Henry Norman Rae
Encyclopedia
Sir Norman Rae (20 January 1860 – 31 December 1928) was an English
wool
merchant and Liberal Party
politician.
Minister, the Reverend James Rae from Harrogate
in North Yorkshire
. He was educated at Batley Grammar School
and later attended Silcoates
, a Congregationalist School near Wakefield
where his father was a school governor and also spent some time at a boarding school, Highbury House at St Leonards-on-Sea
. In 1883 he married Emily Cass from Mirfield
. His wife died in 1927. They had one son and one daughter.
.
division on the West Riding County Council.
Through this association with the area, Rae first stood for Parliament
in the December 1910 general election contesting the constituency of Ripon
for the Liberals. Although he cut the majority of the sitting Unionist
MP Edward Wood
(later Lord Halifax), he was not elected.
In 1918 Rae was adopted as the Coalition Liberal candidate for the Shipley Division
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
. As the official Coalition candidate he stood as a supporter of the Coalition government
of Prime Minister David Lloyd George
. As the government candidate, he was not opposed by Lloyd George’s Conservative partners in the Coalition and was awarded the Coalition coupon
. In a straight fight with a Labour
opponent, Tom Snowden, who later became Labour MP for Accrington
, Rae won with a majority of 11,010 votes.
Rae was re-elected as MP for Shipley at the 1922 general election
as a National Liberal
, i.e. a continuing supporter of Lloyd George but this time in a much tighter contest. He was still not opposed by the Tories but he did face a strong Labour challenge from William Mackinder and also from an Asquithian Independent Liberal, Mr A Davy. Rae’s majority over Labour was reduced to 1,041 votes.
Rae was knighted in 1922 but chose not to contest any further Parliamentary elections. At the 1923 general election
William Mackinder gained Shipley for Labour.
- including some monies set aside for female students - and donated large sums to his old school Batley Grammar. He also gave £10,000 for a private hospital at Shipley
for the care of people of limited financial means. He made gifts of land amounting to 200 acre (0.809372 km²) and valued at around £250,000 to the local council. He also gave the council £12,500 in 1919 for the purchase of 114 acre (0.46134204 km²) of land including 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) of woodland to serve as a combination of parks, playing fields and allotments for local residents. In addition, in association with Mr J E Sharman, he purchased for the public Oakwell Hall
, an Elizabethan Manor House at Birstall
near Leeds
with connections to Charlotte Bronte
.
, while he was taking tea with a lady to whom he recently become engaged to be married, he collapsed and died at the age of 68 years.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
merchant and Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician.
Family and education
Rae was the son of a CongregationalCongregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
Minister, the Reverend James Rae from Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
. He was educated at Batley Grammar School
Batley Grammar School
Batley Grammar School is a co-educational school located at Carlinghow Hill in Upper Batley, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded in 1612 by the Rev. William Lee...
and later attended Silcoates
Silcoates School
Silcoates School is a public school in Wakefield, England. It was founded in 1820 as the Northern Congregational School at Silcoates House, for the board and education of the sons of non-conformist clergy; it was located close to Ossett and Horbury, which both had unusually large nonconformist...
, a Congregationalist School near Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
where his father was a school governor and also spent some time at a boarding school, Highbury House at St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
. In 1883 he married Emily Cass from Mirfield
Mirfield
Mirfield is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury...
. His wife died in 1927. They had one son and one daughter.
Career
Rae went into the wool business and set up as a merchant in that trade at Harrogate. He was the principal in the firm of Rickles and Rae, wool combers and top makers in BradfordBradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
.
Politics
From 1904 until 1913, Rae represented the Pateley BridgePateley Bridge
Pateley Bridge is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd.It has the oldest sweet shop in England and is the home of the Nidderdale Museum....
division on the West Riding County Council.
Through this association with the area, Rae first stood for Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in the December 1910 general election contesting the constituency of Ripon
Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)
Ripon was a constituency sending members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1983, centred on the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire.-History:...
for the Liberals. Although he cut the majority of the sitting Unionist
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...
MP Edward Wood
E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, , known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British Conservative politicians of the 1930s, during which he held several senior ministerial posts, most notably as...
(later Lord Halifax), he was not elected.
In 1918 Rae was adopted as the Coalition Liberal candidate for the Shipley Division
Shipley (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1910s:...
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. As the official Coalition candidate he stood as a supporter of the Coalition government
Coalition Government 1916-1922
The Coalition Government of David Lloyd George came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916, replacing the earlier wartime coalition under H.H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for reverses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Opposition...
of Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
. As the government candidate, he was not opposed by Lloyd George’s Conservative partners in the Coalition and was awarded the Coalition coupon
Coalition Coupon
The ‘Coalition Coupon’, often referred to as ‘the coupon’, refers to the letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the United Kingdom general election, 1918 endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory in...
. In a straight fight with a Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
opponent, Tom Snowden, who later became Labour MP for Accrington
Accrington (UK Parliament constituency)
Accrington was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-History:...
, Rae won with a majority of 11,010 votes.
Rae was re-elected as MP for Shipley at the 1922 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
as a National Liberal
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)
The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...
, i.e. a continuing supporter of Lloyd George but this time in a much tighter contest. He was still not opposed by the Tories but he did face a strong Labour challenge from William Mackinder and also from an Asquithian Independent Liberal, Mr A Davy. Rae’s majority over Labour was reduced to 1,041 votes.
Rae was knighted in 1922 but chose not to contest any further Parliamentary elections. At the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
William Mackinder gained Shipley for Labour.
Philanthropy
Rae donated large sums of money to various good causes. He gave £12,000 for university scholarships to a number of schools in the West Riding of YorkshireWest Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
- including some monies set aside for female students - and donated large sums to his old school Batley Grammar. He also gave £10,000 for a private hospital at Shipley
Shipley
Shipley may refer to:Places in England*Shipley, Derbyshire*Shipley, West Sussex*Shipley, West Yorkshire**Shipley People*Ann Shipley, Canadian politician*Burton Shipley, first Maryland Tarrapins men's basketball coach...
for the care of people of limited financial means. He made gifts of land amounting to 200 acre (0.809372 km²) and valued at around £250,000 to the local council. He also gave the council £12,500 in 1919 for the purchase of 114 acre (0.46134204 km²) of land including 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) of woodland to serve as a combination of parks, playing fields and allotments for local residents. In addition, in association with Mr J E Sharman, he purchased for the public Oakwell Hall
Oakwell Hall
Oakwell Hall is an Elizabethan Manor House located in the village of Birstall, West Yorkshire, England and set in period gardens surrounded by of country park....
, an Elizabethan Manor House at Birstall
Birstall, West Yorkshire
Birstall is a large village in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England and situated roughly 6 miles south-west of Leeds. It features a quaint triangular Victorian marketplace, which replaced an earlier market on High Street in the Georgian area of the village further up the hill...
near Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
with connections to Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
.
Death
Rae had a history of heart trouble and on 31 December 1928 in BatleyBatley
Batley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies southeast of Bradford, southwest of Leeds and north of Dewsbury, near the M62 motorway. It has a population of 49,448 . Other nearby towns include Morley to the northeast, Ossett to the southeast...
, while he was taking tea with a lady to whom he recently become engaged to be married, he collapsed and died at the age of 68 years.
Further reading
- G Shuttleworth & M Walker, Sir H Norman Rae: our local benefactor; Moorhead Press, Shipley, 2000