Sir James Bell CVO (26 March 1866 – 1 September 1937) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

solicitor who served as

Town Clerk of London The Town Clerk of London is an important position that has existed since the 13th century in the City of London, England. Originally the role was to take the minutes of London council meetings, but over the years the holder's role has gathered re ...

for 33 years. Bell was born in Preston, the son of a doctor, and was educated at Preston Grammar School and

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was admitted a solicitor in 1888. In 1891 he was appointed Assistant

Town Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and in 1894 he became Town Clerk of Leicester. In May 1902 he was elected Town Clerk of the City of London from a large number of candidates. In this role he was chief executive of the

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

. Bell conducted the Corporation's business rapidly and efficiently and did not expect his instructions to be debated by his subordinates. Nevertheless, he was highly respected by his staff, by the members of the Corporation, and by the businessmen of the City. He retired in 1935, having been persuaded not to by the Corporation every year since 1931. Bell was knighted in 1911 and appointed

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO) in the 1920 New Year Honours.

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 2 September 1937 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, James 1866 births 1937 deaths Lawyers from Preston, Lancashire People educated at University College School English solicitors Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Lawyers awarded knighthoods Town Clerks of London