Stratford sub Castle Village Website
Salisbury, Wiltshire UK
Sidney Herbert MP
On Tuesday November 17th 1885 a political rally was held in a barn in Stratford sub Castle. This man spoke. This, the Honourable Sidney Herbert [1], was then MP for Wilton. The meeting didn’t avoid his losing his seat at a general election a month later.
He was elected the following year as MP for Croydon and on his brother’s death in 1895 became the 14th Earl of Pembroke and 11th Earl of Montgomery.
There is a statue of his father, also Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, in Victoria Park. Their ancester William Herbert, 6th Earl of Pembroke, 3rd Earl of Montgomery lived, temporarily, at Mawarden Court after a fire at Wilton House in the 17th C.
The Salisbury and Winchester and General Advertiser of Saturday November 21, 1885, reported the meeting. The article [2] began….
STRATFORD. CONSERVATIVE MEETING.- The Hon Sidney Herbert addressed a large meeting of electors, held in a barn lent by Mr. Young, at Stratford-sub-castle, on Tuesday night, and met with enthusiastic reception. Mr W Pinckney presided and there were also present –the Hon Sidney Herbert. M.P., Mr C. Waters, Mr Silas Taunton, Rev. Canon King, Rev. E Steward, Mr H. Green, Mr. Young, Mr Walter Flower and Mr. Saunders. The Chairman said that the Radicals were trying to make believe that the Conservatives were in favour of imposing a tax upon corn but it was the greatest falsehood that had ever been uttered. He contended that the schemes propounded for the nationalisation of the land or rate-aiding of it was utterly impracticable. --The Hon Sidney Herbert, who was loudly cheered on rising, referred first to one or two personal matters. Of late weeks he had found that his opponents-- he did not need to say opponent in a personal sense for Sir Thomas Grove was the most able and honourable man-- had been spreading stories about him without a single word of truth in them and calculated to excite the feelings of the new voters against him though the old voters knew him (Mr. Herbert) too well to believe them (Applause). He went to Damerham the other day and when he got there an awful row was going on. Large number of lads had come from the neighbouring village and would not hear a word he had to say……………………….
Kerry O’Connor
[1] Photograph of Sidney Herbert, by Morris & Co. Lithograph, late 19th century. 19 5/8 in. x 14 7/8 in. (498 mm x 378 mm paper size. Purchased, 1975. © National Portrait Gallery. NPG D40130)
[2] The Salisbury and Winchester and General Advertiser of Saturday November 21, 1885, reproduced within the terms of the British Newspaper Archive. ©The British Library Board, all rights reserved.
Photograph of the statue of his father in Victoria Park, by the author
This article supplies the answer to Question No. 53 in the website's
Local History Photo Quiz.