|
The Viscount Eversley
| |
|---|---|
Lord Eversley, 1875 portrait
| |
| Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 27 May 1839 – 30 April 1857 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Lamb John Russell Edward Smith-Stanley George Hamilton-Gordon Henry John Temple |
| Preceded by | Hon. James Abercromby |
| Succeeded by | Sir Evelyn Denison |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 February 1794 (1794-02-22) London, England |
| Died | 28 December 1888(1888-12-28) (aged 94) |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse | Emma Whitbread (d. 1857) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| |
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.
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]
AWhig, 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]
Shaw-Lefevre was director of the insurance company Sun Fire Office from 1815 to 1841, RecorderofBasingstoke 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]
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 PlaceinHampshire, 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]
  |
|
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Eversley, Charles Shaw Lefevre, Viscount". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 10.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Downton 1830–1831 With: James Brougham |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Hampshire 1831–1832 With: Sir James Macdonald 1831–1832 Sir William Heathcote 1832 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Hampshire North 1832–1857 With: James Winter Scott 1832–1857 Sir William Heathcote 1837–1849 Melville Portal 1849–1857 |
Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom 1839–1857 |
Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of the Isle of Wight 1857–1888 |
Succeeded by |
| Church of England titles | ||
| Preceded by | Second Church Estates Commissioner 1858–1859 |
Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Viscount Eversley 1857–1888 |
Extinct |
|
| |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Commons of England |
|
| |||||
| House of Commons of Great Britain |
| ||||||
| House of Commons of the United Kingdom |
| ||||||
| International |
|
|---|---|
| National |
|
| People |
|
| Other |
|
