Lord Beaumont:THE REV Lord Timothy Beaumont of Whitley, who died recently, had a remarkable, though somewhat erratic, career based on his left-wing philosophies and deep concern for the underprivileged in spite of himself being a millionaire.
He was twice an Anglican clergyman, resigning from holy orders for 11 years before resuming an active role in the church. After being very much involved in Britain's Liberal Party, at the end of his life he was the only Green Party member in the Houses of Parliament at Westminster.
Six generations of his paternal side of the family sat in the House of Commons. His father, Maj Michael Beaumont, had been a Conservative MP in the 1930s. After the war, he bought Harristown House in Co Kildare, which the Beaumonts still own, and for several years was the master of the Kildare Hunt.
Timothy Beaumont was educated at Gordonstoun and Oxford, where he shone more as a bon viveur than in his studies.
He then decided to become a clergyman. After theological training at Cambridge, Beaumont was ordained in Hong Kong, where he was assistant chaplain and then vicar of Christ Church, Kowloon.
He inherited an immense fortune from his grandmother, and returned to England in 1960 to become an honorary curate in London. During this time he lived in Mayfair, entertained lavishly, bought his wife a race horse, wore pink shirts and only put on a clerical collar when officiating on Sundays.
At the same time, he became involved in the Liberal Party, to which he donated substantial sums of money. He was successively joint treasurer, chairman and president, and was party spokesman on education, Northern Ireland and the arts. In 1967, he was made one of the Liberal Party's first life peers.
Beaumont was generous with his money, which he used to support charities and causes that were not always popular, including voluntary euthanasia.
While chairman of Exit, an organisation in favour of euthanasia, he was arrested, though not charged, following the death of one of its members.
Such diverse projects as the Icon Theatre Company and the chapel at Churchill College also benefited from his largesse.
Venturing into publishing, Beaumont bought magazines such as the prestigious but financially floundering Time and Tide; the New Christian; Studio Vista; and several low-circulation hobby and leisure journals, including Small Car Magazine. Almost all of these publications ran at a loss, which severely depleted his fortune and caused him to restrict his opulent lifestyle.
However, he earned money from writing a food column for the London Illustrated News. He also published The Liberal Cookbook and edited the diaries of theatre critic James Agate.
In 1973, he resigned from holy orders but later resumed them to become vicar of St Philip and All Saints at Kew.
He defected from the Liberal Democrats to the Green Party in 1999, where he promoted campaigns opposing biofuels and supporting indigenous farmers and renewable energy.
Two years ago, Beaumont put forward a Bill to ban piped music and televisions in public areas of hospitals.
He also argued against globalisation and was a champion of freedom of information.
He is survived by his wife, the art historian Mary Rose Wauchope, and by a son and two daughters. His eldest son was killed in a motorcycle crash.
Timothy Wentworth Beaumont, Baron Beaumont of Whitley: born November 22nd, 1928; died April 8th, 2008