Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet

Seely in 1897, by Walter William Ouless

Colonel Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet KGStJ, DL (11 August 1833 – 16 April 1915) was a British industrialist and politician.

Seely was Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham from 1869 to 1874 and 1880 to 1885, and for Nottingham West from 1885 to 1886, and Liberal Unionist MP for Nottingham West from 1892 to 1895. He was an industrialist and major landowner on the Isle of Wight and in Nottinghamshire. He was also a noted philanthropist. In October 1895 he was the 1st person to be presented with the honorary Freedom of the City of Nottingham, for "Eminent services and noble generosity towards the philanthropic institutions of the City." He was made a baronet on 19 February 1896.[1]

He lived at Langford Hall[2] and then Sherwood Lodge[3] in Nottinghamshire, Brooke House on the Isle of Wight, and No.1 Carlton House Terrace in London. He also built Brook Hill House where J. B. Priestley, the famous author and playwright, later lived from 1948. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, and High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire. He was the Colonel of the 1st Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood) Rifle Volunteers. He was Vice-Chairman of the first Nottinghamshire County Council. He was also a Knight of Grace Order of St John of Jerusalem.

Seely was a member of a family of politicians, industrialists and significant landowners. His father, Charles Seely (1803–1887), was a member of parliament and one of the wealthiest industrialists of the Victorian era. Sir Charles and his eldest son Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet, youngest son J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, and grandson Sir Hugh Seely, 3rd Baronet and 1st Baron Sherwood, were also all members of parliament. His grandson, David Seely, 4th Baron Mottistone, was the last Governor of the Isle of Wight; he was baptised with Winston Churchill and the then Duke of Cornwall (subsequently King Edward VIII, and then later Duke of Windsor) as his godparents. The 4th Baron Mottistone's son Peter John Philip Seely, 5th Baron Mottistone (1949–2013), was a godson of Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His great-great-grandson, Bob Seely, was the MP for the Isle of Wight from 2017 to 2024.

  1. ^ "No. 26713". The London Gazette. 18 February 1896. p. 969.
  2. ^ "Memorials and Monuments on the Isle of Wight - People - Charles Grant Seely". www.isle-of-wight-memorials.org.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. ^ "The Great Houses of Nottinghamshire and the County Families: Sherwood Lodge". Nottinghamshire history.