# Edgar Chatfeild-Clarke
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{{Short description|English politician (1863–1925)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
'''Sir Edgar Chatfeild-Clarke''' (17 February 1863 – 16 April 1925) was an English [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_(UK)) politician.
==Family and education==
Edgar Chatfeild-Clarke was the son of [Thomas Chatfeild-Clarke](/source/Thomas_Chatfeild-Clarke), who was a Fellow of both the [Royal Institute of British Architects](/source/Royal_Institute_of_British_Architects) and of the [Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors](/source/Royal_Institution_of_Chartered_Surveyors), and his wife Ellen ([née Nettlefold](/source/Frederick_Nettlefold)) from [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham). Thomas Chatfeild-Clarke was the Liberal candidate for [Poole](/source/Poole_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in Dorset[The Times, 21 July 1884 p7] and later for [Hammersmith](/source/Hammersmith_(UK_Parliament_constituency)),[The Times, 21 May 1885 p6] which he contested unsuccessfully at the [1885 general election](/source/1885_United_Kingdom_general_election). He was also a member of the [London School Board](/source/London_School_Board)[The Times 25 April 1891 p6] and was closely connected to Liberal political causes such as The Society for the Liberation of Religion from State Patronage and Control[The Times,14 January 1885 p7] and [franchise reform](/source/Suffrage).[The Times, 22 July 1884 p10] He was connected with the [Unitarians](/source/Unitarianism), as was his wife's family, and built the 1886 headquarters for [the denomination](/source/General_Assembly_of_Unitarian_and_Free_Christian_Churches) on the site of the original [Essex Street Chapel](/source/Essex_Street_Chapel).[{{cite web|url=http://www.unitarian.org.uk/support/doc-EssexHall0.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116153833/http://www.unitarian.org.uk/support/doc-EssexHall0.shtml|url-status=dead|title=''The History of Essex Hall'' by Mortimer Rowe B.A., D.D. Lindsey Press, 1959|archivedate=16 January 2012}}]
Edgar Chatfeild-Clarke was educated at [King's College School](/source/King's_College_School) and privately in [Dresden](/source/Dresden) in the German state of [Saxony](/source/Saxony). He was a cousin of [Joseph Chamberlain](/source/Joseph_Chamberlain).[The Times, 17 April 1925 p12] He never married.[''Who was Who'', OUP 2007]
==Career==
Chatfeild-Clarke seems to have been a man with a [private income](/source/private_income), presumably derived from his father's success as an architect, surveyor and [estate agent](/source/estate_agent) and his father's directorships of companies, investments or shareholdings. The family also owned land and property in the Isle of Wight.[http://www.woottonbridgeiow.co.uk/Churches/St%20Michael%20and%20All%20Angels.htm{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}] Edgar does not appear to have engaged in any trade or profession in addition to his public and political career. His elder brother, Howard Chatfeild-Clarke (1860–1917), was an architect and surveyor like his father and was in partnership with his father in the firm of T Chatfeild-Clarke & Son[The Times, 25 May 1914 p30] but Edgar does not seem to have been associated with the company. He did however introduce a [Private Members' Bill](/source/Private_Members'_Bill) into the [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom) on behalf of the Surveyors' Institution, for the registration of the profession and to protect the public from employing unqualified personnel as surveyors, land agents or auctioneers.[The Times, 12 April 1923 p8] However the Bill failed to pass as Chatfeild-Clarke did not achieve a sufficiently high placing in the Private Members' Ballot but the seed of future regulation of the profession had been sown.[{{Cite web|url=http://www.francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1968/1968-003-estate-agents-registration.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208215743/http://www.francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1968/1968-003-estate-agents-registration.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2017-02-08|title=Wayback Machine}}]
==Politics==
===Local politics===
Chatfeild-Clarke did however inherit his father's political inclinations. He was first elected to the [Isle of Wight County Council](/source/Isle_of_Wight_County_Council) in 1900 and remained a member up until the time of his death in 1925.[The Times, 18 June 1920 p13]
===Parliament===
====1922====
Chatfeild-Clarke stood for [Parliament](/source/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom) on one occasion only, at the [1922 general election](/source/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election) in the [Isle of Wight](/source/Isle_of_Wight_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) constituency. The seat had been represented by the [Conservatives](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) since [January 1910](/source/January_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election) but it had elected Liberals in [1880](/source/1880_United_Kingdom_general_election) and [1906](/source/1906_United_Kingdom_general_election). In 1904, [John Seely](/source/John_Seely) who had been elected as a Conservative in [1900](/source/1900_United_Kingdom_general_election) defected to the Liberals, so there was some [radical](/source/Radicalism_(historical)) tradition for Liberals to exploit there in 1922. Although there was a [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) candidate standing in 1922, dividing the progressive vote, he lost his [deposit](/source/Deposit_(politics)) gaining 11.2% of the poll. The Conservative vote was also badly split by the intervention of an Independent Conservative candidate, who took 21% of the poll. This allowed Chatfeild-Clarke to top the poll with a majority of 1,582 votes.[F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918–1949''; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p379]
====1923====
Chatfeild-Clarke decided that he did not wish to stand again for Parliament again. He cited poor health as his reason for standing down[The Times, 28 November 1923 p7] Seely held the seat in [1923](/source/1923_United_Kingdom_general_election) – but only just, securing a majority of 90 votes or 0.3% of the total number of votes cast. Labour again lost their deposit.[The Times, 12 June 1913 p11] and was appointed a deputy governor of the Isle of Wight in 1920.[{{London Gazette |issue=32004 |page=8092 |date=3 August 1920}}]
==Death==
Chatfeild-Clarke died on 16 April 1925 of [influenza](/source/influenza) at his home in Wooton on the Isle of Wight, at the age of 62.