Charles Buxton

For the English philanthropist and politician, see Charles Roden Buxton.

Charles Buxton (18 November 1823 10 August 1871) was an English brewer, philanthropist, writer and member of Parliament.

Buxton was born in Cobham, Surrey, the third son of Sir Thomas Buxton, 1st Baronet, a notable brewer, MP and social reformer, and followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a partner in the brewery of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton, & Co in Brick Lane, Spitalfields, London, and then an MP. He served as Liberal MP for Newport, Isle of Wight (18571859), Maidstone (18591865) and East Surrey (18651871). His son Sydney Buxton was also an MP and governor of South Africa.

Personal life and architectural legacy

On 7 February 1850, he married Emily Mary Holland, the eldest daughter of physician Henry Holland (physician to Queen Victoria and later president of the Royal Institution).

Around 1850, he commissioned construction of a small detached, but ornate house, Foxholm (Grade II-listed architecturally) on Redhill Road, then in Wisley but now in Cobham, for the Chaplain to Queen Victoria.[1][2]

In 1860 he had his own house built on the neighbouring estate in what is today between a golf course and the Site of Special Scientific Interest which is Ockham and Wisley Commons, Foxwarren Place (Grade II*-listed architecturally). The building is stark Neo-Gothic: polychrome brickwork, red with blue diapering, and terracotta dressings, renewed plain-tiled roofs with crow-stepped gables.[3]

Anti-slavery parliamentary campaigners' memorial fountain

Following his father's death, Buxton commissioned architect Samuel Sanders Teulon to design the Buxton Memorial Fountain to commemorate his father's role, with others, in the abolition of slavery. The fountain was initially erected in Parliament Square but was later moved to its current position in Victoria Tower Gardens, Westminster. It carries the dedication:

Erected in 1865 by Charles Buxton MP in commemoration of the emancipation of slaves 1834 and in memory of his father, Sir T Fowell Buxton, and those associated with him: Wilberforce, Clarkson, Macaulay, Brougham, Dr Lushington and others.

Published works

He produced Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Baronet, with Selections from his Correspondence, first published in 1848. He later wrote a history, Slavery and Freedom in the British West Indies, published in 1860.

References

  1. Foxholm, Cobham, Surrey: sales brochure, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  2. Foxholm, Grade II Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1030094)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  3. Foxwarren Park Grade II* Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1189110)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 November 2013.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Charles Buxton
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Nathaniel Massey
Robert William Kennard
Member of Parliament for Newport
18571859
With: Charles Edward Mangles
Succeeded by
Philip Lybbe Powys
Robert William Kennard
Preceded by
Alexander Beresford Hope
Edward Scott
Member of Parliament for Maidstone
18591865
With: William Lee
Succeeded by
William Lee
James Whatman
Preceded by
Peter John Locke King
Thomas Alcock
Member of Parliament for East Surrey
18651871
With: Peter John Locke King
Succeeded by
Peter John Locke King
James Watney
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.