88-461: Bradenham may refer the following places in England: Bradenham, Buckinghamshire Bradenham, Norfolk [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
176-510: A motion of confidence ; Disraeli led the Opposition to defeat the government, 305 to 148. Aberdeen resigned, and the Queen sent for Derby, who to Disraeli's frustration refused to take office. Palmerston was deemed essential to any Whig ministry, and he would not join any he did not head. The Queen reluctantly asked Palmerston to form a government. Under Palmerston, the war went better, and was ended by
264-446: A barrister and should be allowed to pursue a literary career. He had made a tentative start: in May 1824 he submitted a manuscript to his father's friend, the publisher John Murray , but withdrew it before Murray could decide whether to publish it. Released from the law, Disraeli did some work for Murray, but turned most of his attention to speculative dealing on the stock exchange . There
352-423: A bill to equalise the county and borough franchises, mostly because of divisions among his supporters. He resigned, and the Queen sent for Stanley, who felt that a minority government could do little and would not last long, so Russell remained in office. Disraeli regretted this, hoping for an opportunity, however brief, to show himself capable in office. Stanley, in contrast, deprecated his inexperienced followers as
440-495: A few powerful commoners. The Whigs derived from the coalition of Lords who had forced through the Bill of Rights 1689 and in some cases were their descendants. The Tories tended to support King and Church and sought to thwart political change. A small number of Radicals, generally from northern constituencies, were the strongest advocates of continuing reform. In the early 1830s the Tories and
528-462: A good deal there. He recalled: I had some scruples, for even then I dreamed of Parliament. My father's refrain always was ' Philip Carteret Webb ', who was the most eminent solicitor of his boyhood and who was an MP. It would be a mistake to suppose that the two years and more that I was in the office of our friend were wasted. I have often thought, though I have often regretted the University, that it
616-507: A government, then Disraeli now seemed to be guaranteed high office, but with a group of men who possessed little or no official experience and who, as a group, remained personally hostile to Disraeli. In the event the Tory split soon had the party out of office, not regaining power until 1852. The Conservatives would not again have a majority in the House of Commons until 1874. Peel successfully steered
704-601: A reason for not assuming office: "These are not names I can put before the Queen." At the end of June 1851, Stanley succeeded to the title of Earl of Derby . The Whigs were wracked by internal dissensions during the second half of 1851, much of which Parliament spent in recess. Russell dismissed Lord Palmerston from the cabinet, leaving the latter determined to deprive the Prime Minister of office. Palmerston did so within weeks of Parliament's reassembly on 4 February 1852, his followers combining with Disraeli's Tories to defeat
792-583: A starving race of fanatical slaves". Disraeli was highly gratified by the dispute, which propelled him to general public notice for the first time. He did not defeat the incumbent Whig member, Henry Labouchere , but the Taunton constituency was regarded as unwinnable by the Tories. Disraeli kept Labouchere's majority down to 170, a good showing that put him in line for a winnable seat in the near future. With Lyndhurst's encouragement Disraeli turned to writing propaganda for his newly adopted party. His Vindication of
880-462: A wish for revenge on Murray and others by whom he felt slighted. There was a vogue for what was called "silver-fork fiction"—novels depicting aristocratic life, usually by anonymous authors, read by the aspirational middle classes. Disraeli's first novel, Vivian Grey , published anonymously in four volumes in 1826–27, was a thinly veiled re-telling of the affair of The Representative . It sold well, but caused much offence in influential circles when
968-457: Is Venetia , a romance based on the characters of Shelley and Byron , written quickly to raise much-needed money. Disraeli made his maiden speech in Parliament on 7 December 1837. He followed O'Connell, whom he sharply criticised for the latter's "long, rambling, jumbling, speech". He was shouted down by O'Connell's supporters. After this unpromising start Disraeli kept a low profile for
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#17328513861941056-512: Is near Saunderton , off the main A4010 road between Princes Risborough and High Wycombe . The village name is Anglo-Saxon and means 'broad enclosure', referring to the fact that the village sits in a broad valley among the surrounding Chiltern Hills . In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village was recorded as Bradeham . The Parish Church of St Botolph was restored in 1863 by G.E. Street and
1144-511: Is quite impossible that anything adverse to the general measure of Reform can issue from my pen." Moreover, at the time Gallomania was published, Disraeli was electioneering in High Wycombe in the Radical interest. Disraeli's politics at the time were influenced both by his rebellious streak and his desire to make his mark. At that time, British politics were dominated by the aristocracy, with
1232-994: The Eastern question —the slow decay of the Ottoman Empire and the desire of other European powers, such as Russia, to gain at its expense. Disraeli arranged for the British to purchase a major interest in the Suez Canal Company in Egypt. In 1878, faced with Russian victories against the Ottomans , he worked at the Congress of Berlin to obtain peace in the Balkans at terms favourable to Britain and unfavourable to Russia, its longstanding enemy. This diplomatic victory established Disraeli as one of Europe's leading statesmen. World events thereafter moved against
1320-573: The House of Commons in 1837. In 1846, Prime Minister Robert Peel split the party over his proposal to repeal the Corn Laws , which involved ending the tariff on imported grain. Disraeli clashed with Peel in the House of Commons, becoming a major figure in the party. When Lord Derby , the party leader, thrice formed governments in the 1850s and 1860s, Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of
1408-508: The Jews Relief Act 1858 , MPs were required to take the oath of allegiance "on the true faith of a Christian", necessitating at least nominal conversion. It is not known whether Disraeli formed any ambition for a parliamentary career at the time of his baptism, but there is no doubt that he bitterly regretted his parents' decision not to send him to Winchester College , one of the great public schools which consistently provided recruits to
1496-650: The Treaty of Paris in early 1856. Disraeli was early to call for peace but had little influence on events. When a rebellion broke out in India in 1857, Disraeli took a keen interest, having been a member of a select committee in 1852 which considered how best to rule the subcontinent, and had proposed eliminating the governing role of the British East India Company . After peace was restored, and Palmerston in early 1858 brought in legislation for direct rule of India by
1584-520: The University of Oxford . He had been recommended for it by Lord Derby, the university's Chancellor . The start of the Crimean War in 1854 caused a lull in party politics; Disraeli spoke patriotically in support. The British military efforts were marked by bungling, and in 1855 a restive Parliament considered a resolution to establish a committee on the conduct of the war. The Aberdeen government made this
1672-596: The "change of air" recommended by the family's doctors, Isaac took a succession of houses in the country and on the coast, before Disraeli sought wider horizons. Together with his sister's fiancé, William Meredith, Disraeli travelled widely in southern Europe and beyond in 1830–31. The trip was financed partly by another high society novel, The Young Duke , written in 1829–30. The tour was cut short suddenly by Meredith's death from smallpox in Cairo in July 1831. Despite this tragedy, and
1760-613: The Conservative Party split: the Peelites moved towards the Whigs, while a "new" Conservative Party formed around the protectionists, led by Disraeli, Bentinck, and Lord Stanley (later Lord Derby). The split in the Tory party over the repeal of the Corn Laws had profound implications for Disraeli's political career: almost every Tory politician with experience of office followed Peel, leaving
1848-609: The Conservatives the party most identified with the British Empire and military action to expand it, both of which were popular among British voters. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been born Jewish . Disraeli was born in Bloomsbury , then a part of Middlesex . His father left Judaism after a dispute at his synagogue ; Benjamin became an Anglican at the age of 12. After several unsuccessful attempts, Disraeli entered
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#17328513861941936-672: The Conservatives. Controversial wars in Afghanistan and South Africa undermined his public support. He angered farmers by refusing to reinstitute the Corn Laws in response to poor harvests and cheap imported grain. With Gladstone conducting a massive speaking campaign , the Liberals defeated Disraeli's Conservatives at the 1880 general election . In his final months, Disraeli led the Conservatives in Opposition. Disraeli wrote novels throughout his career, beginning in 1826, and published his last completed novel, Endymion , shortly before he died at
2024-735: The Crown, Disraeli opposed it. Many Conservative MPs refused to follow him, and the bill passed the Commons easily. Palmerston's grip on the premiership was weakened by his response to the Orsini affair , in which an attempt was made to assassinate the French Emperor Napoleon III by an Italian revolutionary with a bomb made in Birmingham. At the request of the French ambassador, Palmerston proposed amending
2112-534: The Derby government held to power pending the meeting of Parliament. Disraeli's task as Chancellor was to devise a budget which would satisfy the protectionist elements who supported the Tories, without uniting the free-traders against it. His proposed budget, which he presented to the Commons on 3 December, lowered the taxes on malt and tea, provisions designed to appeal to the working class. To make his budget revenue-neutral, as funds were needed to provide defences against
2200-579: The English Constitution , was published in December 1835. It was couched in the form of an open letter to Lyndhurst, and in Bradford's view encapsulates a political philosophy that Disraeli adhered to for the rest of his life: the value of benevolent aristocratic government, a loathing of political dogma, and the modernisation of Tory policies. The following year he wrote a series of satires on politicians of
2288-434: The French, he doubled the house tax and continued the income tax. Disraeli's overall purpose was to enact policies which would benefit the working classes, making his party more attractive to them. Although the budget did not contain protectionist features, the Opposition was prepared to destroy it—and Disraeli's career as Chancellor—in part out of revenge for his actions against Peel in 1846. MP Sidney Herbert predicted that
2376-487: The House (with Derby as prime minister in the Lords) and as Chancellor. He wrote regular reports on proceedings in the Commons to Victoria, who described them as "very curious" and "much in the style of his books". Parliament was prorogued on 1 July 1852 as the Tories could not govern for long as a minority; Disraeli hoped that they would gain a majority of about 40. Instead, the election later that month had no clear winner, and
2464-404: The House of Commons . Upon Derby's retirement in 1868, Disraeli became prime minister briefly before losing that year's general election. He returned to the Opposition before leading the party to a majority in the 1874 general election. He maintained a close friendship with Queen Victoria who, in 1876, elevated him to the peerage, as Earl of Beaconsfield . Disraeli's second term was dominated by
2552-582: The Primary War Headquarters (PWHQ) bunker was built by RAF Strike Command on the National Trust land to the north east of the village between 1983 and 1985, in spite of opposition including a peace camp . Bradenham is the location of a grand red brick manor house , which in the 13th century was a property belonging to the Earl of Warwick . The house was fit for royalty, as in 1566 Queen Elizabeth I
2640-423: The age of 76. Disraeli was born on 21 December 1804 at 6 King's Road, Bedford Row, Bloomsbury , London, the second child and eldest son of Isaac D'Israeli , a literary critic and historian, and Maria (Miriam), née Basevi. The family was mostly from Italy, of Sephardic Jewish mercantile background. He also had some Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors. He later romanticised his origins, claiming his father's family
2728-523: The age of about six he was a day boy at a dame school in Islington , which one of his biographers described as "for those days a very high-class establishment". Two years later or so—the exact date has not been ascertained—he was sent as a boarder to Rev John Potticary's school at Blackheath . Following a quarrel in 1813 with the Bevis Marks Synagogue , his father renounced Judaism and had
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2816-507: The authorship was discovered. Disraeli, then just 23, did not move in high society, as the numerous solecisms in his book made obvious. Reviewers were sharply critical on these grounds of both the author and the book. Murray and Lockhart, men of great influence in literary circles, believed that Disraeli had caricatured them and abused their confidence—an accusation denied by the author but repeated by many of his biographers. In later editions Disraeli made many changes, softening his satire, but
2904-612: The autumn term of 1817; he later recalled his education: I was at school for two or three years under the Revd. Dr Cogan, a Greek scholar of eminence, who had contributed notes to the A[e]schylus of Bishop Blomfield, & was himself the Editor of the Greek Gnostic poets. After this I was with a private tutor for two years in my own County, & my education was severely classical. Too much so; in
2992-522: The budget would fail because "Jews make no converts". Disraeli delivered the budget on 3 December 1852, and prepared to wind up the debate for the government on 16 December—it was customary for the Chancellor to have the last word. A massive defeat for the government was predicted. Disraeli attacked his opponents individually, and then as a force: "I face a Coalition ... This, too, I know, that England does not love coalitions." His speech of three hours
3080-546: The condition of the poor, and in particular the Great Famine caused by successive failure of potato crops in Ireland. The first months of 1846 were dominated by a battle in Parliament between the free traders and the protectionists over the repeal of the Corn Laws, with the latter rallying around Disraeli and Lord George Bentinck . An alliance of free-trade Conservatives (the " Peelites "), Radicals, and Whigs carried repeal, and
3168-508: The congregation following a second dispute. Isaac's friend Sharon Turner , a solicitor, convinced him that although he could comfortably remain unattached to any formal religion it would be disadvantageous to the children if they did so. Turner stood as godfather when Benjamin was baptised, aged twelve, on 31 July 1817. Conversion enabled Disraeli to contemplate a career in politics. There had been Members of Parliament (MPs) from Jewish families since Sampson Gideon in 1770. However, until
3256-428: The constituency of Maidstone . The other was Wyndham Lewis , who helped finance Disraeli's election campaign, and who died the following year. In the same year Disraeli published a novel, Henrietta Temple , which was a love story and social comedy, drawing on his affair with Henrietta Sykes. He had broken off the relationship in late 1836, distraught that she had taken yet another lover. His other novel of this period
3344-498: The couple came to cherish one another, remaining close until she died more than three decades later. "Dizzy married me for my money", his wife said later, "But, if he had the chance again, he would marry me for love." Finding the financial demands of his Maidstone seat too much, Disraeli secured a Tory nomination for Shrewsbury , winning one of the constituency's two seats at the 1841 general election , despite serious opposition, and heavy debts which opponents seized on. The election
3432-509: The damage to his reputation proved long-lasting. Disraeli's biographer Jonathan Parry writes that the financial failure and personal criticism that Disraeli suffered in 1825 and 1826 were probably the trigger for a serious nervous crisis affecting him over the next four years: "He had always been moody, sensitive, and solitary by nature, but now became seriously depressed and lethargic." He was still living with his parents in London, but in search of
3520-575: The day, which he published in The Times under the pen-name "Runnymede". His targets included the Whigs, collectively and individually, Irish nationalists, and political corruption. One essay ended: The English nation, therefore, rallies for rescue from the degrading plots of a profligate oligarchy, a barbarizing sectarianism, and a boroughmongering Papacy, round their hereditary leaders—the Peers. The House of Lords, therefore, at this moment represents everything in
3608-513: The depth of the Tory schism enabled Russell to continue to govern. The Conservatives were led by Bentinck in the Commons and Stanley in the Lords. In 1847 a small political crisis removed Bentinck from the leadership and highlighted Disraeli's differences with his own party. In that year's general election, Lionel de Rothschild had been returned for the City of London . As a practising Jew he could not take
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3696-515: The dreaming artist and the bold man of action. As Parry observes, the book ends on a political note, setting out Europe's progress "from feudal to federal principles". The Wondrous Tale of Alroy the following year portrayed the problems of a medieval Jew in deciding between a small, exclusively Jewish state and a large empire embracing all. After these novels were published, Disraeli declared that he would "write no more about myself". He had already turned his attention to politics in 1832, during
3784-483: The four children baptised into the Church of England in July and August 1817. Isaac D'Israeli had never taken religion very seriously but had remained a conforming member of the synagogue. His father Benjamin was a prominent and devout member; it was probably out of respect for him that Isaac did not leave when he fell out with the synagogue authorities in 1813. After Benjamin senior died in 1816, Isaac felt free to leave
3872-427: The government on a Militia Bill, and Russell resigned. Derby had either to take office or risk damage to his reputation, and he accepted the Queen's commission as prime minister. Palmerston declined any office; Derby had hoped to have him as Chancellor of the Exchequer . Disraeli, his closest ally, was his second choice and accepted, though disclaiming any great knowledge in the financial field. Gladstone refused to join
3960-474: The government. Disraeli may have been attracted to the office by the £5,000 annual salary, which would help pay his debts. Few of the new cabinet had held office before; when Derby tried to inform the Duke of Wellington of the names of the ministers, the old Duke, who was somewhat deaf, inadvertently branded the new government by incredulously repeating "Who? Who?" In the following weeks, Disraeli served as Leader of
4048-497: The great crisis over the Reform Bill . He contributed to an anti- Whig pamphlet edited by John Wilson Croker and published by Murray entitled England and France: or a cure for Ministerial Gallomania . The choice of a Tory publication was regarded as strange by Disraeli's friends and relatives, who thought him more of a Radical . Indeed, he had objected to Murray about Croker's inserting "high Tory" sentiment: Disraeli remarked, "it
4136-492: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bradenham&oldid=932733847 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Bradenham, Buckinghamshire Bradenham is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire , England. It
4224-550: The interests they represented appeared to be a lost cause. The other great party, the Whigs, were anathema to Disraeli: "Toryism is worn out & I cannot condescend to be a Whig." There was a by-election and a general election in 1832; Disraeli unsuccessfully stood as a Radical at High Wycombe in each. Disraeli's political views embraced certain Radical policies, particularly electoral reform, and also some Tory ones, including protectionism . He began to move in Tory circles. In 1834 he
4312-465: The landed interests should use their power to protect the poor from exploitation by middle-class businessmen. Disraeli hoped to forge a paternalistic Tory-Radical alliance, but he was unsuccessful. Before the Reform Act 1867 , the working class did not possess the vote and therefore had little political power. Although Disraeli forged a personal friendship with John Bright , a leading Radical, Disraeli
4400-419: The last time as a Radical, again unsuccessfully contesting High Wycombe. In April 1835, Disraeli fought a by-election at Taunton as a Tory candidate. The Irish MP Daniel O'Connell , misled by inaccurate press reports, thought Disraeli had slandered him while electioneering at Taunton; he launched an outspoken attack, referring to Disraeli as: a reptile ... just fit now, after being twice discarded by
4488-608: The later Victorian era , the house was turned into a boarding school for local young gentlemen. In recent years, Bradenham Manor was leased by the National Trust to Grant Thornton UK LLP as the firm's National Training Centre. However, the manor has now been returned to the National Trust. It is well known for its gardens. It featured as the 'Wargames Headquarters' in the 1967 film, The Dirty Dozen . Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield , (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881)
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#17328513861944576-552: The latter's only daughter might be a suitable match for Benjamin. A friendship developed, but there was no romance. The firm had a large and profitable business, and as the biographer R W Davis observes, the clerkship was "the kind of secure, respectable position that many fathers dream of for their children". Although biographers including Robert Blake and Bradford comment that such a post was incompatible with Disraeli's romantic and ambitious nature, he reportedly gave his employers satisfactory service, and later professed to have learnt
4664-406: The manor house is a small, slightly sloping cricket pitch which is used by Bradenham Cricket Club. Village news and activities are documented in the monthly "Contact" magazine, which covers Bradenham plus the nearby villages of Bledlow Ridge , West Wycombe , Radnage and Piddington . RAF High Wycombe is inside the village, to the north-east. The Strike Command Operations Centre (STCOC) formerly
4752-432: The mines and those politicians who supported them, particularly Canning. Disraeli impressed Murray with his energy and commitment to the project, but he failed in his key task of persuading the eminent writer John Gibson Lockhart to edit the paper. After that, Disraeli's influence on Murray waned, and to his resentment he was sidelined in the affairs of The Representative . The paper survived only six months, partly because
4840-403: The mining bubble burst in late 1825, and partly because, according to Blake, the paper was "atrociously edited". The bursting of the mining bubble was ruinous for Disraeli. By June 1825 he and his business partners had lost £7,000. Disraeli could not pay off the last of his debts from this debacle until 1849. He turned to writing, motivated partly by his desperate need for money, and partly by
4928-484: The most important political problems which faced him in his later years—especially the Eastern Question; they also coloured many of his novels." Disraeli wrote two novels in the aftermath of the tour. Contarini Fleming (1832) was avowedly a self-portrait. It is subtitled "a psychological autobiography" and depicts the conflicting elements of its hero's character: the duality of northern and Mediterranean ancestry,
5016-620: The need for treatment for a sexually transmitted disease on his return, Disraeli felt enriched by his experiences. He became, in Parry's words, "aware of values that seemed denied to his insular countrymen. The journey encouraged his self-consciousness, his moral relativism, and his interest in Eastern racial and religious attitudes." Blake regards the tour as one of the formative experiences of Disraeli's career: "[T]he impressions that it made on him were life-lasting. They conditioned his attitude toward some of
5104-405: The next session, affairs were handled by a triumvirate of Granby, Disraeli, and John Charles Herries —indicative of the tension between Disraeli and the rest of the party, who needed his talents but mistrusted him. This confused arrangement ended with Granby's resignation in 1851; Disraeli effectively ignored the two men regardless. In March 1851, Lord John Russell's government was defeated over
5192-574: The oath of allegiance in the prescribed Christian form, and therefore could not take his seat. Lord John Russell, the Whig leader who had succeeded Peel as prime minister, proposed in the Commons that the oath should be amended to permit Jews to enter Parliament. Disraeli spoke in favour of the measure, arguing that Christianity was "completed Judaism", and asking the House of Commons "Where is your Christianity if you do not believe in their Judaism?" Russell and Disraeli's future rival Gladstone thought this brave;
5280-458: The party's leading hostess, Lady Londonderry . In June 1837 William IV died, the young Queen Victoria succeeded him, and parliament was dissolved. On the recommendation of the Carlton Club, Disraeli was adopted as a Tory parliamentary candidate at the ensuing general election . In the election in July 1837, Disraeli won a seat in the House of Commons as one of two members, both Tory, for
5368-448: The people, to become a Conservative. He possesses all the necessary requisites of perfidy, selfishness, depravity, want of principle, etc., which would qualify him for the change. His name shows that he is of Jewish origin. I do not use it as a term of reproach; there are many most respectable Jews. But there are, as in every other people, some of the lowest and most disgusting grade of moral turpitude; and of those I look upon Mr. Disraeli as
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#17328513861945456-510: The political elite. His two younger brothers were sent there, and it is not clear why Isaac chose to send his eldest son to a much less prestigious school. The boy evidently held his mother responsible for the decision; Bradford speculates that "Benjamin's delicate health and his obviously Jewish appearance may have had something to do with it." The school chosen for him was run by Eliezer Cogan at Higham Hill in Walthamstow . He began there in
5544-557: The pride of boyish erudition, I edited the Idonisian Eclogue of Theocritus, wh. was privately printed. This was my first production: puerile pedantry. In November 1821, shortly before his seventeenth birthday, Disraeli was articled as a clerk to a firm of solicitors —Swain, Stevens, Maples, Pearse and Hunt—in the City of London . T F Maples was not only the young Disraeli's employer and a friend of his father's, but also his prospective father-in-law: Isaac and Maples considered that
5632-657: The realm except the Whig oligarchs, their tools the Dissenters, and their masters the Irish priests. In the mean time, the Whigs bawl that there is a "collision!" It is true there is a collision, but it is not a collision between the Lords and the People, but between the Ministers and the Constitution. Disraeli was elected to the exclusively Tory Carlton Club in 1836, and was also taken up by
5720-518: The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The President of the Board of Trade , William Gladstone , resigned from the cabinet over the Maynooth Grant. The Corn Laws imposed a tariff on imported wheat, protecting British farmers from foreign competition, but making the cost of bread artificially high. Peel hoped that the repeal of the Corn Laws and the resultant influx of cheaper wheat into Britain would relieve
5808-469: The repeal of the Corn Laws through Parliament and was then defeated by an alliance of his enemies on the issue of Irish law and order; he resigned in June 1846. The Tories remained split, and the Queen sent for Lord John Russell , the Whig leader. In the 1847 general election , Disraeli stood, successfully, for the Buckinghamshire constituency. The new House of Commons had more Conservative than Whig members, but
5896-488: The rest of the parliamentary session. He was a loyal supporter of the party leader Sir Robert Peel and his policies, with the exception of a personal sympathy for the Chartist movement that most Tories did not share. In 1839 Disraeli married Mary Anne Lewis , the widow of Wyndham Lewis. Twelve years Disraeli's senior, Mary Lewis had a substantial income of £5,000 a year. His motives were generally assumed to be mercenary, but
5984-403: The rest of their marriage. The negotiations were complicated by Bentinck's sudden death on 21 September 1848, but Disraeli obtained a loan of £25,000 from Bentinck's brothers Lord Henry Bentinck and Lord Titchfield . Within a month of his appointment Granby resigned the leadership in the Commons and the party functioned without a leader in the Commons for the rest of the session. At the start of
6072-455: The rump bereft of leadership. In Blake's words, "[Disraeli] found himself almost the only figure on his side capable of putting up the oratorical display essential for a parliamentary leader." The Duke of Argyll wrote that Disraeli "was like a subaltern in a great battle where every superior officer was killed or wounded". If the Tory Party could muster the electoral support necessary to form
6160-482: The south door dates from the early Norman period. The rectory on the main road is from the 18th century. The houses around the village green are mainly brick and flint, but include the distinctive 18th century stuccoed 'White House' with pointed windows and castellations. The whole village of Bradenham has been owned by the National Trust since 1956. They market it under the name Bradenham Village . In front of
6248-512: The speech was badly received by his own party. The Tories and the Anglican establishment were hostile to the bill. With the exception of Disraeli, every member of the future protectionist cabinet then in Parliament voted against the measure. The measure was voted down. In the aftermath of the debate Bentinck resigned the leadership and was succeeded by Lord Granby ; Disraeli's speech, thought by many of his own party to be blasphemous, ruled him out for
6336-599: The summer of 1824. He later wrote that while travelling on the Rhine he decided to abandon his position: "I determined when descending those magical waters that I would not be a lawyer." On their return to England he left the solicitors, at the suggestion of Maples, with the aim of qualifying as a barrister . He enrolled as a student at Lincoln's Inn and joined the chambers of his uncle, Nathaniel Basevy, and then those of Benjamin Austen, who persuaded Isaac that Disraeli would never make
6424-458: The time being. While these intrigues played out, Disraeli was working with the Bentinck family to secure the necessary financing to purchase Hughenden Manor , in Buckinghamshire . The possession of a country house and incumbency of a county constituency were regarded as essential for a Tory with leadership ambitions. Disraeli and his wife alternated between Hughenden and several homes in London for
6512-414: The worst. Disraeli's public exchanges with O'Connell, extensively reproduced in The Times , included a demand for a duel with the 60-year-old O'Connell's son (which resulted in Disraeli's temporary detention by the authorities), a reference to "the inextinguishable hatred with which [he] shall pursue [O'Connell's] existence", and the accusation that O'Connell's supporters had a "princely revenue wrung from
6600-567: Was a British statesman, Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party , defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone , and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made
6688-431: Was a massive defeat for the Whigs across the country, and Peel became prime minister. Disraeli hoped, unrealistically, for ministerial office. Though disappointed at being left on the back benches , he continued his support for Peel in 1842 and 1843, seeking to establish himself as an expert on foreign affairs and international trade. Although a Tory (or Conservative, as some in the party now called themselves) Disraeli
6776-471: Was at the time a boom in shares in South American mining companies. Spain was losing its South American colonies in the face of rebellions. At the urging of George Canning the British government recognised the new independent governments of Argentina (1824), Colombia and Mexico (both 1825). With no money of his own, Disraeli borrowed money to invest. He became involved with the financier J. D. Powles , who
6864-415: Was entertained here by Lord Windsor . The current manor house was substantially built by Sir Edmund Pye, 1st Baronet around 1670 with tall sash windows , steep roofs and slim brick chimneys. In the 19th century it was the home of Isaac D'Israeli who died there in 1848 and is buried in the churchyard. His son Benjamin Disraeli , who became the prime minister, lived there for part of his early life. In
6952-486: Was intended to give him status comparable to that of England's ruling elite; Sarah Bradford believes "his dislike of the commonplace would not allow him to accept the facts of his birth as being as middle-class and undramatic as they really were". Disraeli's siblings were Sarah, Naphtali (born and died 1807), Ralph and James ("Jem"). He was close to his sister and on affectionate but more distant terms with his surviving brothers. Details of his schooling are sketchy. From
7040-419: Was introduced to the former Lord Chancellor , Lord Lyndhurst , by Henrietta Sykes, wife of Sir Francis Sykes . She was having an affair with Lyndhurst and began another with Disraeli. Disraeli and Lyndhurst took an immediate liking to each other. Lyndhurst was an indiscreet gossip with a fondness for intrigue; this appealed greatly to Disraeli, who became his secretary and go-between. In 1835 Disraeli stood for
7128-477: Was much the reverse. The year after joining Maples' firm, Benjamin changed his surname from D'Israeli to Disraeli. His reasons are unknown, but the biographer Bernard Glassman surmises that it was to avoid being confused with his father. Disraeli's sister and brothers adopted the new version of the name; Isaac and his wife retained the older form. Disraeli toured Belgium and the Rhine Valley with his father in
7216-571: Was of grand Iberian and Venetian descent; in fact, Isaac's family was of no great distinction, but on Disraeli's mother's side, in which he took no interest, there were some distinguished forebears, including Isaac Cardoso , as well as members of the Goldsmids , the Mocattas and the Montefiores . Historians differ on Disraeli's motives for rewriting his family history: Bernard Glassman argues that it
7304-413: Was prominent among those encouraging the mining boom. In 1825, Disraeli wrote three anonymous pamphlets for Powles, promoting the companies. The pamphlets were published by John Murray, who invested heavily in the boom. Murray had ambitions to establish a new morning paper to compete with The Times . In 1825 Disraeli convinced him that he should proceed. The new paper, The Representative , promoted
7392-432: Was quickly seen as a parliamentary masterpiece. As MPs prepared to divide, Gladstone rose to his feet and began an angry speech, despite the efforts of Tory MPs to shout him down. The interruptions were fewer, as Gladstone gained control of the House, and in the next two hours painted a picture of Disraeli as frivolous and his budget as subversive. The government was defeated by 19 votes, and Derby resigned four days later. He
7480-469: Was reluctant to seek to unseat the government, fearing a repetition of the Who? Who? Ministry and knowing that shared dislike of Disraeli was part of what had formed the governing coalition. Disraeli, on the other hand, was anxious to return to office. In the interim, Disraeli, as Conservative leader in the Commons, opposed the government on all major measures. In June 1853 Disraeli was awarded an honorary degree by
7568-471: Was replaced by the Peelite Earl of Aberdeen , with Gladstone as his Chancellor. Because of Disraeli's unpopularity among the Peelites, no party reconciliation was possible while he remained Tory leader in the Commons. With the fall of the government, Disraeli and the Conservatives returned to the Opposition benches. Disraeli would spend three-quarters of his 44-year parliamentary career in Opposition. Derby
7656-541: Was sympathetic to some of the aims of Chartism, and argued for an alliance between the landed aristocracy and the working class against the increasing power of the merchants and new industrialists in the middle class. After Disraeli won widespread acclaim in March 1842 for worsting Lord Palmerston in debate, he was taken up by a small group of idealistic new Tory MPs, with whom he formed the Young England group. They held that
7744-481: Was unable to persuade Bright to sacrifice his distinct position for parliamentary advancement. When Disraeli attempted to secure a Tory-Radical cabinet in 1852, Bright refused. Disraeli gradually became a sharp critic of Peel's government, often deliberately taking contrary positions. The young MP attacked his leader as early as 1843. However, the best known of these stances were over the Maynooth Grant in 1845 and
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