William Gregson (1790–1863) was a British barrister and parliamentary draftsman. He assisted in drafting a variety of laws in the 1820s and 1830s, including the 1832

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

, and was private secretary to

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

. He served as

under-secretary of state for the Home Department This article lists past and present Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State serving the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *April 17 ...

for three months in 1835.

Life

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1790, Gregson studied classics at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, graduating with a first-class degree in 1810. His examiners on that occasion called his work the best they had ever seen. He 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 ...

in 1815. From early in his career he acted as private secretary to the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

, later

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, politician

. He was employed as

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

by successive home secretaries from 1826 to 1833, including under Whig governments, and assisted in the drafting of Peel's law reforms and the 1832

. He served as

from 3 January to 18 April 1835 during the

first Peel ministry Sir Robert Peel's first government succeeded the caretaker ministry of the Duke of Wellington. Peel was also Chancellor of the Exchequer while the Duke of Wellington served as Foreign Secretary. A young William Ewart Gladstone held office as a ...

; along with

Denis Le Marchant 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 ...

in 1847–48, he is one of only two non-parliamentarians to have occupied that position since 1801. Gregson was an advocate of

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes. ...

, often visiting prisons in person, and an early promoter of the

ragged school Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts. Ragged schools were intended for society's most destitute children ...

s. He co-founded

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and was a supporter of the

Liverpool Collegiate Institution Liverpool Collegiate School was an all-boys grammar school, later a comprehensive school, in the Everton, Liverpool, Everton area of Liverpool. Foundations The Collegiate is a striking, Grade II listed building, with a facade of pink Woolton sa ...

. Over the course of his career he gathered a collection of autographs of official figures, which was curated by his sister and included one document that he particularly prized, issued by the

Supreme Council of Bengal The Supreme Council of Bengal was the highest level of executive government in British India from 1774 until 1833: the period in which the East India Company, a private company, exercised political control of British colonies in India. It was for ...

and bearing the signatures of Governor

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...

and Philip Francis. After retiring in around 1853, he returned to Liverpool, and died in February 1863.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregson, William 1790 births 1863 deaths 19th-century British civil servants 19th-century English lawyers English barristers English civil servants Lawyers from Liverpool Members of Lincoln's Inn Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Founders of English schools and colleges Robert Peel Date of birth missing Date of death missing