Peter Legh, 4th Baron Newton
Peter Richard Legh, 4th Baron Newton (6 April 1915 – 16 June 1992), was a British Conservative politician who held junior ministerial positions during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Lord Newton | |
|---|---|
| Minister of State for Education and Science | |
| In office 1 April 1964 – 16 October 1964 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Sir Alec Douglas-Home |
| Preceded by | Sir Edward Boyle |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Bowden |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | |
| In office 6 September 1962 – 1 April 1964 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan Sir Alec Douglas-Home |
| Preceded by | Edith Pitt |
| Succeeded by | The Marquess of Lothian |
| Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Lords Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard | |
| In office 28 October 1960 – 6 September 1962 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Onslow |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Goschen |
| Deputy Chief Whip
of the House of Commons Treasurer of the Household | |
| In office 16 January 1959 – 21 June 1960 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Hendrie Oakshott |
| Succeeded by | Sir Edward Wakefield, Bt. |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | |
| In office 17 September 1957 – 16 January 1959 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | Sir Richard Thompson, Bt. |
| Succeeded by | Sir Edward Wakefield, Bt. |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 13 June 1955 – 17 September 1957 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Eden |
| Preceded by | Hendrie Oakshott |
| Succeeded by | Richard Brooman-White |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 12 June 1960 – 16 June 1992 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | The 3rd Lord Newton |
| Succeeded by | The 5th Lord Newton |
| Member of Parliament for Petersfield | |
| In office 25 October 1951 – 11 June 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Sir George Jeffreys |
| Succeeded by | Joan Quennell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 April 1915 |
| Died | 16 June 1992 (aged 77) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Eton College Christ Church, Oxford |
Newton was the son of Richard Legh, 3rd Baron Newton and Hon. Helen Winifred Meysey-Thompson, daughter of Henry Meysey-Thompson, 1st Baron Knaresborough. His grandfather Thomas Wodehouse Legh, 2nd Baron Newton was also a Conservative politician and served as Paymaster-General during the First World War.
Newton was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and served in the Second World War as a Major in the Grenadier Guards. After the war Newton was a member of the Hampshire County Council from 1949 to 1952 and from 1954 to 1955. In 1951 he was elected Member of Parliament for Petersfield, and served in the Conservative administrations of Churchill, Eden and Macmillan as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury John Boyd-Carpenter from 1952 to 1953, as an Assistant Government Whip from 1953 to 1955, as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 1955 to 1957, as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1957 to 1959 and as Treasurer of the Household from 1959 to 1960. In 1960 Newton succeeded his father as 4th Baron Newton and took his seat in the House of Lords, causing a by-election in Petersfield which was won by the Conservative candidate, Joan Quennell.
He continued to serve under Macmillan and later Home as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard and Assistant Chief Whip in the House of Lords from 1960 to 1962, as Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health from 1962 to 1964 and as Minister of State for Education and Science in 1964.
In 1948 Newton married Priscilla Warburton, daughter of Captain John Egerton Warburton and widow of Major William Matthew Palmer, Viscount Wolmer, son and heir of Roundell Palmer, 3rd Earl of Selborne. They had two sons. Lord Newton died in June, 1992, aged 77. He was succeeded in the Barony by his elder son Richard Thomas Legh.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Peter Legh
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir George Jeffreys |
Member of Parliament for Petersfield 1951–1960 |
Succeeded by Joan Quennell |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Richard Thompson |
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1957–1959 |
Succeeded by Edward Wakefield |
| Preceded by Hendrie Oakshott |
Treasurer of the Household 1959–1960 | |
| Preceded by The Earl of Onslow |
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard 1960–1962 |
Succeeded by The Viscount Goschen |
| Preceded by Bernard Braine |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health 1962–1964 With: Bernard Braine 1962–1964 The Marquess of Lothian 1964 |
Succeeded by Bernard Braine The Marquess of Lothian |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Richard Legh |
Baron Newton 1960–1992 |
Succeeded by Richard Legh |