Robert Needham Philips DL (1815 – 28 February 1890) was an English merchant and manufacturer in the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

textiles business, a

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, and the grandfather of the Whig historian

G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was an English historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to th ...

. He lived in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, and after holding at least three ceremonial appointments he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Bury, a

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...

which was then in Lancashire, for a total of 22 years between 1857 and 1885.

Family and early life

Philips was the youngest son Robert Philips, a merchant of The Park, Manchester, and his wife Anne ''née'' Needham. His older brother

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

(1800–1873) was one of the first two MPs to be elected for Manchester in 1832, after the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

had given city parliamentary representation for the first time. The family's extensive estate on the boundary of Whitefield and Prestwich, in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

(now within the

Metropolitan Borough of Bury The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is north of Manchester, to the east of Bolton and west of Rochdale. The borough is centred around the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury but also ...

), is now Philips Park. His father's business partnership, ''Philips, Wood & Co'', was dissolved in 1844 after the death of both partners. The younger Robert was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and at Manchester College. He married twice, firstly in 1845 to Anna Maria Yates, daughter of Joseph Brooks Yates from Liverpool, who died in 1850. He married again in 1852 to Anna Maria's cousin, Mary Ellen Yates from London. His daughter Caroline was married in 1869 to George Otto Trevelyan (1838–1928), who was later a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

; their youngest son was the historian

(1876–1962), and their eldest son was the Liberal MP Sir Charles Trevelyan (1870–1958), who later joined the Labour Party and served in

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

's cabinets as

President of the Board of Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

. His residences were listed in 1881 as ''The Park, Manchester'', and ''Welcombe, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire''. He had inherited Welcombe House in 1873 on the death of his brother, and on his death the estate passed to his daughter Caroline.

Business interests

He was a partner in a partnership of smallware manufacturers, with interests in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, Lancashire,

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

and London, which was dissolved in 1855. He was also engaged in a similar partnership which was restructured in 1867. After his death in 1890 at the age of 75, a further partnership was dissolved, which had involved a bleaching and dyeing enterprise at Bagley in Lancashire, and bobbin manufacturing at Staveley in Westmorland.

Political career

Philips was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire 1853, and of

in 1855. He was Sheriff of Lancashire from 1856 to 1857. He was elected as the MP for Bury at the 1857 general election, but held the seat for only two years until he stood down from 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 ...

at the 1859 general election. He stood again in

1865 Events January * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Fisher – Unio ...

, after which he held the seat until he retired from

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

at the 1885 general election.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Philips, Robert Needham 1815 births 1890 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury People educated at Rugby School Deputy lieutenants of Lancashire Deputy lieutenants of Warwickshire High sheriffs of Lancashire

Family and early life

Business interests

Political career

See also

References

External links