John Henry Ley (1770 – 21 August 1850), was an English civil servant who served as
Clerk of the House of Commons
The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England.
The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Comm ...
from 1820 to 1850.
Early life
He was a son of Henry Ley (1744–1824) and Mary ( Smith) Ley (1748–1834), a daughter of Capt. Smith of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. His sister, Mary Ley, married John Greathed Harris,
FRS, and his younger brother, William Ley of Woodlands, was Assistant Clerk of the House of Commons from 1820 to 1856.
His paternal grandparents were John Ley and Grace ( Grandy) Ley (a daughter of Henry Grandy, of Exeter).
His family had been settled in Kenn for several generations and were "sprung from a common ancestor with the Leys, formerly
Earls of Marlborough."
Ley was educated as a
King's Scholar
A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's School ...
at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
, before being elected a Scholar of
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, but "being desirous of going to
Christ Church, with his contemporaries, the Westminster Students, he was entered as a Commoner of that College; he was soon after presented to a Studentship by Dr. Shafto, one of the Canons."
After earning his degree, he left Christ Church, and "commenced his studies for the law, in the office of Mr. Abraham Moore, an eminent special pleader, where he continued for two years, and kept his terms as Student of the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
."
Career
His uncle, John Ley, served as Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons. In 1797,
John Hatsell
John Hatsell (22 December 1733 – 15 October 1820) was an English civil servant, clerk of the House of Commons, and an authority on parliamentary procedure.
Early life
He was the son of the lawyer Henry Hatsell (1701–1762), a bencher of t ...
, the
Clerk of the House of Commons
The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England.
The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Comm ...
since 1768, retired but kept his title and the official residence (next to the Commons), while his uncle carried out the normal business of the post.
Hatsell and Ley divided the large income accruing to the clerks from the passage of
private bills
Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single p ...
through Parliament. Around 1811, however, his uncle had a falling out with Hatsell over clerical appointments. Following Ley's death in 1814, his uncle's position was taken by Jeremiah Dyson the younger.
Background to the quarrel was resistance to the Ley family influence, in which
Charles Abbot—Speaker from 1802 to 1817—sided with Hatsell.
Despite Hatsell's quarrel and Abbbot's opposition (
Charles Manners-Sutton
Charles Manners-Sutton (17 February 1755 – 21 July 1828; called Charles Manners before 1762) was a bishop in the Church of England who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1805 to 1828.
Life
Manners-Sutton was the fourth son of Lord Ge ...
had become Speaker in 1817), upon Hatsell death in 1820, Ley was appointed Clerk of the House, which came with an annual salary of £3,500, together with an official residence.
Ley's residence next to the Commons chamber in
St Stephen's Chapel
St Stephen's Chapel, sometimes called the Royal Chapel of St Stephen, was a chapel completed around 1297 in the old Palace of Westminster which served as the chamber of the House of Commons of England and that of Great Britain from 1547 to 1834. ...
was among the parts of the old
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
that was destroyed by
fire in October 1834. He served in the role until his death in 1850, after which he was succeeded by
Sir Denis Le Marchant, 1st Baronet
Sir Denis Le Marchant, 1st Baronet (3 July 1795 – 30 October 1874), was a British barrister, civil servant, writer and Whig politician.
Background and education
The member of an old Guernsey family, Le Marchant was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyn ...
.
At the time of his death, however, the clerk assistant was his brother William and the second clerk assistant was his son Henry.
Personal life
On 23 October 1809, Ley married Lady Dorothea Frances Hay (1789–1875), a daughter of
George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale
George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale DL (1753 – 9 August 1804) was a Scottish peer.
Early life
Hay was born at Newhall in East Lothian, Scotland. He was the son of John Hay (d. 1765) and Dorothy ( Hayhurst) Hay (d. 1808). His siblings ...
and Lady Hannah Charlotte Maitland (a daughter of
James Maitland, 7th Earl of Lauderdale
James Maitland, 7th Earl of Lauderdale (25 January 1718 – 17 August 1789), and was one of the sixteen representative peers for Scotland in the House of Lords.
Life
James Maitland was born the eldest son of Charles Maitland, 6th Earl of Lau ...
).
When not in London, they lived at the Ley family seat, Trehill House in
Kenn, Devon
Kenn is a village and civil parish situated in Devon, England, approximately 5 miles to the south of Exeter. It lies in the district of Teignbridge, and at the 2001 census had a population of 968.
It has a pub and a Parish Church, built of Hea ...
,
[Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.'' Crans, ]Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
: Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...
(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, page 223. and were the parents of five sons and one surviving daughter, including:
* John Henry Ley (1812–1865), who married Henrietta Porter, second daughter of Henry Porter, Esq. of Winslade House in
Clyst St Mary
Clyst St Mary is a small village and civil parish east of Exeter on the main roads to Exmouth and Sidmouth in East Devon. The name comes from the Celtic word clyst meaning 'clear stream'. The village is a major part of the electoral ward of ...
, in 1845.
* Frances Dorothy Ley (d. 1885), who married the Rev. Villiers Henry Plantagenet Somerset, son of Gen.
Lord Charles Somerset
Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC (12 December 1767 – 18 February 1831), born in Badminton, England, was a British soldier, politician and colonial administrator.Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volu ...
(second son of
Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort
Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort (16 October 1744 – 11 October 1803) was an English courtier and politician. He was the only son of Charles Noel Somerset, 4th Duke of Beaufort and Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. Styled Marque ...
) and Hon. Elizabeth Courtenay (a daughter of
William Courtenay, 2nd Viscount Courtenay
William Courtenay, 8th Earl de jure of Devon (30 October 1742 – 14 October 1788) was the eldest son of William Courtenay 7th de jure Earl of Devon, and Lady Frances Finch.
He succeeded to the title of 4th Baronet Courtenay, 2nd Viscount Cour ...
), in 1844.
* George Thomas Ley (b. 1815)
Ley died on 21 August 1850.
His widow died on 12 October 1875.
Descendants
Through his daughter Frances, he was a grandfather of two granddaughters; Frances Dorothea Charlotte Somerset (d. 1894) and Mary Isabella Frances Somerset (d. 1929), neither of whom married; and two grandsons; the Rev. Henry Plantagenet Somerset (1845–1926), Rector and
Rural Dean
In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...
at
Crickhowell
Crickhowell (; cy, Crucywel , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire.
Location
The town lies on the River Usk, on the southern edge ...
, and John Henry William Somerset (1848–1928).
Through his son, he was a grandfather of John Henry Francis Ley (1847–1930),
who married Mary Coats Chamley (a daughter of Matthew Chamley of
Warcop House,
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
).
References
;Notes
;Sources
External links
John Henry Ley (1770-1850), First Clerk of the House of Commonsat
National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...
Will of John Henry Ley, Chief Clerk of the House of Commons of Trehill, Devonat
The National Archives
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ley, John Henry
1770 births
1850 deaths
People educated at Westminster School, London
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
Clerks of the House of Commons
Civil servants from London