Walter Morrison (21 May 1836 – 18 December 1921) was an English Liberal and

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

politician who sat in 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 ...

in three periods between 1861 and 1900. He was a major funder and the treasurer of the

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization i ...

; in later years the fund was dependent on his donations. Morrison was the son of James Morrison and his wife Mary Anne Todd, daughter of Joseph Todd of London. His father was of the firm of Morrison, Dillon, & Co., and was a former MP for Ipswich. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and at

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 ...

graduating BA in 1857, and MA in 1862. He was a J.P. for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and Lieutenant-colonel of the West Riding Rifle Volunteers.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870
/ref> In 1861, Morrison was elected Member of Parliament for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. He held the seat until 1874. At the 1886 general election he was elected MP for

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

as a Liberal Unionist and held the seat until 1892. He was re-elected at Skipton in 1895 and held the seat to 1900. He served as

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

for 1883–84. Morrison died, unmarried, at the age of 85.W. M. Ormrod, University of York. Dept. of History, ''The lord lieutenants and high sheriffs of Yorkshire'' (2000), p. 191 — "Walter Morrison (1883-4) Born on 21 May 1836, Walter Morrison was the son of James Morrison and his wife, Mary (nee Smith). Inheriting from his father a significant fortune made in business during the Napoleonic Wars, Walter was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, before going on the Grand Tour and then entering upon a long parliamentary career. As Liberal MP for Plymouth (1861-74) and Liberal Unionist for Skipton (1886-1900), he was particularly committed to the co-operative movement. Much of his time was spent at his Malham Tarn estate where he entertained a number of notable guests, including John Ruskin, Charles Darwin and Charles Kingsley. It was there that Kingsley was inspired to write ''The Water Babies''. Morrison died, unmarried, on 18 December 1921 and was buried at Kirkby Malham."

References

External links

* 1836 births 1921 deaths People educated at Eton College Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1895–1900 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plymouth High sheriffs of Yorkshire Presidents of Co-operative Congress {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub