John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington, PC (27 January 1800 – 7 March 1873) was a British statesman who served as

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

from 1857 to 1872. He is the eponym of

Speaker Denison's rule Speaker Denison's rule is a constitutional convention established by John Evelyn Denison, who was Speaker of the British House of Commons from 1857 to 1872, regarding how the Speaker decides on their casting vote in the event of a tie in the nu ...

Background and education

Denison was born at

Ossington Ossington is a village in the county of Nottinghamshire, England 7 miles north of Newark-on-Trent. It is in the civil parish of Ossington, but for census purposes its population count is included with the civil parishes of Ompton and Laxton a ...

, Nottinghamshire, the eldest son of John Denison (d. 1820), and the older brother of Edward Denison,

bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, Sir

William Denison Sir William Thomas Denison (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866. According to Percival Se ...

, colonial governor in Australia and India, and George Denison, a conservative churchman. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

Political career

A Whig, he became Member of Parliament (MP) for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

in 1823, being returned for

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

three years later, and holding for a short time a subordinate position in

George Canning George Canning (11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as Foreign Secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the Unit ...

's ministry. Defeated in 1830 both at Newcastle-under-Lyme and then at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, Denison secured a seat as one of the members for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

in 1831. After the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

he represented the southern division of Nottinghamshire from 1832 until the general election of 1837. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuri ...

for 1839–40. Denison then represented Malton from 1841 to 1857, and

North Nottinghamshire North Nottinghamshire, formally the "Northern Division of Nottinghamshire" was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the block vote syste ...

from 1857 to 1872. In April 1857 Denison was chosen

. He was sworn of 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 ...

at the same time. Re-elected at the beginning of three successive parliaments he retained this position until February 1872, when he resigned and was raised to the peerage as Viscount Ossington, of Ossington in the County of Nottingham. He refused, however, to accept the pension usually given to retiring Speakers. Denison gave an explanation – referred to as

– as to how the Speaker should exercise his or her casting vote in the event of a tie.

The ''Speaker's Commentary''

While in office, Denison formed the view that the public needed a plain, but complete and accurate, explanatory commentary on the Bible, and consulted some of the bishops as to the best way of supplying the work. Eventually the Archbishop of York undertook to organise the production of the commentary, under the editorship of

Frederic Charles Cook Frederic Charles Cook (1 December 1804– 22 June 1889) was an English churchman, known as a linguist and the editor of the ''Speaker's Commentary'' on the Bible. Life Born at Millbrook, Hampshire, and later moved to Berkshire, he was admitted a ...

, Canon of Exeter. A panel was appointed to advise the general Editor, comprising the Archbishop and the Regius Professors of Divinity of Oxford and Cambridge. Formally entitled ''The Bible Commentary'', it became popularly known as "The Speaker's Commentary". It was first published in England, and subsequently in the United States by Charles Scribner's Sons.

Family

Lord Ossington married Lady Charlotte, daughter of

William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, (24 June 1768 – 27 March 1854), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809, was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Lord ...

, in 1827, but he left no children. He died on 7 March 1873, and his title became extinct. Lady Ossington died in 1889. His

Ossington Hall Ossington is a village in the county of Nottinghamshire, England 7 miles north of Newark-on-Trent. It is in the civil parish of Ossington, but for census purposes its population count is included with the civil parishes of Ompton and Laxton an ...

estate passed to his nephew

William Evelyn Denison Captain William Evelyn Denison DL, JP (25 February 1843 – 24 September 1916) was a British Army officer and a Conservative Party politician. He owned an estate in Ossington, Nottinghamshire where he held several local offices as well as sittin ...

, son of his brother

Sir William Thomas Denison Sir William Thomas Denison (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866. According to Percival Se ...

Ossington Street Ossington Street is a quiet one-way street in London, W2, leading from Moscow Road at its north end to the Bayswater Road / Notting Hill Gate at its south end. Ossington Street forms part of the border between the boroughs City of Westmins ...

in London was named in his honour.

Arms

References

External links

* * * *
Papers of the Denison family, held at Manuscripts and Special Collections at The University of Nottingham
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ossington, Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount 1800 births 1873 deaths People from Newark and Sherwood (district) People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Speakers of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 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 UK MPs who were granted peerages Whig (British political party) MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newcastle-under-Lyme High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Lords of the Admiralty