Colonel Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet KGStJ (11 August 1833 – 16 April 1915) was a British industrialist and politician.
Seely was Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham from 1869 to 1874 and 1880 to 1885, and for Nottingham West from 1885 to 1886, and Liberal Unionist MP for Nottingham West from 1892 to 1895.
He was an industrialist (coal) and major landowner in the Isle of Wight and in Nottinghamshire. He was also a noted philanthropist. In October 1895 he was the 1st person to be presented with the honorary Freedom of the City of Nottingham, for "Eminent services and noble generosity towards the philanthropic institutions of the City." He was made a baronet on 19 February 1896.
He lived at Sherwood Lodge in Nottinghamshire, Brooke House on the Isle of Wight, and No.1 Carlton House Terrace in London. He also built Brook Hill House where J. B. Priestley, the famous author and playwright, later lived from 1948.
He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, and High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire. He was the Colonel of the 1st Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood) Rifle Volunteers. He was Vice-Chairman of the first Nottinghamshire County Council. He was also a Knight of Grace Order of St John of Jerusalem.
He was the father of Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet and John Edward Bernard Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone. He was the son of Charles Seely MP, DL. He was the grandfather of Sir Hugh Seely, 3rd Baronet and 1st Baron Sherwood.
When he died in 1915 he left estate of £1,052,070 (equivalent to £493 million (2007) as measured by share of UK GDP, which was according to the The Times the 2nd largest estate that year (by comparison the estate of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild was the largest valued at £2,500,000) and made him one of the wealthiest men in Britain.
He was a member of the Motor Union of Great Britain and Ireland
'Nathaniel Clayton, Joseph Shuttleworth and Charles Seely, all of Lincoln - ironfounders and co-partners in business as Clayton, Shuttleworth & Co'.[1]