Reginald Clare Essenhigh (7 September 1890 – 1 November 1955) was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) from 1931 to 1935 and a judge from 1936 to 1955.[1]
He was born in Warrington, Lancashire and was the younger son of Henry Streeter Essenhigh and Elizabeth Clare. He was later to assume his mother's maiden name.[2] He was educated at Warrington Secondary School and the Manchester School of Art.[1] He originally worked for a local cable manufacture company.[2] He subsequently gained a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied applied art and architecture.[1][2]
On the outbreak of World War I, he joined the University of London Officer Training Corps before being commissioned as a Special Reserve officer in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment. He rose to the rank of captain before losing his leg in action during a coastal assault on 27 June 1917 at Nieuport on the Belgian coast.[1][2]
While recuperating in hospital, he studied law. He was called to the bar by Gray's Inn in January 1922.[1][2] He practised on the Northern Circuit. In 1924 he married Dr Helen Hogg of Cambuslang, Glasgow, and they had four children.[1][2]
He stood as a Conservative candidate in the 1929 general election.[3] He contested the Newton constituency of Lancashire, but lost by over 6,000 votes to the sitting Labour MP Robert Young.[1][2] As Labour's vote collapsed at the 1931 general election, Essenhigh stood again and took the seat with a majority of only 381 votes.[4] Young regained the seat at the 1935 general election, and Essenhigh did not seek election again.
In 1936 Essenhigh was appointed a county judge for Circuit No.13, which included parts of Derbyshire and Yorkshire and included the city of Sheffield.[5] He retained this position until his death, aged 65, in 1955.[2]
His granddaughter is the artist Inka Essenhigh.[citation needed]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g "ESSENHIGH, His Honour Judge Reginald Clare". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. December 2007.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Obituary: Judge Essenhigh, The Times, 3 November 1955; p. 14.
- ^ "General Election: Nominations". The Times. 21 May 1929. p. 8.
- ^ "The New House Of Commons List Of Members, Constituencies And Parties". The Times. 29 October 1931. p. 7.
- ^ Two New County Court Judges, The Times, Saturday, 24 October 1936; p. 14.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs