Robert Westley Hall-Dare (3 March 1789 – 20 May 1836) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician who was Member of Parliament for South Essex from 1832, as a

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

, until his death in 1836. He was succeeded by George Palmer.

Early life

He was born Robert Westley Hall in

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

in modern-day

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

on 3 March 1789 to parents Robert Westley Hall and Maria Elizabeth De Codin. His parents owned the ‘Maria's Pleasure’ sugar plantation on Wakenaam Island in the

Essequibo River The Essequibo River (; originally called by Alonso de Ojeda; ) is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon River, Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana border, the Essequibo flows ...

, which passed to Robert on his father’s death. Hall 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) * ...

from 1802 to 1809. He was a Captain in the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers, serving in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. He married Elizabeth Grafton on 8 November 1815. He changed his name by

Royal sign-manual The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses their pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant (law), warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an a ...

to Robert Westley Hall-Dare on 25 April 1823, taking the name Dare from his wife, daughter and heiress of Marmaduke Grafton Dare. One of his granddaughters was Mabel Virginia Anna Hall-Dare (

Mabel Bent Mabel Virginia Anna Bent (née Hall-Dare, a.k.a. Mrs J. Theodore Bent) (28 January 1847 – 3 July 1929), was an Anglo-Irish explorer, excavator, writer and photographer. With her husband, J. Theodore Bent, she spent two decades (1877–1897) t ...

, 1847–1929), who in 1877 married the explorer

James Theodore Bent James Theodore Bent (30 March 1852 – 5 May 1897) was an English explorer, archaeologist, and author. Biography James Theodore Bent was born in Liverpool on 30 March 1852, the son of James (1807-1876) and Eleanor (née Lambert, c.1811-1873) ...

(1852–1897).

Political career

Hall-Dare was

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

in 1821. His merits for public service were spotted by his friend

William Jerdan William Jerdan FSA (16 April 1782 – 11 July 1869), Scotland, Scottish journalist, was born at Kelso, Scotland. During the years between 1799 and 1806, he spent short periods in a country lawyer's office, a London West India merchant's co ...

(1782-1869), editor of

The Literary Gazette ''The Literary Gazette'' was a British literary magazine, established in London in 1817 with its full title being ''The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences''. Sometimes it appeared with the caption title, "London Lit ...

. Hall-Dare was elected MP for South Essex in 1832. In terms of politics, he was described as "opposed to free trade in corn and in everything else; in favour of a repeal of the assessed, and other taxes pressing on the springs of industry, and the imposition in their stead of a tax upon property; and also in favour of an extension of the currency", and a Peelite. He supported the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

in Parliament, as well as better observance of the Sabbath. The

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

has a satirical print (c. 1818) showing Hall-Dare slicing a round pudding representing lands in the county of Essex, labelled 'Ilford to Romford'.

Death

Hall-Dare died at the age of 47 in his house in London, 4 Portman Square. He had nine children. He left his estate in British Guyana to his eldest son, also called Robert Westley Hall-Dare. His mortal remains rest in the family vault in St Mary's Church, Theydon Bois, Essex. Two years before his own death he commissioned a memorial bust for his father, Robert Westley Hall, from the sculptor Patrick Macdowell in St Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex.http://www.speel.me.uk/essex/barking/hall1.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall-Dare, Robert Westley 1789 births 1836 deaths UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 People educated at Harrow School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies High sheriffs of Essex