Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling

Samuel Montagu
Samuel Montagu, by Liborio Prosperi, 1886.

Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling (21 December 1832 – 12 January 1911) was a British banker who founded the bank of Samuel Montagu & Co. He was a philanthropist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1900, and was later raised to the peerage.

Life and career

Montagu was born in Liverpool as Montagu Samuel, the second son of Louis Samuel a watchmaker of Liverpool and his wife Henrietta Israel, daughter of Israel Israel of Bury Street, St. Mary Axe, London. He was educated at the High School of Liverpool Mechanics' Institute as Samuel Montagu. In 1853 he founded the bank of Samuel Montagu as a foreign banker.[1] Montagu was a pious Orthodox Jew, and devoted himself to social services and advancing Jewish institutions. He was involved in founding new synagogues, and in establishing the Federation of Synagogues, which was an umbrella body for the small Orthodox congregations in the East End of London.

He was elected at the 1885 general election Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Whitechapel,[2] and held the seat until he stood down at the 1900 general election.[2] From 1887 to 1890, he was a member of the Gold and Silver Commission. He was created a Baronet, of South Stoneham House in the County of Southampton and of Kensington Palace Gardens in the County of London, on 23 June 1894.[3]

On September, 1888, after the murder of Annie Chapman at the hands of an unknown man later called Jack the Ripper, he tried to offer a reward of £100 for the discovery and conviction of the criminal. The Home Office didn't accept the offer because that practice had been discontinued. Montagu offered this because the Whitechapel murders created some anti-semitic incidents in the East End population.[4]

Land owned by Montagu in Jeremys Green Lane, Edmonton now known as Montagu Road—was presented to the Federation of Synagogues as a burial strip.[5] At this time he was aware of the overcrowding in his constituency, and was especially keen to see Jewish families move out to the suburbs. In 1898, therefore, he proposed that land south of Salmons Brook, Edmonton—some 25 acres (100,000 m2) in all—be used for 700 houses, to house between 3000 and 4000 people. The houses were to have low rents and to include small gardens, with preference given to those currently living in Whitechapel. The project was first offered to the LCC, and then Edmonton UDC, both were prevaricated. In 1899 the proposals were rejected and Montagu subsequently gave £10,000 (equivalent to £982,000 in 2014) towards LCC housing on the White Hart Lane estate,[6] Tottenham.[7]

In 1907, Montagu was raised to the peerage as Baron Swaythling, of Swaythling in the County of Southampton.[8]

South Stoneham House.

Montagu died in January 1911, aged 78.

Personal life

Montagu married Ellen Cohen, daughter of Louis Cohen, in 1862. His daughter Lily would eventually helped to establish Liberal Judaism.[9] He was succeeded in the baronetcy and barony by his eldest son Louis Montagu. His second son Edwin Samuel Montagu followed his father into politics. In 1915 Edwin Montagu married Venetia Stanley (1887-1948), who in accordance with the will of the 1st Baron Swaythling converted to Judaism upon her marriage. Lord Swaythling's nephew was the Liberal politician and philosopher Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel. He was the maternal grandfather of the seminal medical researcher Philip D’Arcy Hart and also of the lawyer Walter D'Arcy Hart.[10]

Towards the end of his life, Montagu lived at South Stoneham House at Swaythling, a suburb of Southampton.[11]

Legacy

Located in Kidbrooke, South London, the Samuel Montagu Youth Centre provides recreational opportunities for young people.[12] Montagu is remembered in Edmonton at Montagu Rd, Montagu Gardens, Montagu Crescent, Montagu Road School (demolished) and Swaythling Close.

References

  1. ↑ Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 57. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26526. p. 1894. 26 June 1894.
  4. ↑ Philip Sudgen (3 January 2014). Complete History of Jack the Ripper. Constable & Robinson Limited. pp. 121–123. ISBN 978-1-78033-709-8.
  5. ↑ Federation of Synagogues Retrieved 12 January 2013
  6. ↑ History of Tower Gardens Retrieved 12 January 2013
  7. ↑ Godfrey A. (notes to) Old Ordnance Survey Maps: London Sheet 4, Edmonton (SE) 1894 Alan Godfrey Maps, ISBN 0-85054-969-8 Retrieved 12 March 2008
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28043. p. 5029. 23 July 1907.
  9. ↑ The Times,Hon. Lilian Montagu Social Improvement And Religion, 24 January 1963; pg 15 col B
  10. ↑ The Independent. Obituary 30 Jan 1995. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituarieswalter-darcy-hart-1570446.html
  11. ↑ William Page (editor). "Parishes: South Stoneham". A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  12. ↑ Samuel Montagu Youth Centre Retrieved 12 January 2013

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency
 Member of Parliament for Whitechapel
1885 – 1900 		Succeeded by
Sir Stuart Samuel
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New title Baron Swaythling
1907-1911 		Succeeded by
Louis Montagu