Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe

The Lord Clitheroe
The Lord Clitheroe in 1956
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
21 June 1955 – 18 September 1984
Preceded byPeerage created
Succeeded byThe 2nd Baron Clitheroe
Member of Parliament
for Blackburn West
In office
23 February 1950 – 6 May 1955
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for City of London
In office
31 October 1945 – 3 February 1950
Preceded by
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Rushcliffe
In office
26 July 1934 – 15 June 1945
Preceded byHenry Betterton
Succeeded byFlorence Paton
Personal details
Born
Ralph Assheton

(1901-02-24)24 February 1901
Died18 September 1984(1984-09-18) (aged 83)
Spouses
Sylvia Benita Frances Hotham
(m. 1923)
Children4

Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe, KCVO, KStJ, PC, JP, DL (24 February 1901 – 18 September 1984), was an English aristocrat and politician.

Biography

[edit]

Assheton was born on 24 February 1901.[1] His father was Sir Ralph Assheton, 1st Baronet (1860–1955), and his mother, Mildred Estelle Sybella Master (1884–1949).[citation needed] He was educated at Summer Fields School and Eton College.[2]

Assheton was Member of Parliament (MP) for Rushcliffe from 1934 to 1945, for the City of London from 1945 to 1950, and for Blackburn West from 1950 to 1955. In the wartime government under Winston Churchill, he was Minister of Supply in 1942, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1942 to 1944. He was sworn of the Privy Council in the 1944 New Year Honours,[3] and served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1944 to 1946.

After retiring from the House of Commons at the 1955 general election, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Clitheroe, of Downham in the County Palatine of Lancaster, on 21 June 1955.[4] He succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet three months later.

He was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire on 16 November 1955,[5] and later served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, from 1971 to 1976. He was appointed a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (KStJ) in February 1972,[6] and appointed to the Royal Victorian Order as a Knight Commander in 1977 on his retirement from the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster.[7]

Family

[edit]

He married Hon. Sylvia Benita Frances Hotham, daughter of Frederick Hotham, 6th Baron Hotham (1863–1923), on 24 January 1924.[citation needed] They had four children:[citation needed]

Lord Clitheroe died in 1984.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ National Portrait Gallery
  2. ^ Usborne, Richard (1964). A Century of Summer Fields. Methuen. p. 105.
  3. ^ "No. 36309". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1943. p. 1.
  4. ^ "No. 40517". The London Gazette. 21 June 1955. p. 3593.
  5. ^ "No. 40638". The London Gazette. 22 November 1955. p. 6584.
  6. ^ "No. 45601". The London Gazette. 17 February 1972. p. 2005.
  7. ^ "No. 47221". The London Gazette. 24 May 1977. p. 6421.
  8. ^ "Obituary: Lady Worsley". The Daily Telegraph. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Obituaries: Nicholas Assheton". Daily Telegraph.
  10. ^ England & Wales, Death Index, 1837-2005.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe
19341945
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for City of London
19451950
With: Sir Andrew Duncan
Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Blackburn West
19501955
Constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Financial Secretary to the Treasury
1942–1944
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Conservative Party
1944–1946
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire
1971–1976
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Clitheroe
1955–1984
Member of the House of Lords
(1955–1984)
Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baronet
of Downham
1955–1984
Succeeded by