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Sir George Strickland (26 May 1782 – 23 December 1874) was a Member of Parliament and lawyer. He was the second son of Sir William Strickland, 6th Baronet, of Boynton in Yorkshire, but his older brother died before him and he inherited the baronetcy as the seventh Bart. on his father's death in 1834.
He was called to the Bar in 1810, and practised as a barrister on the Northern Circuit. However, he took an interest in politics, supporting the Whigs. He was a supporter of Parliamentary reform and an early advocate of the secret ballot. In 1830, at the height of the agitation over the Great Reform Bill, he stood for Parliament in the by-election for Yorkshire that followed Brougham's appointment as Lord Chancellor; this elevation necessitated a bye-election. Strickland was defeated by another Whig. However, at the general election the following year both men were returned unopposed and Strickland supported the the Reform Bill.
The enormous Yorkshire constituency had — like every other county constituency —two MPs. Following the Reform Act, the county constituencies were changed. Strickland was elected for the West Riding in 1832, which he continued to represent until 1841. In that year he was elected as MP for Preston in Lancashire, a constituency which he represented until 1857. Strickland continued to support reform throughout his career; he also advocated church reform and relief for dissenters.
Strickland was a well-known racehorse breeder. He lived mainly at Boynton, which is near Bridlington, though his address is recorded as Hildenley in his return as MP for Yorkshire in 1831. In 1844 Strickland objection to a projected railway joining Bridlington and York which was proposed by George Hudson, the "railway king". This railway would have passed through Boynton but it was never built.
In 1818 he married Mary, daughter of the Reverend Charles Constable of Wassand, by whom he had three sons and two daughters. Following the death of the Reverend Charles Constable in 1852, Wassand Hall and its estate passed to Sir George Strickland and for a time Sir George owned Boynton Hall, Howsham Hall (which he inherited through his mother’s family) and Wassand Hall together with their respective estates.
In 1865 Nathaniel Cholmley died, haing bequeathed to Strickland his extensive estates at Whitby, Howsham and North Elmsall. In accordance with the terms of Cholmley's will, Strickland adopted the surname Cholmley by Royal License and the arms of Cholmley and Wentworth in place of his own. From 1865 untnil his death he was known as Sir George Cholmley. On his death in 1874, however, his eldest son and heir Charles reverted to the Strickland surname and arms.
In 1874, it was decided that his eldest son Charles would inherit Boynton Hall and Howsham. His youngest son Henry inherited Wassand Hall and decided to change his name to Strickland-Constable. Henry died in 1909 and his son Frederick inherited. Sadly, Freddy died just six years later in the Great War. From the third, Henry, are descended the Strickland-Constables of Wassand, which they inherited after the direct Strickland line failed in 1938.
A Topographical Dictionary of England ed. Samuel Lewis (1848) notes:
Boynton is on the road from Bridlington to Malton, and comprises 2100 acres, the property of Sir George Strickland, Bart. The family were anciently seated at Strickland, in the county of Westmorland, but the principal branch has been settled here more than two centuries. Boynton Hall, the residence of the baronet, is a lofty and handsome mansion, beautifully situated upon an eminence in a richly wooded park; the acclivities present some fine plantations, and a large sheet of water ornaments the grounds. On an elevated ridge, south of the Hall, is a pavilion erected by the late Sir George, from which is obtained an extensive prospect both of sea and land, particularly of Bridlington bay and the eastern heights of the Wolds. The village is in the vale of a rivulet flowing in an eastern direction to the coast. The living is a discharged perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £7. 14. 2., and in the patronage of Sir George Strickland, the impropriator, with a net income of £141: land and a money payment were assigned in 1777, in lieu of tithes. The church, which was rebuilt in the early part of the last century, consists of a nave and chancel, with a handsome tower; in the chancel are several monuments to the Strickland family.
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Last modified
12 January, 2016
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