Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, 1st Baronet (30 September 1819 – 9 June 1900) was an English barrister, banker and
Conservative politician who sat in the
House of Commons between 1869 and 1892.
Brooks was the son of
Samuel Brooks, a banker of Manchester and his wife Margaret Hall daughter of Thomas Hall.[1] After his education at
Rugby and
St John's College, Cambridge he was called to the
Bar at
Inner Temple in 1847.[2] He went on northern circuit until death of his father in 1864 when he became sole partner of
Cunliffe Brooks and Co,
Manchester. He opened Brooks and Co., 81
Lombard Street, London. He was a
J.P. for Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester, and
Deputy Lieutenant for Lancashire and Aberdeen.
In 1869 Brooks was elected at a by-election as a
Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for
East Cheshire. He held the seat until it was divided under the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885,[3] and at the
1885 general election he unsuccessfully contested the new
Macclesfield division.[4] The
baronetcy was conferred on him in 1886.[5] At the
1886 election he was elected as MP for
Altrincham, holding the seat until he stood down at the
1892 general election.[6]
Brooks was a notable benefactor to the town of
Sale, Cheshire and to
Chorlton-cum-Hardy.[7] He had a major influence on the estate of Glen Tanar, near Aboyne in Aberdeenshire. At first he leased the estate from
Charles Gordon, 11th Marquess of Huntly, who married his elder daughter. He then bought the estate in 1890. Brooks lavished money on Glen Tanar, building a large house, cottages for estate workers, a school, stables and kennels. He also installed numerous carved stones and memorials in the surrounding countryside, many of which make playful references to his name or celebrate the virtues of drinking water rather than alcohol.
Brooks died at Glen Tana (as he preferred to spell the name) at the age of 80.
Brooks married Jane Elizabeth Orrell, daughter of Ralph Orrell in 1842. They had no sons but two daughters.[9] (other children died in infancy). Their elder daughter, Amy, married Charles Gordon, 11th Marquis of Huntly. Their second daughter, Edith, married Lord Francis Horace Pierrepont Cecil, second son of
William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter. They have many descendants in both England and America, including Sir James Cockburn, Lady Ethel Cecil, Diana Lewis and Isabella Overington. After the death of his wife, Brooks married secondly Jane Davidson, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Davidson in 1879.[1]