The Lord Ashton | |
|---|---|
 James Williamson, Baron Ashton | |
| Member of Parliament forLancaster | |
| In office 1886–1895 | |
| Preceded by | George Blucher Heneage Marton |
| Succeeded by | William Henry Foster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Williamson 31 December 1842 Lancaster, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 27 May 1930(1930-05-27) (aged 87) |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Occupation | Businessman and politician |
James Williamson, 1st Baron Ashton,DL, JP (31 December 1842 – 27 May 1930) was a British businessman, philanthropist andLiberal Party politician. His family's business inLancaster producedoilcloth andlinoleum, which was exported around the world. After serving as aMember of Parliament forLancaster, he was elevated to thepeerage as Baron Ashton in 1895. Unproven accusations that he had purchased his title, however, haunted him and led to his eventual withdrawal from public life.[1][2]
Williamson was born the third of four surviving children toAlderman James Williamson and Eleanor (née Miller) of Parkfield, Lancashire. His father, who wasmayor of Lancaster, had established a successful coated fabrics business in the town in the 1840s. James was educated atLancaster Royal Grammar School and worked all his life in the family business.[1][3]
The Williamson family was extremely wealthy and dedicated to charity. With his father, Williamson created the city'sWilliamson Park, on the site of formerstone quarries on Lancaster moor, and built other gardens throughout the city.[1] After the death of his second wife, Jessie, who supported him in his political life, he built theAshton Memorial on a hill in the park in 1909. The Memorial, anEdwardian baroque building, is now used for exhibitions and for weddings. It remains the world's second-largest memorial erected by a husband, to commemorate his late wife, after theTaj Mahal. He also donated the city'sTown Hall and a monument toQueen Victoria in the city'sDalton Square.[1]
Williamson boughtAshton Hall in 1884, serving asHigh Sheriff of Lancashire for 1885. Williamson was noted in particular for his generosity to children. After he became High Sheriff in 1885, he served a breakfast for 10,000 people of the local population.[1]
Williamson's philanthropy in Lancaster over the years, through many gifts, subscriptions, and buildings, amounted to more than £500,000 (equivalent to £39,929,000 in 2023).[1]
In the1886 general election, Williamson was elected to theHouse of Commons asMember of Parliament (MP) forLancaster, and held his seat at the1892 election.
Williamson was a strong supporter of Prime MinisterWilliam Ewart Gladstone, the Liberal Party leader, and Gladstone likewise held Williamson in high regard for his business instincts. Williamson was a supporter of Gladstone'sGovernment of Ireland Bill 1893, and gave generously to Irish causes. Gladstone planned to recommend Williamson for apeerage but resigned in 1894, without any outgoing honours. The next year, though, Williamson was elevated to the peerage asBaron Ashton, of Ashton in the County Palatine of Lancaster,[4] during thePrime Minister's Resignation Honours ofLord Rosebery.[1]
Williamson's peerage was one of two in Lord Rosebery's honours list that led to heavy criticism, including from theDuke of Devonshire, head of theLiberal Unionist Party, who insinuated that Williamson had bought his title.[1] Lord Rosebery explained that the creation of the two peerages were a "point of honour" as they had been promised by Gladstone, and added that the idea they had been sold was "an infamous lie." Williamson, now Lord Ashton, exclaimed that he had not "paid a farthing" for his title. Nevertheless, the accusations that Ashton had purchased his title continued, and he was subject to frequent criticism and derision in Lancaster, which led to his eventual withdrawal from public life.[1]
Prior to theJanuary 1910 general election, Lord Ashton sent a letter to the electors in the Lancaster Division promising that there was no connection between his politics and philanthropy, but that if the charges continued against him, he would withdraw his support from Lancaster. He followed through with his threat the next year, after insulting incidents related to the 1911 municipal elections, and he cancelled all his significant charitable interest in the city.[1]
Lord Ashton's withdrawal as benefactor caused considerable dismay among the various causes he had supported in Lancaster. In response, the Lancaster Town Council passed a resolution "expressing gratitude to him for his benefactions to the town and detestation of the attacks to which he had been subject." Lord Ashton was unmoved, however, and transferred his philanthropic efforts elsewhere, particularly to theEast End of London. During the First World War, he backed theWar Loan, with £3,000,000 in cash (equivalent to £239,571,000 in 2023). He also continued to support the Liberal Party.[1]
In 1920, Lord Ashton was madeConstable of Lancaster Castle for life.[5] He was alsoDeputy Lieutenant of Lancashire[3] and was elected as president of theLancashire County Cricket Club in 1927.[1]
In later years, he became a virtual social recluse, although still running his business interests. He divided his time between Ashton Park and Ryelands House, his other home in Lancaster. Ryelands became packed with stacks of newspapers and magazines that reportedly reached the ceiling.[1]
When in London, he refused to stay at his townhouse, Alford House, instead staying at a hotel. He would not go to social events or pay social calls, and refused to see anyone who had not made an appointment to see him. He even refused to meet a journalist from South America who had travelled to interview him but had mistakenly not arranged the appointment in advance.[1]
He married three times, firstly to Margaret Gatey in 1869, with whom he had two daughters:[3]
His first wife died in 1877. He married secondly in 1880 to widow Jessy Henrietta Hulme (née Stewart), who died in 1904. In 1909, he married thirdly to Florence Whalley (née Daniel), widow of Colonel Joseph Lawson Whalley, who survived him.[3][6]
Lord Ashton died at Ashton Hall in 1930, aged 88.[1] He left an estate worth £9.5 million (equivalent to £758,642,000 in 2023).[7]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLancaster 1886–1895 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Ashton 1895–1930 | Extinct |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
