Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover (8 November 1802 – 27 April 1867), known as Sir Benjamin Hall between 1838 and 1859, was a Welsh

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and politician. The famous "

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...

" may have been named for him.

Background

Hall was a son of the industrialist Benjamin Hall. He went to

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 ...

Political career

He was a

Sheriff of Monmouthshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Monmouthshire, an office which was created in 1536 but not fully settled until 1540. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, the shrievalty of Monmouthshire was abolished, and replac ...

in 1826. He was elected Member of Parliament for

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

in May 1831, but his name was erased from the return already in July of the same year. However, he was successfully re-elected for the same constituency in December 1832. He was instrumental in the passing of the

Truck Acts Truck Acts is the name given to legislation that outlaws truck systems, which are also known as "company store" systems, commonly leading to debt bondage. In England and Wales such laws date back to the 15th century. History The modern success ...

of 1831 and campaigned against the abuse of parliamentary election expenses and championed the right of people in Wales to have religious services in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. He also engaged in bitter controversy with the bishops on the state of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in Wales and made attacks on the shameless exploitation of church revenues, complaining of unbounded nepotism. In 1837 he was returned for

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

and the following year he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. He served under

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...

and then

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

as President of the Board of Health between 1854 and 1855 and was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1854. In 1855 he introduced an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

which led to the establishment of the Metropolitan Board of Works. He became

First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irel ...

the same year and was responsible for many environmental and sanitary improvements in London. He oversaw the later stages of the rebuilding of the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

, including the installation of the 13.8-tonne hour bell, "

", in the clock tower. He was a tall man and many attribute its name to him. He remained as First Commissioner of Works under parliament until the Whigs lost power in 1858. The following year he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Llanover, of Llanover and Abercarn in the County of Monmouth. From 1861 to 1867 he was

Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Monmouthshire was held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, except for the period from 1602 to 1629, when it formed a separate lie ...

. Through his wife, Augusta Waddington, Hall inherited the

Llanover Llanover (; cy, Llanofer) is a village in the community of Goetre Fawr in Monmouthshire, Wales. Location Llanover is located four miles south of Abergavenny just off the A4042 road to Pontypool. The community includes the separate hamlets o ...

estate in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

Personal life

Lord Llanover married Augusta, daughter of Benjamin and Georgina Waddington of Ty Uchaf,

in 1823. She was the sister of and co-heiress with

Frances Bunsen Baroness Frances Waddington Bunsen (4 March 1791 – 23 April 1876) was a Welsh painter, author and diplomatic hostess, wife of Christian Charles Josias Bunsen, and the older sister of Lady Llanover. Early life Frances Waddington was born in ...

, wife of the Prussian diplomat Baron Bunsen. Only one of their daughters reached adulthood. Augusta married Arthur Jones of Llanarth. Their son was Ivor Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen. Lord Llanover died in April 1867, aged 64, when the baronetcy and barony became extinct. Lady Llanover survived him by almost thirty years and died in January 1896.

References

External links

Profile
OxfordDNB.com

ukonline.co.uk *

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Llanover, 1st Baron Hall, Benjamin 1802 births 1867 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British civil engineers Lord-Lieutenants of Monmouthshire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom High Sheriffs of Monmouthshire Whig (British political party) MPs for Welsh constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs who were granted peerages Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria