Alexander Peckover, 1st Baron Peckover

Peckover was born at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, the son of Algernon Peckover, of Bank House, Wisbech, by Priscilla Alexander, daughter of Dykes Alexander, a banker, of Ipswich, Suffolk. He was educated at Grove House School, Tottenham, London.[1]

The Peckovers were a Quaker banking family and owners of the Peckover Bank, which later merged into Gurney, Peckover and Company, he started as a clerk in 1847 and worked his way up and became a partner in 1866 Retiring in 1894.[1][2] His sister Priscilla Hannah Peckover was a pacifist and linguist.[3] Peckover was also an active peace campaigner, chairing annual meetings of the Wisbech Local Peace Association.[4]

In his retirement he devoted himself mainly to meteorological studies and the collection of ancient manuscripts.[5] He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Linnean Society of London[1] and a member of the Hakluyt Society, Spalding Gentlemen's Society and the British Numismatic Society. In 1893, he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, a post he held until 1906.[1] The following year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Peckover, of Wisbech in the County of Cambridge.[6]

Peckover married Eliza Sharples, daughter of Joseph Sharples, a banker, of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, in 1858. They had three daughters. He is said to have declined the offer a special remainder that would have allowed the title to descend through his daughter to his grandson, stating that "if my grandson wants the title he must earn it".[5] Eliza died in August 1862, only a year after the birth of her youngest child. Lord Peckover remained a widower until his death in October 1919, aged 89. His title died with him.[1] His daughter Elizabeth married the artist J. Doyle Penrose.

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Lord Peckover
• "The Peckovers"- The Wisbech Society and Preservation Trust Limited