Albert Pell (12 March 1820 – 7 April 1907) was an English solicitor and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Early life

Pell was born in 1820, the eldest son of Sir Albert Pell, a judge of the Bankruptcy Courts and Margaret Letitia Matilda St John, daughter of

John St John, 12th Baron St John of Bletso John St John of Northwood, 12th Baron St John of Bletso (15 November 1725 – 20 April 1767) was a British peer. St John was the eldest son of John St John, 11th Baron St John of Bletso and his wife Elizabeth Crowley, daughter of Sir Ambrose C ...

. Pell was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

before matriculating to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

in 1839. While at Cambridge, Pell is credited with introducing the game of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

, then simply called football, to the University, and describes in his autobiography the difficulties of setting up a team.* Pell gained his MA in 1842, and in the same year was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

on 1 June. On 8 September 1846, Pell married Elizabeth Barbara Halford, his cousin, and daughter of Sir Henry Halford. Sir Henry was the 2nd Baronet of Wistow and had been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the Southern Division of Leicestershire from 1832 to 1857.

Political career and later life

Pell was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Southern Division of Leicestershire, like his father-in-law before him, during the general election of 1868, defeating Liberal candidate Thomas Paget. He successfully defended his seat on two occasions, in 1874 and

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

. Pell was a keen Parliamentarian and sat on various committees and bodies, including the Royal Commission on City Parochial charities, City guilds and the aged poor. He also had an interest in British agriculture and was a member of a group of MP's, which included Henry Chaplin, Sir Massey Lopes and

Clare Sewell Read Clare Sewell Read (6 November 1826 – 21 August 1905) was a British agriculturist and Conservative politician. Early life He was born in 1826 in Ketteringham, Norfolk, and was the eldest son of George Read of Barton Bendish Hall, and his wif ...

, who supported farming interests. He was also a member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pell, Albert 1820 births 1907 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Rugby School