Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet
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Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, PC (11 May 1799 – 9 September 1882) was a British Whig politician. He held office under four Prime Ministers,
Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...
,
Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and ag ...
,
Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...
, and
Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
, and notably served three times as
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
.


Background and education

Grey was the eldest son of
Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet Sir George Grey, 1st Baronet, (10 October 1767 – 3 October 1828) was a British Royal Navy officer and a scion of the noble House of Grey. He served with the Royal Navy from the age of 14 and was on active service from 1781 to 1804, during the l ...
, who was himself third son of
Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, (circa 23 October 1729 – 14 November 1807) was a British Army general in the 18th century and a scion of the noble House of Grey. He was a distinguished soldier in a generation of exceptionally capable military an ...
, and younger brother of Prime Minister
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845), known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was a British Whig politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. He was a member of the nob ...
. His mother was Mary Whitbread, daughter of Samuel Whitbread. He was born at
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
, where is father was engaged as part of his naval command. Grey was educated privately and at
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...
. Originally intending to become a priest, he instead chose law as his profession, and was called to the bar in 1826. He began a successful legal practice, but soon turned to politics.


Political career, 1832–1853

Grey was elected to parliament as a Whig for Devonport in 1832, and quickly made his mark 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. ...
. He did not hold office in the Whig administration of his uncle Lord Grey, but when
Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...
became Prime Minister in 1834, he was appointed
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. In 1801 the offices of Under-Secretary of State for War and Und ...
. The government fell in December of that year, but returned to power in May 1835, when Grey resumed the post of
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. In 1801 the offices of Under-Secretary of State for War and Und ...
(succeeding
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
). He retained this office until 1839, when he was made Judge Advocate General. The same year Grey was also admitted to the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
. He was then briefly
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...
in 1841, with a seat in the cabinet for the first time. However, the Whigs were defeated in the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
of that year. The Whigs returned to power in July 1846 under
Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and ag ...
, who appointed Grey
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
, the first of his three spells in this position. In 1846, Grey, "himself a zealous advocate of
hydropathy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term ...
" Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org) succeeded in getting passed The Baths and Washhouses Act, which promoted the voluntary establishment of public baths and washhouses in England and Wales. A series of statutes followed, which became known collectively as "The Baths and Wash-houses Acts 1846 to 1896". This was an important milestone in the improvement of sanitary conditions and public health in those times. He decided to leave his seat at Devonport, partly owing to the baths scandal, returning instead for his native Northumberland North in an 1847 by-election, from the family seat at Fallodon, which he had recently inherited from his uncle, Henry Grey. The new baronet sat throughout the parliament in active support of Lord John Russell, until the collapse of the ministry after the scandal of the Durham Letter, and controversial Ecclesiastical Titles bull. Traditional Whigs were Protestant, among them Grey, but the liberality of authorising a catholic hierarchy changed the nature of party politics. Grey's first tenure at the Home Office notably saw him deal with relief efforts to the victims of the Great Famine of Ireland and trying to subdue the Irish rebellion of 1848. The latter year also saw the peak of the
Chartist movement Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...
, which staged a massive rally in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in April. In 1847, Grey had left his old constituency in Devonport. He remained Home Secretary until the 1852 general election, when, despite enjoying widespread popularity, he lost his seat.


Political career, 1853–1874

Grey remained out of parliament until January 1853, when he was returned for
Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...
. He at first refused to join the coalition government of
Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...
, but in June 1854 he accepted the post of Colonial Secretary. The coalition fell in February 1855, and the Whigs returned to office under
Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
. Grey was appointed to his old office of
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
, which he retained until the government resigned in February 1858. 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 i ...
administration under the
Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end ...
which took office only lasted until June the following year, when Palmerston again became Prime Minister. Grey was now appointed
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...
, but in 1861 he became Home Secretary for the third time. The government fell in 1866, and Grey was not to hold office again. Before the 1874 general election, he was overlooked as the
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 ...
candidate for Morpeth in favour of miners' leader
Thomas Burt Thomas Burt PC (12 November 1837 – 12 April 1922) was a British trade unionist and one of the first working-class Members of Parliament. Career Burt became secretary of the Northumberland Miners' Association in 1863, then, in 1874, was retu ...
. This marked the end of Grey's public life and he spent the remainder of his life in retirement at his Fallodon estate in Northumberland. In 1873 Grey took his grandson, Edward on a tour of Scotland. The train they were travellers in, pulled in at the tiny village halt of Kingussie in the Highlands, where they were met on the platform by none other than William Gladstone.


Family

Grey married Anna Sophia Ryder, eldest daughter of Henry Ryder,
Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Mi ...
, a son of the
Earl of Harrowby Earl of Harrowby, in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1809 for the prominent politician and former Foreign Secretary, Dudley Ryder, 2nd Baron Harrowby. He was made Viscount Sandon, of S ...
. They had one son, George Henry Grey (1835–1874). As his only son had predeceased him, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson,
Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
. He was also to become a prominent Liberal politician, and served as Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916, when he was raised to the peerage as Viscount Grey of Fallodon. George Grey was an affectionate family man, a good sense of humour and quickness of mind. He was widely welcomed by a wide variety of friends. A devoted grandfather of seven, he often accompanied out riding, even until eighty years old. Ever an enthusiastic sportsman he encouraged his family to play tennis. He was a keen reader of the classics, with a great knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; Shakespeare's plays, Walter Scott's poetry were part of their education. To the end he was conscientious of his children's welfare. He died with them around him, aged eighty-three.Creighton, Memoir, pp. 58–9 and 126-7; Fallodon, Twenty-Five Years, vol.II, app. A, pp. 280–1 His eldest grandson, Edward, inherited the estate at
Fallodon Fallodon is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Newton-by-the-Sea, in the county of Northumberland, England. It is the territorial designation of Viscount Grey of Fallodon and Baronet Grey of Fallodon. It is pronounced with ...
, near Alnwick. His son and heir was: *George Henry Grey


See also

*
Earl Grey Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...
*
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adher ...


Notes

''a. Online searches for reference to the relevant acts have so far yielded listings from the London Gazette. See also the Parliamentary Archives website.. Typing (or copying-and-pasting) the phrase: Baths and Wash-houses reliably yields 10 lisings, including that for the original 1846 act and its amendment of the same year, along with other results.


References

;Bibliography * Dr. Creighton, A Memoir of Sir George Grey, Longmans & Co., 1901


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, George, 2nd Baronet 1799 births 1882 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Secretaries of State for the Colonies Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874