Thursday, 11 February 2016
1118 Felix Cobbold
Constituency : Stowmarket 1885-6, Ipswich 1906-09
Felix won the new seat of Stowmarket.
Felix was the son of a former Conservative MP for Ipswich. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge and became a barrister. He gave up practice to become bursar at King's College, Cambridge. Five years later he was persuaded to return to Suffolk to run the family businesses in brewing and banking. He also maintained a farm at Felixstowe and supported independent smallholdings and allotments. Though his brothers remained Tories Felix was a radical who advocated franchise extension though not to women. He was Mayor of Ipswich.
Felix disagreed with Gladstone over Home Rule and declined to defend his seat in 1886 which went to the Tories. He did not join the Liberal Unionists and stood for Woodbridge in 1900 as a declared opponent of the Boer War.
In 1895 Felix presented Christchurch Mansion and Gippeswyk Park to the town of Ipswich. In 1903 he bought a stake in the Bury Free Press.
In 1906 Felix was returned for Ipswich with a huge majority.
Felix's maiden speech in 1906 called for a reduction in the garrison at Malta. In 1907 he was rebuked by the Speaker for talking about India when the motion in question specifically excluded India.
He died in 1909 aged 68. He left £20,000 in his will to Ipswich for the purchase of artworks. He also endowed an Agricultural Trust to further improvements in practice which still exists.
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