Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet

For other people named Matthew Wood, see Matthew Wood (disambiguation).

Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet (2 June 1768 – 25 September 1843) was a British Whig politician.

File:Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Bt by Arthur William Devis.jpg

Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Bt by Arthur William Devis.

Life

File:Lady Anne Hamilton Matthew Wood and Caroline of Brunswick.jpg

Moments of Pleasure - a satirical print by Theodore Lane incorporating Lady Anne Hamilton; Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet and Caroline of Brunswick.

Matthew Wood was the son of William Wood, a serge maker from Exeter and Tiverton, and his wife Catherine Cluse (died 1809). He was educated briefly at Blundell's School, before being obliged to help his ailing father. He was apprenticed to his cousin, an Exeter chemist and druggist, but moved to London in 1790 to set himself up in business.

He was a member of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, a member of the Court of Aldermen of the City of London, Sheriff of the City of London for 1809 and Lord Mayor of London from 1815 to 1817. He was elected unopposed as a Member of Parliament for the City of London at a by-election in June 1817, following the resignation of Harvey Christian Combe MP. He held the seat until his death in 1843.

Wood was a prominent partisan and adviser of Queen Caroline on her return to England in 1820, a not uncontroversial role. Greville noted acerbically in his diary on 7 June 1820:

”The Queen arrived in London yesterday at seven o’clock… She travelled in an open landau, Alderman Wood sitting by her side and Lady Anne Hamilton and another woman opposite. Everybody was disgusted at the vulgarity of Wood in sitting in the place of honour, while the Duke of Hamilton’s sister was sitting backwards in the carriage.”

He was made a Baronet in 1837, of Hatherley House in Gloucestershire, the name of his country seat.

Family

On 5 November 1795, Wood married Maria Page, the daughter of John Page from Woodbridge in Suffolk. They had six children:

1. John-Page Wood (1796–1866), who became a Church of England vicar in Essex
2. Maria-Elizabeth (born 1798)
3. Catharine (born 1799)
4. William (1801–1881), later Lord Hatherley, became a barrister, a Liberal MP, and served as Lord Chancellor from 1868 to 1872
5. Western (1804–1863), MP for the City of London 1861–63
6. Henry-Wright (born 1806), died an infant

John-Page Wood's daughter Katharine (1846–1921) was better known by her married name of Katharine O'Shea. Popularly known as Kitty O'Shea, her relationship with the Irish leader Charles Stewart Parnell led to a political scandal which caused his downfall. John's son Evelyn (1838–1919) was a Field Marshal and a recipient of the Victoria Cross.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir Matthew Wood
• Portraits of Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Bt at the National Portrait Gallery, London

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Harvey Christian Combe John Atkins Sir James Shaw, Bt Sir William Curtis, Bt	Member of Parliament for the City of London 1817–1843 With: John Atkins to 1818 Sir James Shaw, Bt to 1818 Sir William Curtis, Bt to 1818 John Thomas Thorp 1818–20 Robert Waithman 1818–20 Thomas Wilson 1818–26 Sir William Curtis, Bt 1820–26 George Bridges 1820–26 William Thompson 1826–32 Robert Waithman 1826 – March 1833 William Ward 1826–31 William Venables 1831–32 George Grote 1832–41 Sir John Key, Bt 1832 – August 1833 George Lyall March 1833–1835 William Crawford August 1833–1841 James Pattison 1835–41 George Lyall 1841–47 John Masterman 1841–57 Lord John Russell 1841–61	Succeeded by James Pattison George Lyall John Masterman Lord John Russell
Civic offices
Preceded by Samuel Birch	Lord Mayor of London 1815–1817	Succeeded by Christopher Smith
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baronet (of Hatherley House, Gloucestershire) 1837–1843	Succeeded by John Page Wood