Henry Leonard Campbell Brassey, 1st Baron Brassey of Apethorpe DLIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(7 March 1870 – 22 October 1958), known as
Sir Henry Brassey, 1st Baronet, from 1922 to 1938, was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ConservativeThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician.
Biography
Brassey was the second but eldest surviving son of Henry Arthur Brassey and his wife Anna Harriet (née Stevenson). The railway contractor
Thomas BrasseyThomas Brassey was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about one-third of the railways in Britain, and by time of his death in 1870 he had built one...
was his grandfather and
Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl BrasseyThomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey GCB, JP, DL, TD , was a British Liberal Party politician, Governor of Victoria and founder of The Naval Annual.-Background and education:...
, his uncle. In 1904 he purchased
Apethorpe HallApethorpe Hall in Apethorpe, Northamptonshire, England is a Grade I listed country house, dating back to the 15th century.The house is built around three courtyards lying on an east-west axis and is approximately by in area...
. He was elected to the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
for Northamptonshire North in 1910, a seat he held until 1918, and then represented
PeterboroughPeterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
between 1918 and 1929. Brassey fought in the First World War, achieving the rank of
MajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the
Northamptonshire YeomanryThe Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed in 1794 as volunteer cavalry, it later served in an armoured role before being reduced to squadron level in 1956...
and in the West Kent Yeomanry Cavalry. He also served as a
Justice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Northamptonshire and for Kent, as
High SheriffA high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of Northamptonshire in 1907 and as
Deputy LieutenantIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Northamptonshire. In 1922 he was created a
Baronet, of Apethorpe in the County of Northampton, and in 1938 he was further honoured when he was raised to the peerage as
Baron Brassey of Apethorpe, of Apethorpe in the County of Northampton.
Lord Brassey of Apethorpe married Lady Violet Mary, daughter of
Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of RichmondCharles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond and Lennox KG, GCVO , styled Lord Settrington until 1860 and Earl of March between 1860 and 1903, was a British politician and peer....
, in 1894. They had six sons (two of whom died as infants). Lady Brassey of Apethorpe died in 1946, aged 72. Brassey survived her by twelve years and died in October 1958, aged 88. He was succeeded in his titles by his fifth but eldest surviving son Bernard.