Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne
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Roundell Palmer Selborne
Selborne, Roundell Palmer, 1st earl of (1812-95). Lawyer. Palmer got off to a flying start. He was educated at both Rugby and Winchester, moved on to Christ Church, Oxford, was president of the Union, and gained a first-class degree. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn and entered Parliament in 1847 as a supporter of Peel. He became solicitor-general in Palmerston's administration in 1861 and moved up to attorney-general in 1863, holding the post until 1866. A strong churchman, he disapproved greatly of the disestablishment of the Irish church in 1869 and refused Gladstone's offer of the lord chancellorship. But on the resignation of Lord Hatherley in 1872 with failing eyesight, Palmer succeeded him as lord chancellor, holding office 1872-4 and again 1880-5. Increasingly uneasy at the radical trend of the Liberals, he parted with them on Irish Home Rule in 1886, writing sadly in his Memorials, ‘my idols were broken’. Henceforth he gave independent support to the Conservatives.
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Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne
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Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne
| The Right Honourable The Earl of Selborne PC |
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| Lord Chancellor | |
| In office 15 October 1872 – 17 February 1874 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Lord Hatherley |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Cairns |
| In office 28 April 1880 – 9 June 1885 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Lord Cairns |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Halsbury |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 November 1812 Mixbury, Oxfordshire |
| Died | 4 May 1895 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative Liberal Liberal Unionist |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Laura Waldegrave (d. 1885) |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne PC (27 November 1812–4 May 1895), was a British lawyer and politician. He served twice as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.
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Background and education
Selborne was born at Mixbury in Oxfordshire, where his father William Jocelyn Palmer was rector. His mother Dorothea was daughter of the Rev. William Roundell of Gledstone, Yorkshire; and William Palmer and Edwin Palmer were his brothers.[1] He was educated at Rugby School and Winchester College. He graduated in 1834 from Oxford after a brilliant career there, and received his master's degree in 1836. While at University he became a close friend of the hymn writer and theologian, Frederick William Faber. He soon became known for his keen and subtle mind and his vast learning. He was called to the bar in 1837.
Political career
Selborne entered parliament as a Conservative in 1847. He joined the Peelite Conservatives who were to eventually help create the Liberal party in 1859. He served under Lord Palmerston and Lord Russell as Solicitor General between 1861 and 1863 and as Attorney General between 1863 and 1866.
Under Gladstone, he became Lord Chancellor in 1872 and was created Baron Selborne, of Selborne in the County of Southampton. His first tenure in the office saw the passage of the Judicature Act of 1873, which completely reorganized the judiciary. He served in the same office in Gladstone's Second Cabinet (1880–1885), and was created Viscount Wolmer, of Blackmoor in the County of Southampton, and Earl of Selborne in 1882. He broke with Gladstone, however, over Irish Home Rule, in 1885, and joined the Liberal Unionists.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1860.[2]
Notable Judicial Decisions
L'Union St. Jacques de Montreal v. Bélisle (1874), 6 L.R. P.C. 31, [1874] UKPC 53 (P.C.).
Family
Selborne married Lady Laura, daughter of William Waldegrave, 8th Earl Waldegrave, in 1848. Their son, William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, later became a prominent Unionist politician. Lady Selborne died in April 1885. Lord Selborne survived her by ten years and died in May 1895, aged 82.
Publications
- Selborne Memorials (London, 1896–98)
References
- ^
"Palmer, William (1811-1879)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. - ^ "Lists of Royal Society Fellows 1660-2007". London: The Royal Society. http://royalsociety.org/Lists-of-Royal-Society-Fellows-1660-2007/. Retrieved 14 July 2010.[dead link]
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne |
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Selborne
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source?][better source needed]
- Papers at Lambeth Palace Library
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Oxford Dictionary of British History
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