Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel, (3 August 182924 October 1912) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who sat in 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. T ...

from 1865 to 1895. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1884 until 1895 when he was raised to the peerage.

Background and education

Peel was the fifth and youngest son of the

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 in ...

Prime Minister

Sir 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 ...

by his wife Julia, daughter of General Sir John Floyd, 1st Baronet, and was named after Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. He was educated at Eton and

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Political career

Peel was elected

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 ...

(MP) for

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

in the 1865 general election and held the seat until 1885 when it was replaced under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

. From 1868 to 1871 he was

Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board The Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission overseeing the administration of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The new body was headed by a President, and with the Lord President of ...

, and then became Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade. In 1873–1874 he was patronage secretary to the Treasury, and in 1880 he became

Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs 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 1 ...

in the second Gladstone government. On the retirement of Sir Henry Brand, Peel was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on 26 February 1884. In the 1885 general election, Peel was elected for Warwick and Leamington. Throughout his career as Speaker, as the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition said, "he exhibited conspicuous impartiality, combined with a perfect knowledge of the traditions, usages and forms of the House, soundness of judgment, and readiness of decision upon all occasions." Though now officially impartial, Peel left the Liberal Party over the issue of

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

and became a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

. Peel was also an important ally of

Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Bradl ...

in Bradlaugh's campaigns to have the oath of allegiance changed to permit non-Christians, agnostics and atheists to serve in the House of Commons. Arthur Wellesley Peel NPG

Peel retired for health reasons at the 1895 general election and was created Viscount Peel, of Sandy in the County of Bedford, with a pension of £4,000 for life. He was presented with the freedom of the City of London in July of that year. In 1896 he was chairman of a Royal Commission into the licensing laws. Other members of the Commission disagreed with part of his report, and he resigned the chair, leaving Sir Algernon West to complete a majority report. However, the report was published in Peel's name and recommended that the number of licensed houses should be greatly reduced. This report was a valuable weapon in the hands of reformers. A street in

, Peel Road, was named in his honour.

Family

Peel married Adelaide Dugdale (14 November 1839 – 5 December 1890), daughter of William Stratford Dugdale, in 1862. She died in December 1890 and Lord Peel remained a widower until his death in October 1912, aged 83. They had seven children: * Julia Beatrice Peel (1864–1949) married the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nation ...

James Rochfort Maguire James Rochfort Maguire (4 October 1855 – 18 April 1925) was a British imperialist and Irish Nationalist politician and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Pa ...

* William ellesleyPeel (1867–1937) succeeded as 2nd Viscount; created

Earl Peel Earl Peel is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peel family descends from Robert Peel, eldest son of a wealthy cotton merchant. The family lands, known as Drayton Manor, in the County of Stafford would become more commonly know ...

in 1929 * rthurGeorge_ rthurGeorge_[VilliersPeel">illiers.html"_;"title="rthurGeorge_[Villiers">rthurGeorge_[VilliersPeel_(1868–1956)_politician_and_author *_Sidney_Peel.html" ;"title="illiersPeel.html" ;"title="illiers.html" ;"title="rthurGeorge [Villiers">rthurGeorge [VilliersPeel">illiers.html" ;"title="rthurGeorge [Villiers">rthurGeorge [VilliersPeel (1868–1956) politician and author * Sidney Peel">Sidney [CornwallisPeel (1870–1938) a colonel and for four years an MP, created a baronet in 1936 * Agnes [Mary] Peel (1869x71–1959) married the

Sydney Goldman Major Charles Sydney Goldman (28 April 1868 – 7 April 1958) was a British businessman, author, and journalist who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1910 until 1918. Background In early life, he used the family name in the spelling G ...

. * Ella rancesPeel (1872–1900) * Maurice Berkeley Peel (1873–1917)

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

, later a

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

killed in action in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

External links

*
Inspector Denning & Arthur Peel - Victorian Parliament - UK Parliament Living Heritage
* The Rowers of Vanity Fair - Peel, Arthur Wellesley (''Viscount Peel'') - "The Speaker" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount 1829 births 1912 deaths Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Speakers of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Viscounts Peel UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs who were granted peerages Younger sons of baronets

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of 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”. Another theory, more wi ...

Parliamentary Secretaries to the Board of Trade Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria