Mark Philips (politician)

For people with a similar name, see Mark Phillips (disambiguation).

Mark Philips (4 November 1800 – 23 December 1873)^[1][2] was an English Liberal Party politician, and one of the first pair of Members of Parliament for Manchester after the Great Reform Act.^[3]

Born in Philips Park, Whitefield, Lancashire, the son of Robert Philips, a prosperous merchant^[3] and Anne Needham^{[citation needed]}. He was educated at the Manchester Academy while it was in York and then at the University of Glasgow.^{[citation needed]} His younger brother, Robert Needham Philips, was also MP for Bury.^[4]

The town of Manchester was deprived of its parliamentary representation in 1660 in reprisal for its support of the Parliamentarian faction during the English Civil War. Representation was only restored following the Great Reform Act of 1832. (See main article History of Manchester.)

He and Charles Poulett Thomson were the first pair of MPs elected in that year. He represented the city in Parliament until 1847, an active member of the Anti-Corn Law League. A champion of universal education, in 1837 he chaired a meeting that led to the creation of the Lancashire Public Schools' Association which was instrumental in establishing a system of publicly-funded schooling in the UK.^[5] He also played an important role in establishing the UK's first free public library in 1852 and he was President of his old school Manchester Academy from 1842-1846 and from 1871 until his death.^{[citation needed]} He was High Sheriff of Warwickshire for 1851.^[3]

Philips donated money to many causes including £1,000 towards the fund for the provision of open spaces and parks for the City of Manchester. This resulted in many estates being purchased by the city, including Lark Hill in Salford, which became Peel Park, and the Bradford Estate which became Philips Park in east Manchester.^[5]

He died, aged 73, at Welcombe House, Snitterfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon.^[2]

Honours

• Philips Park in the Bradford area of east Manchester is named after him.^[5]
• There is a statue in Manchester Town Hall.^[5]
• An obelisk erected in memory of Philips in 1876 stands on the family's former estate outside Stratford-upon-Avon.^[6]

References

1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 1)
2. ^ ^{a b} "Plaque to Mark Philips on Welcombe Bank Obelisk". geograph. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/121627. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Mark Philips". Spartacus Educational. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRphilipsM.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
4. ^ Anon (27 November 2008). "The Park was base for politics". Prestwich and Whitefield Guide (Newsquest Media Group). http://www.prestwichandwhitefieldguide.co.uk/news/prestwich_history/lookingback/3931073.The_Park_was_base_for_politics/. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Mark Philips MP". Papillon Graphics' Virtual Encyclopaedia of Greater Manchester. http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/politicians2.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
6. ^ "Welcombe Bank Obelisk". geograph. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/120081. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 

External links

• "Mark Philips MP". Papillon Graphics' Virtual Encyclopaedia of Greater Manchester. http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/politicians2.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
• "Mark Philips". Spartacus Educational. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRphilipsM.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
• Gremson, Sara; Pringle, Ian, Winterbotham, Diana (2011). "Philips Park: Its history and development". Bury Council. http://www.bury.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7931&p=0. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Manchester 1832–1847 With: Charles Poulett Thomson 1832–1839 Robert Hyde Greg 1839–1841 Thomas Milner Gibson 1841–1847	Succeeded by Thomas Milner Gibson John Bright
Honorary titles
Preceded by Darwin Galton	High Sheriff of Warwickshire 1851	Succeeded by Sir John Newdigate-Ludford-Chetwode

Persondata
Name	Philips, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1800-11-04
Place of birth
Date of death	1873-12-23
Place of death