James Grimble Groves

James Grimble Groves (24 October 1854 – 23 June 1914) was a British brewer and Conservative politician.

Life

He was the son of William Peer Groves, of Springbank, Pendleton, near Salford and was educated privately and at Owen's College, Manchester.[1] He became chairman and managing director of Groves and Whitnall Limited, owners of the Regent Road Brewery, Salford.[2]

Groves was the chairman of the Salford Conservative Association, and when the member of parliament for Salford South announced his retirement prior to the 1900 general election, he was selected as the party's candidate.[3] He held the seat for the Conservatives.

In November 1900 a number of arsenic poisonings in the Manchester area were traced to beer from the Groves and Whitnall Brewery, and consequently a large amount of the company's stock had to be destroyed.[4] In 1903, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Cheshire.[5]

Groves only served one term in the Commons, losing his seat to Hilaire Belloc in the Liberal landslide at the 1906 general election.

He married in 1878, and made his home at Oldfield Hall, Altrincham, Cheshire. He died in June 1914 aged 59, after a long illness.[2][6] His daughter, Eileen Norah, married Howard Cumming and their daughter was the writer Anne Cumming.[7] One of Groves' son was Robert Marsland Groves, the naval aviation pioneer and senior Royal Air Force commander.[8] Two other sons William Peer Groves and Keith Grimble Groves went on to join the brewery's board.[9]

Notes and references
  1. Biographies of New Members, The Times, 19 October 1900, p.10
  2. Wills, The Times, 25 September 1914
  3. The Times, 19 September 1900, p.5
  4. Arsenic In Beer, The Times, 1 December 1900, p.8
  5. "No. 27620". The London Gazette. 20 November 1903. p. 7752.
  6. "Mr. James Grimble Groves: In Memoriam". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 25 June 1914. p. 6 col B. Retrieved 9 January 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. Richard Davenport-Hines, ‘Cumming, (Felicity) Anne (1917–1993)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009 accessed 11 April 2017
  8. "Personals". Flight. XIII (637 No 10): 161. 3 March 1921. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  9. Company biographies, Groves and Whitnall, Retrieved 11 April 2017
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Henry Hoyle Howorth		 Member of Parliament for Salford South
1900–1906		 Succeeded by
Hilaire Belloc
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