Henry Cecil Raikes

{{Short description|British politician (1838–1891)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = Henry Cecil Raikes

| honorific-suffix =

| image = Henry Raikes Vanity Fair 1875-04-17.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = "Order, order"
Raikes as caricatured by Ape (Carlo Pellegrini) in Vanity Fair, 17 April 1875

| order1 = Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons
Chairman of Ways and Means

| term_start1 = 1874

| term_end1 = 1880

|1blankname1 = Speaker

|1namedata1 = Henry Brand

| predecessor1 = John Bonham-Carter

| successor1 = Lyon Playfair

| order2 = Postmaster General

| term_start2 = 19 August 1886

| term_end2 = 24 August 1891

| monarch2 = Victoria

| primeminister2 = The Marquess of Salisbury

| predecessor2 = The Lord Wolverton

| successor2 = Sir James Fergusson, Bt

| birth_date = {{birth-date|18 November 1838}}

| birth_place = Chester, Cheshire

| death_date = {{death-date and age|24 August 1891|18 November 1838}}

| death_place = Denbighshire

| nationality = British

| party = Conservative Party

| alma_mater = Trinity College, Cambridge

| spouse = Charlotte Trevor-Roper
(d. 1922)

}}

Henry Cecil Raikes PC (18 November 1838 – 24 August 1891) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was Chairman of Ways and Means between 1874 and 1880 and served as Postmaster General between 1886 and 1891.

Background and education

Born in Chester, Cheshire, Raikes was the grandson of Reverend Henry Raikes, Chancellor of the Diocese of Chester, and the great-grandson of Thomas Raikes, a merchant and banker in London, who was Governor of the Bank of England and a personal friend of prime minister William Pitt the Younger. He was educated at Shrewsbury School{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} and Trinity College, Cambridge.{{acad|id=RKS856HC|name=Raikes, Henry Cecil}}

Political career

Raikes was Member of Parliament for Chester between 1868 and 1880,{{Cite web |url=http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Ccommons3.htm |title=leighrayment.com House of Commons: Carmarthen East and Dinefwr to Chesterton |access-date=7 September 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829172904/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Ccommons3.htm |archive-date=29 August 2018 }} for Preston in 1882{{Cite web |url=http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Pcommons2.htm |title=leighrayment.com House of Commons: Plymouth to Putney |access-date=7 September 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127183301/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Pcommons2.htm |archive-date=27 November 2018 }} and for Cambridge University between 1882 and 1891.{{Cite web |url=http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Ccommons1.htm |title=leighrayment.com House of Commons: Caernarfon to Cambridgeshire South West |access-date=7 September 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713201725/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Ccommons1.htm |archive-date=13 July 2011 }} He served as Chairman of the National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations from 1869 to 1874.Cook & Keith, 'British Historical Facts 1830-1900', 1975 P.93 In 1874 he was appointed Chairman of Ways and Means (Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons), a post he held until 1880, when he was sworn of the Privy Council.{{London Gazette |issue=24824 |date=19 March 1880 |page=2133 }} He later returned to party political life when he served as Postmaster General under Lord Salisbury between 1886 and 1891.{{London Gazette |issue=25618 |date=20 August 1886 |page=4067 }}

Raikes is one of the earliest British politicians to have had their voice recorded. George Edward Gouraud recorded him on behalf of Thomas Edison on the evening of 5 October 1888 at his home in Upper Sydenham near Crystal Palace, London.{{Cite web |url=http://cylindersontheweb.angelcities.com/rare_recordings.htm |title=Recording of Henry Cecil Raikes made by George Edward Gouraud on behalf of Thomas Edison on 5 October 1888 |access-date=19 December 2004 |archive-date=9 October 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041009235635/http://cylindersontheweb.angelcities.com/rare_recordings.htm |url-status=dead }}

Family

Raikes married Charlotte Blanche, of Plas Teg, Mold, daughter of Charles Blayney Trevor-Roper, on 26 September 1861. They had several children, including Cecil Dacre Staveley Raikes (1874–1947), a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy, and Henry St John Digby Raikes, father of the Conservative politician Sir Victor Raikes. The family lived at Llwynegrin Hall, Wales. Raikes died on 24 August 1891, aged 52. Charlotte Raikes survived her husband by over 30 years and died in September 1922.[http://www.thepeerage.com/p7441.htm thepeerage.com Rt. Hon. Henry Cecil Raikes]

References

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