{{Short description|British politician (1829–1923)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Sydney Gedge | honorific_suffix = | image = Sydney Gedge.jpg | alt = | caption = Gedge in 1895 | constituency_MP = [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]] | parliament = United Kingdom | term_start = 1886 | term_end = 1892 | predecessor = [[Louis John Jennings]] <br /> [[William Tipping]] | successor = [[Louis John Jennings]] <br /> Sir [[Joseph Leigh]] | prior_term = | constituency_MP2 = [[Walsall (UK Parliament constituency)|Walsall]] | parliament2 = United Kingdom | majority = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by adding a number--> | term_start2 = 1895 | term_end2 = 1900 | predecessor2 = Sir [[Arthur Hayter, 1st Baron Haversham|Arthur Divett Hayter]] | successor2 = Sir [[Arthur Hayter, 1st Baron Haversham|Arthur Divett Hayter]] | birth_date = 16 October 1829 | birth_place = [[North Runcton]], [[Norfolk]], [[United Kingdom lf Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] | death_date = 6 April 1923 (aged 93) | death_place = [[Mitcham]], [[Surrey]], United Kingdom | party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] | alma_mater = [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]] }}
'''Sydney Gedge''' (16 October 1829 – 6 April 1923) was a [[British people|British]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[politician]] and prominent lay member of the [[Church of England]].
==Early life and education == Gedge was born on 16 October in [[North Runcton]], [[Norfolk]]. He was the eldest son of the Reverend Sydney Gedge. He received his education at [[King Edward's School, Birmingham]] and later attended [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]], He graduated in 1854 with a first-class degree in the Moral Science Tripos.
== Legal career == Gedge became a [[solicitor]] and served as a senior partner in [[Gedge]], [[Fisher (animal)|Fisher]] & [[Gedge]], a law firm. In 1870, the firm became solicitors to the [[London School Board]], and Gedge held that position of solicitor to the board for twenty years.
== Political career == Gedge made his first attempt at parliamentary election in 1880 as a candidate for [[Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Cambridge]], but was unsuccessful. He contested [[Luton (UK Parliament constituency)|Luton]] as a conservative candidate in 1885 but was defeated.<ref>{{cite news |title=Election Intelligence |work=[[The Times]] |page=5 |date=7 February 1885 }}</ref>
In [[1886 United Kingdom general election|1886]] he was elected as one of two Conservative [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs) for [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]], serving until his defeat in the [[1892 United Kingdom general election|1892 general election]]. He returned to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in 1895 as the MP for [[Walsall (UK Parliament constituency)|Walsall]], defeating the sitting [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] [[Arthur Hayter, 1st Baron Haversham|Arthur Hayter]].<ref>{{cite news |title=England |work=[[The Times]] |page=12 |date=29 June 1895 }}</ref> However, in the [[1900 United Kingdom general election|1900]] general election Hayter regained the Walsall seat, ending Gedge's parliamentary career.
Beyond parliament, Gedge remained active in local governance. In November 1900, he was elected member of the London School Board.<ref>{{cite news |title=The London School Board Election |work=[[The Times]] |page=9 |date=1 December 1900 }}</ref> In 1901, he ran for the [[London County Council]] but was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news |title=The London County Council Election |work=[[The Times]] |page=7 |date=31 January 1901 }}</ref>
== Involvement in the Church of England == Gedge was actively involved in the [[Church of England]], serving as a diocesan [[lay reader]] of London and Rochester and he was also a member of the [[Houses of Laymen|House of Laymen]] of the [[General Synod]]. Additionally He was a governor of several religious and educational institutions, including [[Ridley Hall]], [[Wycliffe Hall]], [[Westfield College]] for Women, and [[Christ's Hospital]], and Chairman of Henley's Telegraph Works Co. He was associated with the [[Church Mission Society|Church Missionary Society]].<ref name="obit">{{cite news |date=7 April 1923 |title=Mr Sydney Gedge. A Noted Evangelical Churchman. |work=[[The Times]] |page=12}}</ref> And was a member of the [[Carlton Club]] and the [[Junior Constitutional Club]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Oakes|first=Charles Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YE8LrmCx9rMC|title=Who's Who 1910: An Annual Biographical Dictionary|publisher=A. & C. Black|year=1910|location=London|pages=727–728|language=en|oclc=866511400}}</ref>
== Personal life and death == Gedge married [[Augusta Herring]] in 1857. He died at his home in [[Mitcham]], [[Surrey]], on 6 April 1923, aged 93.<ref name="obit" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-sydney-gedge | Sydney Gedge }} * {{Rayment-hc|external links=y|date=March 2012}}
{{S-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{succession box | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]] | with = [[Louis John Jennings]] | years = [[1886 United Kingdom general election|1886]]–[[1892 United Kingdom general election|1892]] | before = [[Louis John Jennings]] <br /> [[William Tipping]] | after = [[Louis John Jennings]] <br /> Sir [[Joseph Leigh]] }} {{succession box | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Walsall (UK Parliament constituency)|Walsall]] | years = [[1895 United Kingdom general election|1895]]–[[1900 United Kingdom general election|1900]] | before = Sir [[Arthur Hayter, 1st Baron Haversham|Arthur Divett Hayter]] | after = Sir [[Arthur Hayter, 1st Baron Haversham|Arthur Divett Hayter]] }} {{S-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gedge, Sydney}} [[Category:1829 births]] [[Category:1923 deaths]] [[Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]] [[Category:UK MPs 1886–1892]] [[Category:UK MPs 1895–1900]] [[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:Members of the London School Board]] [[Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham]] [[Category:Anglican lay readers]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stockport]]