Charles Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme

"Hull". Caricature by Ape published in Vanity Fair in 1885.

Charles Henry Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme (22 April 1833 – 27 October 1907), was a prominent English shipowner who became head of the Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. shipping business.

Life

Charles was the eldest son of Thomas Wilson, the head of Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.. He was educated at Kingston College in Hull, along with his brother Arthur, before eventually joining the family business, where they both became joint managers. By 1871, the business under Wilson extended from Norwegian and Baltic services to accommodate Adriatic, Sicilian, American and Indian services. By 1891, the Wilsons owned 100 ships with a profit of £2.5 million - a massive amount by the standards of the day. By 1903, the company was the largest ship company in Hull, as well as the largest private fleet company.

Wilson served as High Sheriff of Hull, and in 1874 he was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the Hull constituency. From 1885 to 1906 he represented Hull West. Although opposed to the Boer War, he lent the company's finest vessel, Ariosto, at the government's disposal.

Wilson married Jane Helen Wellesley, a daughter of Col. William Wellesley, nephew of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. They had seven children.

He was given the Freedom of Hull in 1899, and in 1906 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Nunburnholme, of the City of Kingston upon Hull.^[1]

Lord Nunburnholme died in Warter Priory in Warter, Yorkshire on 27 October 1907 and was buried on 31 October. His eldest son Charles, who had succeeded him as MP for Hull West, inherited the Barony.

References

External links

• Link to details of a book on the Wilson Line history
• Glasgow Archives Wilson Line collection
• Hull in print history
• Hull Maritime museum
• University of Hull archives
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Charles Wilson