commons and other open spaces threatened with enclosure."Mr. Shaw-Lefevre on the Preservation of Commons", ''The Times'', 11 December 1886, p. 10 Most of the principles of public interest expounded in his 1866 essay were incorporated into English law in 1875. From the latter year onwards, Hunter was
Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3December 183813August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer and founder of the National Trust. Her main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteent ...
's adviser on the protection of open spaces in London. One of Hunter's most celebrated successes was the rescue from enclosure of 3,000 acres of
Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Lond ...
, with the support of the corporation of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
. The case was bitterly contested across three years. Hunter acted with the corporation's solicitor, Sir Thomas Nelson, in the conduct of the legal proceedings."Epping Forest", ''The Times'', 4 May 1882, p. 10 In 1882
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 ...
went to the forest and formally declared it "available for her people's enjoyment".


Post Office

A leading member of the Commons Preservation Society during this period was the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
politician
Henry Fawcett Henry Fawcett (26 August 1833 – 6 November 1884) was a British academic, politician, statesman and economist. Background and education Henry Fawcett was born in Salisbury where his father was a gentleman farmer. He was educated at the A ...
. He was appointed
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 official ...
by
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 ...
in 1880. When the post of solicitor to the
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
(GPO) became vacant in 1881 Fawcett decided that Hunter would be the best choice for the position. Hunter's fitness for the post was confirmed by independent advisers and he was appointed on 1 February 1882. Fawcett later said that nothing in his official career had given him more satisfaction than securing a man of Hunter's character and ability for the service of the nation. Hunter remained as solicitor to the GPO until the year of his death. Much of his work was in preparing draft legislation on Post Office matters to be put before Parliament. There were more than fifty such drafts during Hunter's tenure. His biographer L W Chubb singles out the Conveyance of Mails Act, 1893, which established an arbitration procedure for disputes between the railway companies and the GPO about charges for transporting mail by train. Chubb calculates that this one measure saved the taxpayer more than £10m. Hunter's other most important contribution, in Chubb's view, was the negotiation of the terms for acquiring the National Telephone Company's system, which saved another £8.5m.


National Trust

In 1883 Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley was engaged in a campaign to stop the construction of railways from quarries in the fells overlooking
Buttermere Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. It has a length of approximately and a maximum width of , an area of , a maximum depth of , and a surface elevation of above sea level. Its primary outflow is Buttermere Dubs, a ...
, in the English
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, with damaging effect on the unspoilt scenery. He secured the support of
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
, Octavia Hill and Hunter, and was successful in stopping the development.Murphy, Graham
"Rawnsley, Hardwicke Drummond (1851–1920)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 4 June 2012
Both Hunter and Rawnsley, building on an idea put forward by Ruskin, advocated a trust that could buy and preserve places of natural beauty and historic interest for the nation. The need for such a body was emphasised in 1886, when the owner of
Sayes Court Sayes Court was a manor house and garden in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham on the Thames Path and in the former parish of Deptford St Nicholas, St Nicholas. Sayes Court once attracted throngs to visit its celebrated garden''John Ev ...
, a manor house in
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
, wished to give it to the nation, but could not because no national organisation existed to accept the gift. He established a permanent trust under the chairmanship of the vicar of the parish, and presented the house and gardens with a substantial financial endowment to maintain them. In November 1893 Hill, Hunter and Rawnsley met at the offices of the Commons Preservation Society. They agreed to set up a national body, to propagate the formation of a "National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty". In July 1894 the trust was formally inaugurated under the presidency of the Duke of Westminster."A Proposed National Trust", ''The Times'', 17 July 1894, p. 12 At the inaugural meeting Rawnsley declared, to cheering, that the aim was to establish "a great National Gallery of natural pictures". Hunter was appointed chairman of the executive committee. In the same year he was knighted for his services to conservation. Hunter had warned the inaugural meeting that the trust would be on a truly secure footing only if it obtained the permanent status granted by either a royal charter or an Act of Parliament. He drafted the 1907 National Trust Bill, which was put before Parliament, giving the trust the status of a statutory corporation. He gave formal evidence to the parliamentary committee that scrutinised the bill,"Parliamentary Committees", ''The Times'', 26 July 1907. p. 4 and the bill was passed in August 1907."An Act to incorporate and confer powers upon the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty"
, The National Trust, accessed 4 June 2012
By the time of the 1907 Act, the trust had acquired 25 properties in England, Wales and Ireland, ranging from 850 acres of open country in the Lake District, to common land in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
to castles in
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
and
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
to coastal land in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
and
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
. Hunter was appointed CB in 1909 and promoted to KCB in 1911 for his services to the Post Office. He retired at the end of July 1913, and died at the age of 69 of toxaemia less than four months later at his house at Meadfields Hanger,
Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...
, Surrey. Fourteen acres of water and woodland at Waggoners Wells were bought by public subscription and given to the National Trust to honour his memory.


Personal life

In 1869 Hunter married Emily Browning; she died in childbirth on 2 January 1872. He did not remarry until May 1877. His second wife, Ellen ''née'' Cann (1851–1932) was the daughter of a land surveyor, Samuel Cann. There were three daughters of the second marriage. In politics, ''The Times'' said, "Sir Robert was a robust thoughtful Liberal of the older type. As a speaker he was admirably clear and direct, articulate but not rhetorical, relying far more on the persuasive forced of exact statement than on appeals to emotion." ''The Times'' Obituary:Sir Robert Hunter, 7 November 1913. In religion, he was a broad-church
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
.


Notes


References

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Further reading

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Robert 1844 births 1913 deaths English environmentalists People from Camberwell Alumni of University College London Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Postmasters general of the United Kingdom National Trust people