Hamar Alfred Bass

Who was Hamar Alfred Bass?

Hamar Alfred Bass was a British brewer, race horse breeder and a Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1878 to 1898.

Bass was born in Burton upon Trent, the second son of brewer Michael Thomas Bass and his wife Eliza Jane Arden, daughter of Major Samuel Arden of Longcrofts Hall, Stafford. Bass was the great-grandson of William Bass, the founder of the brewery firm of Bass & Co, and his elder brother became Lord Burton. Bass was educated at Harrow School and became a Director of the family firm of Bass, Ratcliff, Gretton and Co. He was Honorary Major of the 4th Prince of Wales's Regiment and was a J.P. for Staffordshire. Bass played cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club, making a single first-class appearance for the MCC against Sussex in 1865. He was dismissed in the MCC's first-innings by James Lillywhite, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 3 runs by George Wells. The match ended in a draw.

Bass was elected MP for Tamworth in 1878 and held the seat until 1885 when the representation was reduced to one seat under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. He was elected MP for West Staffordshire in the 1885 UK general election and held the seat until his death aged 56 in 1898 from a complex form of rheumatism.