Sir William Goodenough Hayter, 1st Baronet, PC, QC (28 January 1792 – 26 December 1878) was a British barrister and Whig politician. He is best remembered for his two tenures as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...

(government chief whip) between 1850 and 1852 and 1853 and 1858.

Background and education

Born at

Winterbourne Stoke Winterbourne Stoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about west of Amesbury and west of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. The village is on the River Till at the southern edge of Salisbury Plain, on both sides of a s ...

, Wiltshire, Hayter was the youngest son of John Hayter and Grace, daughter of Stephen Goodenough, of Codford, Wiltshire. He entered

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

in 1804 and matriculated at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, on 24 October 1810, taking his BA in 1814.''

The Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Legal career

Hayter was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, on 23 November 1819, and became an equity draftsman and conveyancer. He attended the Wiltshire sessions, but retired from practice on being made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

on 21 Feb 1839. He was, however, bencher of his inn on 15 April 1839, and treasurer in 1853.

Political career

On 24 July 1837 Hayter was returned to parliament for

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

, and sat for that constituency till 6 July 1865. In 1839 he voted for the repeal of the

Corn Law The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They were ...

s alongside

Charles Pelham Villiers Charles Pelham Villiers (3 January 1802 – 16 January 1898) was a British lawyer and politician from the aristocratic Villiers family. He sat in the House of Commons for 63 years, from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parl ...

, and was present at all the divisions in favour of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

. He served under

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and ag ...

as Judge Advocate General from 30 December 1847 to 30 May 1849, when he was made

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the First Lord of the Treasury, first lord of th ...

. In July 1850 he was appointed

(chief government whip) by Russell, a post he held until March 1852, and again 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

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 ...

from December 1852 to March 1858. The ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' states that "When

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

came into power in 1852, Hayter marshalled the disorderly ranks of the liberal party with great success, and in the following governments of Lord Aberdeen and Lord Palmerston his powers developed, and his reputation steadily increased". Hayter 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 ...

on 11 February 1848 and created a Baronet, of South Hill Park in the County of Berkshire, on 19 April 1858. Three years later, on 27 February 1861, he was presented by Lord Palmerston and 365 members of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

with a service of plate at a banquet in Willis's Rooms,''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'', 9 March 1861. according to the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' "in remembrance of the courtesy, fairness, and efficiency with which he had discharged his duties for many years as liberal 'whip'". Hayter was not a frequent speaker in parliament, but took part in debates on matters within his knowledge. He was a member of the committee in Lord Denman's inquiry into the management of the woods and forests, as well as chairman of the committee on

Feargus O'Connor Feargus Edward O'Connor (18 July 1796 – 30 August 1855) was an Irish Chartist leader and advocate of the Land Plan, which sought to provide smallholdings for the labouring classes. A highly charismatic figure, O'Connor was admired for his ...

's land scheme. Apart from his political and legal career Hayter was involved in farming. According to the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', "his farm, Lindsay, near Leighton,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, was kept in the highest state of cultivation, and was a model of economy and profitable management". He was also a member of the council of the Agricultural Society from its start in 1838.

Family

Hayter married Anne, eldest daughter of

William Pulsford William Pulsford (1772–1833), the elder, was a London merchant and a sugar plantations in the Caribbean, plantation owner in Jamaica. He became a landowner in several English counties. Career He was in business with his father, Robert Pulsford ...

, of

Linslade Linslade is a town in the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority area of Bedfordshire, England. It borders the town of Leighton Buzzard, with which it forms the civil parish of Leighton-Linslade (where the 2011 Census population was included). ...

, Buckinghamshire, on 18 August 1832. During 1878 he fell into a depressed state of mind, and on 26 December was found drowned in a small lake in the grounds of his residence,

South Hill Park South Hill Park is a English country house and its grounds, now run as an arts centre. It lies in the Birch Hill estate to the south of Bracknell town centre, in Berkshire. History Construction by Watts The original South Hill Park mans ...

Easthampstead Easthampstead is a former village and now a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene. This building ...

, Berkshire, aged 86. He was buried at Easthampstead on 2 January 1879 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, who was elevated to the peerage as

Baron Haversham Baron Haversham is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Both creations are extinct. The first creation came on 4 May 1696, when Sir John Thompson, 1st Baronet was cre ...

in 1906. Lady Hayter died in London on 2 June 1889, aged 82.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayter, Sir William Goodenough, 1st Baronet 1792 births 1878 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People from Wiltshire People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865