Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock (12 May 1849 – 15 January 1912) was a British soldier, Liberal politician and colonial administrator who was the

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...

from 1891 to 1896.

Early life

Lawley was the son of

Beilby Lawley, 2nd Baron Wenlock Beilby Richard Lawley, 2nd Baron Wenlock (2 April 1818 – 6 November 1880) was an English nobleman, eldest son of Paul Thompson, 1st Baron Wenlock and 8th Baronet. He succeeded in the Barony and Baronetcy and to the family estate at Escrick, Yo ...

and his wife Lady Elizabeth Grosvenor, daughter of

Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (27 January 1795 – 31 October 1869), styled The Honourable Richard Grosvenor from 1795 to 1802, Viscount Belgrave from 1802 to 1831 and Earl Grosvenor from 1831 to 1845, was an English pol ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and at

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. ...

. He was commissioned into the

Yorkshire Hussars The Yorkshire Hussars (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own) was an auxiliary unit of the British Army formed in 1794. The regiment was formed as volunteer cavalry (Yeomanry) in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars and served in the Second Boe ...

in 1869, and rose to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Political career

Wenlock was active in local affairs as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

for the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire and as Chairman of East Riding County Council. At the 1880 general election he 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 ...

for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

but inherited his peerage later in the year and was elevated to the House of Lords.

Governor of Madras

In 1890, Lawley was appointed Governor of Madras by the Conservative Party which came to power in the United Kingdom. Beilby Lawley served as the Governor of Madras from 23 January 1891 to 18 March 1896. Lawley laid the foundation stone for the

Nilgiri Mountain Railway The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a railway in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India, built by the United Kingdom, British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway zone, Southern Railway and is the only rack railway in India. ...

which was begun in August 1891 when he was Governor. During 1891–92, the northern districts of Madras Presidency were gripped by a terrible famine. The government's persistence in continuing grain export from the districts of Ganjam and Viazgapatm made the situation even worse. Lawley established the Board of Mohammedan Education in 1893. In 1895, Lawley laid the foundation stone for a solar observatory at

Kodaikanal Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...

. The Wenlock Ward of General Hospital, Madras was established in his memory. During his tenure Madras government acquired an hospital in

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

and renamed as Wenlock District Hospital. Lawley made significant enlargements to the Government House (now Raj Bahvan), Madras. Lawley also laid the foundation stone of the

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

Later life

In 1901 Wenlock was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

and made a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

to the new Prince of Wales (later

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

). He was elected chairman of the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...

County Council in January 1902. Wenlock held the position of Vice Chamberlain to Queen Mary from 1910 until his death. Lord Wenlock was appointed

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

of the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry on 15 May 1902 and later became its Honorary Colonel. He also held the honorary colonelcies of several

Volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

units, including the

2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers The 2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based at Hull and along the Humber Estuary. Its successor units provided field artillery on the Western Front during World War I and air defence artillery ...

(from 30 March 1880) and its successors in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

, the II Northumbrian Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, whose drill hall at Anlaby Road, Hull, was later named

Wenlock Barracks Wenlock Barracks is a military installation on Anlaby Road in Kingston upon Hull, England. History The building was designed as the headquarters of the 2nd Northumbrian Brigade, Royal Field Artillery and opened in April 1911. The riding school ...

.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
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Family

In 1872 he married Lady Constance Mary Lascelles, (1852–1932), daughter of the 4th Earl of Harewood, by whom he had one daughter: Hon. Irene Constance Lawley (b. 1889). She married Colin Gurden Forbes-Adam of

Skipwith Skipwith is a village and civil parish about north-east of Selby and south-east of York in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. Until the 1974 local government reorganisation Skipwith was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire. Ma ...

, Yorkshire. The Forbes-Adam family retain the Escrick estate which they now operate as a holiday and pleasure park. He was succeeded in the Barony by his brother Richard.

Honours and awards

Lord Wenlock received several British Orders and decorations: * GCSI: Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointmen ...

* GCIE: Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

* KCB: Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

(civil division) – ''26 November 1901'' * VD :

Volunteer Officers' Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom ...

– ''19 November 1901'' – for his contribution as Honorary Colonel of the 2nd East Riding of Yorkshire Volunteer Artillery (Western Division,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

)

References

* * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wenlock, Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lawley, Beilby 3rd Baron Wenlock 1849 births 1912 deaths Lawley, Beilby 3rd Baron Wenlock UK MPs who inherited peerages Yorkshire Hussars officers I Zingari cricketers English cricketers Members of the Madras Legislative Council Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry officers People educated at Eton College