Arthur Henry Aylmer Morton

Arthur Henry Aylmer Morton (31 December 1835 – 15 June 1913) was a British clergyman, schoolteacher and Conservative Party politician.[1][2]

The second son of Edward Morton of Kensington Gate, Hyde Park, London, he was educated at Eton College where he was a member of the 1854 Eton XI cricket team.[3][2][1][4] In 1854 he was admitted to King's College, Cambridge where he took Classical Honours, graduating Bachelor of Arts in 1859 and Master of Arts in 1862.[4][1] In 1857 he was elected a Fellow of King's College, subsequently becoming bursar in 1870–1871 and Senior dean of the college in 1871–1872.[4][2]

Morton was ordained as a Church of England deacon in 1861 and as a priest in 1863. He was appointed curate of the All Saints, Knightsbridge and of the Curzon Chapel, Mayfair.

Following graduation he initially worked as a tutor at Eton.[4][2][1] He was tutor to Viscount Macduff, later Duke of Fife. In 1881 he became the duke's chaplain.[4] From 1872–1886 he was headmaster of a preparatory school in Farnborough, Hampshire.[4] In June 1891 he resigned from the Anglican Ministry under the terms of the Clerical Disabilities Act 1870.

A Unionist in politics, he unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seats of Leeds East in 1892 and North Manchester in 1895.[2][1] From 1895–1898 he was a member of the London County Council, representing Rotherhithe as a member of the Conservative-backed Moderate Party.[5]

In 1897 the sitting member of parliament for Deptford, Charles Darling, was appointed a judge of the Queen's Bench Division. This required him to vacate his seat, and Morton was chosen by the Conservative Party to contest the ensuing by-election.[2] Morton was elected and held the seat until 1906.[2][1][4] In 1904 he was appointed an ecclesiastical commissioner.[2][1]

In 1903 Morton married Evelyn Wilson-Todd, daughter of Sir William Wilson-Todd of Halnaby Hall, and Tranby Park, Yorkshire, MP for Howdenshire.[1][2] He divided his time between residences in Scotland (at North Berwick until his marriage and at Balabraes House, Ayton, Berwickshire thereafter), and Eaton Place in London.[4][2]

He died at his London home in June 1913, aged 77.[2]