Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel, (3 August 182924 October 1912), was a British Liberal politician, who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

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

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Early life

Peel was the fifth and youngest son of the

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

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

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Political career

Peel was elected Liberal Member of Parliament (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, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

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 Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

. From 1868 to 1871, he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board and then became Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade. In 1873 to 1874, he was patronage secretary to the Treasury, and in 1880, he became

Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's second government. On the retirement of Sir Henry Brand, Peel was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on 26 February 1884. Arthur Wellesley Peel NPG

In the 1885 general election, Peel was elected for Warwick and Leamington. Throughout his career as Speaker, as the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition noted, "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 officially impartial, Peel left the Liberal Party over the issue of

Home Rule Home rule is the 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 governan ...

and became a Liberal Unionist. 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, Br ...

, whose campaigns to have the oath of allegiance changed eventually permitted non-Christians, such as agnostics and atheists, to serve in the House of Commons. Peel retired for health reasons prior to the 1895 general election and was created Viscount Peel, of Sandy in the County of Bedford, with a

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

of £4,000 for life by ( 58 & 59 Vict. c. 10). 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, which left 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. The 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 nati ...

MP James Rochfort Maguire * William ellesleyPeel (1867–1937) succeeded as 2nd Viscount; created Earl Peel in 1929 * rthurGeorge [VilliersPeel">illiers.html" ;"title="rthurGeorge rthurGeorge [VilliersPeel (1868–1956), politician and author * Sidney Peel">Sidney [CornwallisPeel">illiers">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

MP Sydney Goldman. * Ella rancesPeel (1872–1900) * Maurice Berkeley Peel (1873–1917),

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

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 p ...

, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

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