Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway

Henry Duncan McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway CBE (16 April 1879 – 23 May 1953) was a British politician, horticulturalist and industrialist. He was the son of Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway and Laura Pochin.

The Right Honourable The Lord Aberconway CBE
Member of Parliament for Bosworth
In office 3 December 1910 – 15 November 1922
Preceded by	Charles McLaren
Succeeded by	Guy Paget
Member of Parliament for West Staffordshire
In office 12 January 1906 – 15 January 1910
Preceded by	Sir Alexander Henderson
Succeeded by	George Lloyd
Personal details
Born	Henry Duncan McLaren 16 April 1879
Died	23 May 1953 (aged 74)
Spouse(s)	Christabel Mary Melville Macnaghten
Parents	Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway Laura Elizabeth Pochin

Education

Born in Richmond upon Thames, he was educated at Eton and obtained a Master of Arts from Balliol College, Oxford. In 1903 he became a barrister of Lincoln's Inn.

Career

Bodnant House – a family seat

In 1906 he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for West Staffordshire as a Liberal, and was Private Under-Secretary to the President of the Board of Trade, David Lloyd George, until 1908. In 1910, he stood for his father's old seat of Bosworth and replaced him. He left politics in 1922, and succeeded his father to the Barony in 1934.

McLaren was an industrialist, and chaired companies from both sides of the family, including John Brown & Company and the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. In 1915 he was the founding chairman of the Design and Industries Association.[1] Around the end of his political career, in 1920, he had Aberconway House built as a residence in Mayfair. He would also inherit the family estate (originally his maternal grandfather's) in Conwy, North Wales, where he extensively developed and added to the Bodnant Garden. He was an avid horticulturalist and took interest in the breeding of rhododendrons and magnolias. He sponsored several botanical collectors, including George Forrest, and Rhododendron aberconwayi is named in his honor. He died at Bodnant, aged 74.[2]

Family

He married Christabel Mary Melville Macnaghten (1890–1974), the daughter of Sir Melville Macnaghten, and had five children:

• Hon. Elizabeth Mary McLaren (31 May 1911 – 4 December 1991), married and had issue, including Sir Kenneth Carlisle
• Charles McLaren, 3rd Baron Aberconway (1913–2003)
• S/Ldr. Hon. John Francis McLaren (1919–1953)
• Dame Anne McLaren (1927–2007), a biologist and Fellow of the Royal Society, married researcher Donald Michie and had issue, including Susan Michie and Jonathan Michie
• Hon. Christopher Melville McLaren (b. 15 April 1934), married and has issue

References

• Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007
• thePeerage.com

1. DIA web site
2. Ray Desmond (25 February 1994). Dictionary Of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. CRC Press. p. 456. ISBN 978-0-85066-843-8.
3. IPNI.  Aberc.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Henry McLaren