Constituency : North Durham 1874-85, Jarrow 1885-1907
Charles succeeded Hedworth Williamson at North Durham. His election was also voided on petition but unlike Lowthian Bell he came through the by-election at the head of the poll.
Charles was the son of a Newcastle ship-owner. At 15 he went into the business himself and became a partner in 1842. He was also invited to become a manager and then partner in a number of local collieries. He used the profits to expand the business and becaome a leading coke supplier to English railways. This led him on to shipbuilding on a huge scale at the hitherto obscure fishing village of Jarrow. He founded Palmer's Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited and was by far the largest local employer. He was the first mayor of the town. He contested South Shields in 1868.
Charles became a director of the Suez Canal Company.
Charles was created a baronet in 1886. He was president of the Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce. He was a cautious advocate of temperance.
Charles was almost unseated by a Socialist candidate in 1900 but decided to forego retirement and contest the seat again in 1906. He defeated the trade unionist Peter Curran with the support of the Irish Nationalist Party, a factor in the seat.
He died in 1907 ,still an MP, aged 84. His son Godfrey was a later MP for the seat.
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