C W Radcliffe
1898 AD
Hereford
C W Radcliffe Cooke, born in 1841 was an English farmer and cider maker and a Conservative MP for Hereford 1893 to 1900.
He saw commercial production of cider as a way of stimulating the planting of orchards during the great depression of British agriculture which occurred during the late nineteenth century, caused by the USA starting to grow cereals in bulk on the Prairies and cheap ocean transport in steamboats.
He became known as the MP for Cider and wrote a book on cider "Cider and Perry" 1898 as well as one on politics
As an aside his daughter Constance was active in the women’s suffrage campaign in Herefordshire, and a member of the WSPU and the Labour party, later joining CND
