Montagu Sharpe

Montagu Sharpe
Sir Montagu Sharpe, c. 1923
Chairman of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
In office
1895–1942
Preceded byWilliam Henry Hudson
Succeeded byPhillip Brown
Chairman of the Middlesex County Council
In office
1908–1909
Preceded byRalph Littler
Succeeded byWilliam Regester
Chairman of the Middlesex Quarter Sessions
In office
1909–1934
Preceded byRalph Littler
Succeeded byThomas Foster
President of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society
In office
1930–1940
Preceded byEdward Brabrook
Succeeded byEdmund Byng, 6th Earl of Strafford
Personal details
Born(1857-10-28)28 October 1857
Died23 August 1952(1952-08-23) (aged 94)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • lawyer
  • amateur archaeologist
  • antiquarian
  • ornithologist

Sir Montagu Sharpe KBE DL (28 October 1857 – 23 August 1942) was an English politician, lawyer, amateur archaeologist, antiquarian, and ornithologist.

Family background and early life

Montagu Sharpe came from an old Middlesex family that owned Hanwell Park. He was born in Hanwell to Lt Cmdr Benjamin Sharpe of the Royal Navy and his wife Marianne Fanny Montagu, daughter of the Rev. Montagu of Swaffham, Norfolk. Montagu studied law, and was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1889.

Career

Sharpe was a member of the Middlesex County Council from its founding in 1889 and a justice of the peace for Middlesex. He was knighted in 1922 and also became a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex. Sharpe served as chairman of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds from 1896 to 1942. He was active in the introduction of the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Bill and involved in framing initial drafts.[1] An archaeologist, Sharpe served as the president of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society from 1930–1942

He wrote a local history, Middlesex in British, Roman and Saxon Times (1919),[2] in which he suggested that the Roman system of centuriation could be seen in the layout of old manors, but his idea was viewed sceptically by other historians of the period.[3] Later studies have pointed out that his evidence was weak.[4]

Sharpe was a Freemason, serving as Grand Deacon of the United Grand Lodge of England. He was the founder of Haven Lodge and Hanwell Lodge in Ealing, and Horsa Dun Lodge and Jersey Lodge in Middlesex.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Feathers and Facts. London: RSPB. 1911. p. 14.
  2. ↑ Sharpe, Montagu (1919). Middlesex in British, Roman, and Saxon times. London: G. Bell and Sons.
  3. ↑ Sharpe, Montagu (1918). "Centuriation in Middlesex". English Historical Review. 33: 489–492.
  4. ↑ Peterson, J. W. M. (1990). "Roman cadastres in Britain. II. Eastearn A.Signs of a large System in the northern English home counties". Dialogues d'histoire ancienne. 16 (2): 233–272.