BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

296
located in the parliamentary district of Thornbury.
The position of
Ruling Councillor in Badminton was held by the Marquis of Worcester.
The Chipping Sodbury (Codrington) Habitation, located in the Thornbury
district, was presided over by Sir Gerald Codrington.57
Circencester constituency to the east was marked by a more
substantial Liberal representation than either Stroud or Thornbury in
the years under study.58
The Coin Valley Habitation located in the
district was initiated through the efforts of Lady Hicks Beach. Sir
Alex Hitchman lies agreed to serve as Honorary Secretary as a result of
her persuasive entreaties.59
position of Ruling Councillor.
Sir Michael Hicks Beach occupied the
As a prominent member of Salisbury's
Cabinets between 1885 and 1902,60
his presence lent a measure of
prestige to the Habitation.
57 Information provided in the 1888 Roll of Habitations. The
use of the names of prominent individuals residing in the district as
part of the title of the Habitation was a common practice.
58
Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections, pp. 109,
116-17, 149.
59 Lady Hicks Beach to Alex Hitchman lies, 12 September 1885.
Coin Valley Correspondence: Letters to Alex Hitchman lies,
Gloucestershire Record Office, D1070 viii/7. The 1888 Roll of
Habitations cites lies as the Honorary Secretary. The formation date
is listed as the nineteenth of September, 1885.
60 Beach held a number of positions. They included Chancellor
of the Exchequer and leader of the House of Commons in the Caretaker
Ministry of July, 1886, as well as the post of Chief Secretary to
Ireland in the 1886 government. Poor health forced his reappointment
as Minister Without Portfolio and his subsequent resignation from the
Cabinet. Recovered by 1888, he went on to serve as Secretary of the
Board of Trade until the Conservatives left office in 1892. Beach
resumed the position of Exchequer in Salisbury's last administration,
stepping down in 1902 when the Prime Minister retired.