Charles Cooke (Conservative politician)

Charles Wallwyn Radcliffe Cooke (1841 – 26 May 1911)[1][2] was an English farmer and cider producer and a Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892 and from 1893 to 1900.

"The Constitutional Union"
Cooke as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, July 1892

Biography

Cooke was the son of Robert Duffield Cooke of Hellens, Herefordshire. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge,[3] becoming "Le Bas" Prizeman in 1864, and "Burney" Prizeman in 1866 and 1867 for English Essays. In 1869 he co-wrote with Angelina Gushington Thoughts on Men and Things: A Series of Essays. In 1872, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, but showed a greater interest in farming in Herefordshire. He was President of Herefordshire Chamber of Agriculture, and Chairman of the Ledbury Highway Board. He wrote pamphlets on political and other questions and authored works on the Agricultural Holdings Act of 1875.[4] His particular interest was cider growing and he saw commercial production of cider as a way of stimulating cultivation of orchards during the period of agricultural depression.[5] He was J.P. for Herefordshire.

At the 1885 general election Cooke was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newington West[6] in South London, where he was re-elected in 1886,[7] but did not contest the seat at the 1892 general election.[8][9] He returned to Parliament the following year, when he was elected at a by-election in August 1893 as the MP for Hereford[10] and became known as the MP for Cider. He retired from the Commons at the 1900 general election. His book Four Years in Parliament With Hard Labour was republished in 2008.[11]

Cooke married Frances Panther Broome in 1876. Cooke lived at Hellens, Herefordshire and died at the age of 69.

References
  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 1)
  2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)
  3. "Cooke (Radcliffe-Cooke), Charles Wallwyn Radcliffe (CK860CW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
  5. British Association for Local History Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "No. 25541". The London Gazette. 18 December 1885. p. 6136.
  7. "No. 25609". The London Gazette. 20 July 1886. p. 3500.
  8. "News in Brief: Election Intelligence". London. 2 December 1891. pp. 10, col B.
  9. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 37. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  10. "No. 26433". The London Gazette. 18 August 1893. p. 4705.
  11. Four Years in Parliament With Hard Labour
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Newington West
1885 – 1892		 Succeeded by
Cecil Norton
Preceded by
William Grenfell		 Member of Parliament for Hereford
1893 – 1900		 Succeeded by
John Arkwright
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