John Dodson, 1st Baron Monk Bretton
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John George Dodson, 1st Baron Monk Bretton (18 October 1825 – 25 May 1897), known before 1884 as John George Dodson, was a British Liberal politician.
Dodson was the only son of the lawyer and judge Sir John Dodson and his wife Frances Priscilla, daughter of George Pearson. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1853. He unsuccessfully contested Sussex East in 1852 and March 1857, but was elected for the constituency in April 1857. Dodson would hold this seat until 1874 and served as Chairman of Committees and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1865 to 1872. The latter year he was admitted to the Privy Council and in 1873 he was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury in the Liberal administration of William Gladstone, a post he held until the government fell the following year. In 1874 Dodson was elected to Parliament for Chester, and served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 1874 to 1876. In 1880 he was again elected for Chester and appointed President of the Local Government Board, with a seat in the cabinet, in Gladstone's second administration. According to the rules at the time, he was then forced to contest his constituency again. Dodson was duly elected, but shortly after the original election was declared void on petition. This caused him to seek re-election for another constituency. In July he was returned for Scarborough, a seat he would hold until 1884. Dodson remained President of the Local Government Board until 1882, and then served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1882 to 1884. The latter year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Monk Bretton, of Conyboro and Hurstpierpoint in the County of Sussex. Lord Monk Bretton later disagreed with Gladstone over Home Rule. He was also active in local politics, and served as the first Chairman of the East Sussex County Council from 1889 to 1892.
Lord Monk Bretton married Florence, daughter of W. J. Campion. They had one son and three daughters. Lord Monk Bretton died in May 1897, aged 71, and was succeeded in the barony by his only son John William Dodson.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Augustus Eliott Fuller Viscount Pevensey |
Member of Parliament for Sussex East with Viscount Pevensey 1857–1865, Lord Edward Cavendish 1865–1868, George Burrow Gregory 1868–1874 1857–1874 |
Succeeded by George Burrow Gregory Montagu David Scott |
| Preceded by Henry Cecil Raikes Norman de l'Aigle Grosvenor |
Member of Parliament for Chester with Henry Cecil Raikes 1874–1880 |
Succeeded by Henry Cecil Raikes Beilby Lawley |
| Preceded by Sir Harcourt Johnstone, Bt William Sproston Caine |
Member of Parliament for Scarborough with William Sproston Caine 1880–1884 |
Succeeded by William Sproston Caine Richard Fell Steble |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by William Edward Baxter |
Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1873–1874 |
Succeeded by William Henry Smith |
| Preceded by George Sclater-Booth |
President of the Local Government Board 1880–1882 |
Succeeded by Sir Charles Dilke, Bt |
| Preceded by The Earl of Kimberley |
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1882–1884 |
Succeeded by George Otto Trevelyan |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Monk Bretton 1884–1897 |
Succeeded by John Dodson |
