British Whig politician
Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley
,
GCB
,
PC
(22 February 1794 ? 28 December 1888), was a British
Whig
politician. He served as
Speaker of the House of Commons
from 1839 to 1857. He is the second-longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons, behind
Arthur Onslow
.
Background and education
[
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]
Shaw-Lefevre was the son of
Charles Shaw-Lefevre
by his wife Helena, daughter of John Lefevre. His younger brother,
Sir John Shaw-Lefevre
, was a senior civil servant and one of the founders of the
University of London
, while his nephew,
George
, was a
Liberal
politician. He was educated at
Winchester
[1]
and
Trinity College, Cambridge
.
[2]
In 1819 he was
called to the Bar
,
Lincoln's Inn
.
[1]
Political career
[
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]
A
Whig
, he was
Member of Parliament
for
Downton
from 1830 to 1831,
[3]
for
Hampshire
from 1831 to 1832
[4]
and for
North Hampshire
from 1832 to 1857.
[4]
During the 1830s he was chairman of a committee on petitions for private bills and of a committee on agricultural distress. His report from the latter position was not accepted by the House of Commons but was published as a pamphlet addressed to his constituents. He acquired, says the
Encyclopædia Britannica
, "a high reputation in the House of Commons for his judicial fairness, combined with singular tact and courtesy." When
James Abercromby
retired as
Speaker of the House of Commons
in 1839, Shaw-Lefevre was put forward as the Whig candidate and defeated the Tory candidate
Henry Goulburn
by 317 votes to 299.
[5]
He was sworn of the
Privy Council
at the same time.
[6]
Shaw-Lefevre remained speaker until 1857, by which time he was second-longest-serving speaker ever, after
Arthur Onslow
, who held the post for more than 33 years.
[5]
On his retirement in 1857 he was elevated to the peerage as
Viscount Eversley
, of Heckfield in the County of Southampton.
[7]
He attended the
House of Lords
infrequently, with his last recorded speech in July 1873.
[8]
Other work
[
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]
Shaw-Lefevre was director of the insurance company
Sun Fire Office
from 1815 to 1841,
Recorder
of
Basingstoke
1823?35, and Chairman of Hampshire
Quarter Sessions
1850?79. He also served in his father's
North Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry
as a lieutenant in 1821, and was Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant in 1823?27 and 1831?68, when he became its Honorary Lt-Col.
[9]
[10]
In 1857 he was appointed
Governor of the Isle of Wight
, which he remained until 1888.
[
citation needed
]
He was also an ecclesiastical commissioner and a trustee of the
British Museum
.
[5]
In 1885 he was made a
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
(GCB).
[11]
Family
[
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]
Lord Eversley married Emma Laura (d. 1857), daughter of
Samuel Whitbread
and Lady Elizabeth Grey, in 1817.
[1]
They had three sons, who all died in infancy, and two daughters.
[1]
The family lived at
Heckfield Place
in
Hampshire
, which was previously the seat of his maternal grandfather. Lady Eversley died in June 1857. Lord Eversley survived her by over thirty years and died in December 1888, aged 94. He is buried at
Kensal Green Cemetery
, London.
[12]
As he had no surviving sons, the title became extinct on his death. The Eversley title was revived in 1906 in favour of his nephew,
George Shaw-Lefevre
.
[5]
Arms
[
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]
Coat of arms of Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley
|
- Crest
- Six Arrows interlaced saltirewise three and three proper within an Annulet Or
- Escutcheon
- Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Sable a Chevron Argent between in chief two Trefoils slipped Or and base a Bezant therefrom issuant a Cross Pattee of the third (Lefevre); 2nd and 3rd, Sable a Chevron Ermine on a Canton Or a Talbot's Head erased Gules (Shaw)
- Supporters
- On either side a Talbot that on the dexter Gules on the sinister Sable each charged on the shoulder with a Mace erect Gold
- Motto
- Sans Changer
[
citation needed
]
|
References
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External links
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