Thomas Erskine May, 1st Baron Farnborough, (8 February 1815 – 17 May 1886) was a British constitutional theorist and

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 ...

. His seminal work, ''A Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament'' (first published in 1844) has become known as '' Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice'' or simply ''Erskine May'': this parliamentary authority (book of

procedural Procedural may refer to: * Procedural generation, a term used in computer graphics applications *Procedural knowledge, the knowledge exercised in the performance of some task * Procedural law, a legal concept *Procedural memory, a cognitive scienc ...

rules) is currently in its 25th revised edition (2019) and is informally considered part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Following his retirement as Clerk of the House of Commons in May 1886, May was created "

Baron Farnborough Baron Farnborough is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came on 8 July 1826 when the politician and art collector Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough, Charles Long, of Saxmundham in Suffol ...

, of

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

, in the county of Southampton" just a week before his death. Since he left no heirs, the barony became extinct, making it the second-shortest-lived

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

in British history.

Biography

Thomas Erskine May was born in Highgate, Middlesex, on 8 February 1815. He was christened on 21 September 1815 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster with his parents being registered as Thomas and Sarah May.Parish register printouts of Westminster, London, England (Saint Martin in the Fields), christenings, 1813–1837. He was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

.1881 Census: "Name: May, Thomas E. Age: 66. Relation: Head. Spouse's name: Lousia J. Gender: Male. Where born: Highgate, Middlesex, England. Civil parish:

St Margaret Saint Margaret, St. Margarets, or St. Margaret's may refer to: People In chronological order: * Saint Margaret the Virgin of Antioch (died 304) * Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045–1093) * Saint Margaret of England (died 1192) * Saint Margare ...

. County/Island: London. Country: England. Street Address:

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 ...

. Condition as to marriage: Married. Occupation: K.C.B. Clerk Of The House Of Commons. Registration district:

St George Hanover Square St George Hanover Square was a civil parish created in 1724 in the Liberty of Westminster, Middlesex, which was later part of the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of St George's, Hanove ...

. Sub-registration district: St Margaret Westminster. Enumeration district: 1." Source: The National Archives, class RG11, piece 117, folio 18, page 30. May began his parliamentary service in 1831, at the age of 16, as Assistant Librarian in the

House of Commons Library The House of Commons Library is the library and information resource of the lower house of the British Parliament. It was established in 1818, although its original 1828 construction was destroyed during the burning of Parliament in 1834. Th ...

. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on 20 June 1834 and called to the bar on 4 May 1838. May married Johanna Laughton, of Fareham, on 27 August 1839. May became examiner of petitions for

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 ...

in 1846 and from 1847 to 1856 was Taxing Master for both Houses of Parliament. In 1856 he became Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons. May was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 16 May 1860 and promoted to Knight Commander (KCB) on 6 July 1866. On 16 February 1871, he was appointed

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

.The formal appointment, as Under Clerk of the Parliaments, was officially announced on 2 February. In 1873, he was elected a bencher of the Middle Temple and awarded an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law by the University of Oxford in 1874. In 1880, he was made a Reader of the Middle Temple and sworn of the Privy Council in 1884. On 10 May 1886, shortly after his retirement as Clerk of the House of Commons, May was created "

, of

, in the county of Southampton". This appears to contradic
tertiary sources
which claim that the peerage was created a day later, on 11 May 1886. He died just a week later on 17 May 1886.Death certificate: "Name: May, Thomas Erskine (Lord Farnborough). Age at Death: 71. District: St George Hanover Square. County: London, Middlesex." General Register Office, England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, April–June 1886, volume 1a, page 305. Since he left no heirs, the barony became extinct, making it the second-shortest-lived

in British history, after the Barony of Leighton. Sir William McKay, who edited Erskine May's private journal, has suggested that May was possibly an unacknowledged son or grandson of The 1st Baron Erskine.

Notable works

May's most famous work, ''A Treatise upon the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament'' (now popularly known as '' Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice'' or simply ''Erskine May''), was first published in 1844. The book is currently in its 25th edition (2019). It is informally considered part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. The guide is authoritative in many

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

nations, often with strong influence on

constitutional convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

. Another notable work is ''The Constitutional History of England since the Accession of George III, 1760–1860'' (). May's work was rejected by later historians, such as

Herbert Butterfield Sir Herbert Butterfield (7 October 1900 – 20 July 1979) was an English historian and philosopher of history, who was Regius Professor of Modern History and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is remembered chiefly for a shor ...

who wrote, "Erskine May must be a good example of the way in which an historian may fall into error through an excess of brilliance. His capacity for synthesis, and his ability to dovetail the various parts of the evidence ... carried him into a more profound and complicated elaboration of error than some of his more pedestrian predecessors ... he inserted a doctrinal element into his history which, granted his original aberrations, was calculated to project the lines of his error, carrying his work still further from centrality or truth."

References

External links

* *
Parliamentary Archives, Papers of Thomas Erskine May (1815-1886), Baron Farnborough
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Erskine 1815 births 1886 deaths English constitutionalists Farnborough, Erskine May, 1st Baron Clerks of the House of Commons Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from Highgate People educated at Bedford School Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria