# Alfred Suenson-Taylor, 1st Baron Grantchester

Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor, 1st Baron Grantchester (14 August 1893 – 2 July 1976) was a British banker, Liberal politician and a neo-liberal activist.
Born Alfred Jesse Taylor, he was the son of Alfred George Taylor of Stowford, Surrey. His younger brother was Charles Taylor. He was educated at Epsom College and King's College, Cambridge, and served at Gallipoli and in France during the First World War, reaching the rank of Major.

## Political career

He stood for parliament as a Liberal Party candidate four times. He was unsuccessful on each occasion:
1922 General Election: Isle of Thanet Electorate 38,500 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Hon. Esmond Cecil Harmsworth | 16,116 | 61.2 | +3.3 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor | 10,226 | 38.8 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | 22.4 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
1923 General Election: Aldershot Electorate 25,932 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Unionist | Viscount Wolmer | 9,131 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor | 6,315 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing |
1924 General Election: Derbyshire South Electorate 45,359 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Unionist | James Augustus Grant | 16,448 |
| | Labour | Alfred Goodere | 15,033 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor | 5,647 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing |
General Election 1929: Isle of Thanet Electorate 58,330 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Unionist | Harold Harington Balfour | 22,595 | 52.9 |
| | Liberal | Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor | 15,648 | 36.6 |
| | Labour | E J Plaisted | 4,490 | 10.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,947 | 16.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 73.3 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | |
In 1947 Suenson-Taylor played a significant role in gaining Bank of England support for the emergent Mont Pelerin Society.$^{:84}$ He was later President of the London Liberal Party. On 30 June 1953, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Grantchester, of Knightsbridge in the City of Westminster. Grantchester served as Chairman of the London and Manchester Assurance Company from 1953 to 1961, as Joint Honorary Treasurer of the Liberal Party Organisation from 1953 to 1962 and as President of the Society for Individual Freedom. He also initiated the unofficial meetings of the EFTA parliamentarians at Strasbourg and was a Delegate to the Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the Western European Union.

## Family life

He married Mara Henrietta (Mamie), daughter of Albert Suenson of Copenhagen in Denmark, in 1920, and assumed the surname of Suenson in addition to that of Taylor. He died in July 1976, aged 82, and was succeeded in the barony by his son Kenneth who married the daughter of Littlewoods founder Sir John Moores. His wife died the same year.

## Arms

Coat of arms of Alfred Suenson-Taylor, 1st Baron Grantchester :
* Crest1st Issuant from a crown palisada Or a unicorn's head Sable armed and charged on the neck with an annulet Gold and holding in the mouth an acorn leaved and slipped Proper; 2nd issuant from a coronet composed of light roses Gules seeded Argent and set upon a rim Or a swan rousant Proper crowned with an antique crown Gold.
* EscutcheonQuarterly 1st & 4th : Sable on a fess engrailed between in chief a fleur-de-lys between two annulets Or and in base as many like annulets a lion passant of the field; 2nd & 3rd Gules : in chief two swans rousant Proper each crowned with an antique crown Or and in base barry wavy of six Argent and Azure.
* SupportersDexter, an unicorn sable armed, and crined or, gorged with a collar argent, thereon a fesse wavy azure; Sinister, a lion or, gorged with a collar of four hearts gules.
* MottoPeace And Holy Quiet
* BadgeA pellet edged Or charged with an owl standing towards the sinister Gold.