Henry John Trotter was an English barrister, railway director and Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The 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.

Trotter was the son of the Lieutenant--Colonel William Trotter, of Bishop Auckland and his wife Henrietta Skene. He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford and was called to the bar at Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 in 1864. He was a lieutenant in the 2nd West Yorkshire Yeomanry Cavalry and became a director of the Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

 and the North British Railway

North British Railway

The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...

. He stood for parliament unsuccessfully at Tynemouth

Tynemouth (UK Parliament constituency)

Tynemouth is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament using the first past the post voting system.-History:...

  in 1868 and at Berwick-on-Tweed in 1881. He was a J.P.

Justice of the Peace

A 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...

 and Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In 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....

 for County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

. He lived at Langton Grange, Gainford, Darlington.

In 1885 he was elected as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Colchester

Colchester (UK Parliament constituency)

Colchester is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...

and held the seat until his death in 1888 at the age of 52. In 1888 was published his Descent of the family of Skene.

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