Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet (29 March 1787 – 22 July 1871) was a British politician and baronet.

Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bt
Baronet of Columb John
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet (1787–1871). 1844 marble bust by Edward Bowring Stephens. Collection of National Trust, Killerton House
Tenure17 May 1794 – 22 July 1871
PredecessorThomas, 9th Baronet
SuccessorThomas, 11th Baronet
Born(1787-03-29)29 March 1787
Died22 July 1871(1871-07-22) (aged 84)
FatherSir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet
MotherHenrietta Anne Hoare
A drawing of Acland
Statue in Northernhay Gardens, Exeter

Background edit

Born in London, he was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 9th Baronet and his wife, Henrietta Anne Hoare, daughter of Sir Richard Hoare, 1st Baronet.[1] The Aclands were an old Devon family and successive generations of the family sat in the House of Commons for the county. His family had extensive properties on what is now the Holnicote Estate and particularly the village of Selworthy. In 1794, he succeeded his father as baronet. Acland was educated at Harrow School (between 1799-1804) and Christ Church, Oxford and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1808, and a Master of Arts in 1814.[1] He gained a Doctor of Civil Laws degree in 1831.[1]

Career edit

He was appointed High Sheriff of Devon for 1809–10.[2] Although the Aclands were usually associated with the Liberal Party, this Acland was a Tory. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Devonshire from 1812 to 1818 and again from 1820 to 1831. He then sat for North Devon from 1837 to 1857.[3]

Among his many business interests Acland was the owner of a schooner called Lady of St Kilda, which he bought in 1834. It was named for the remote Scottish archipelago he visited with his wife in 1812 when he made the earliest extant sketches of the old clachan.

On the maiden voyage of his new yacht in 1834 he again visited the islands, leaving twenty gold sovereigns with the minister to assist in the building of new houses, which was later matched by their improving Landlord, Lt Col MacLeod of Skye.[4] In 1842 the schooner visited the township of Melbourne in Australia, which had been founded in 1835.

As a result of that visit, the suburb of St Kilda was named after the ship, and Acland Street, one of St Kilda's main commercial centres, was named after Acland.

Philanthropy edit

As a public benefactor, he commissioned Compass Point storm tower, which was built near Bude in 1835.[5]

Family edit

In 1808, he married Lydia Elizabeth Hoare,[6] daughter of the banker Henry Hoare of Mitcham Grove, and had issue.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Dod, Robert P. (1860). The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Whitaker and Co. p. 82.
  2. ^ "ACLAND, Sir Thomas Dyke, 10th Bt. (1787-1871), of Killerton, nr. Exeter, Devon. | History of Parliament Online". historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Acland, Sir Thomas Dyke, tenth baronet (1787–1871), politician and philanthropist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/66. Retrieved 22 November 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ Acland, Anne (1981). A Devon Family: The Story of the Aclands. London/Chichester: Phillimore & Co. p. 63.
  5. ^ "The Storm Tower, Bude-Stratton - 1141875". Historic England. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Lydia Elizabeth (née Hoare), Lady Acland". National Portrait Gallery, London.
  7. ^ The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891; Class: RG12; Piece: 1797; Folio: 46; Page: 20; GSU roll: 6096907
  8. ^ David Wall (2005). The Huntsham Book.
  9. ^ The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Herald's Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620. (1895). United Kingdom: For the author, by H. S. Eland.
  10. ^ England Deaths and Burials, 1538–1991. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

External links edit

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Devon
18121818
With: John Pollexfen Bastard 1812–1816
Edmund Pollexfen Bastard 1816–1818
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Devon
18201831
With: Edmund Pollexfen Bastard 1820–1830
Lord John Russell 1830–1831
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for North Devon
18371857
With: Hugh Fortescue 1837–1839
Lewis Buck 1839–1857
Succeeded by
Baronetage of England
Preceded by Baronet
(of Columb John)
1794–1871
Succeeded by