Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet PC, DL, JP (born Calvert; 8 December 1801 – 12 February 1894) was an English soldier and 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 ...

variously between 1832 and 1885.

Background and education

Born Harry Calvert, he was the oldest son of Sir Harry Calvert, 1st Baronet and his wife Caroline Hammersley, second daughter of Thomas Hammersley. He was first educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

, and then, aged fifteen, went to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

as one of its first cadets. In 1826, he succeeded his father as

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and in the following year, he changed his surname by Royal Licence to Verney to inherit the

Verney family The Verney family purchased the manor of Middle Claydon in Buckinghamshire, England, in the 1460s and still resides there today at the manor house known as Claydon House. This family had been seated previously at Fleetmarston in Buckinghamshire ...

estates of his cousin Mary Verney, 1st Baroness Fermanagh. From 1829, he studied at

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

as a fellow-commoner, befriending

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick FRS (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did ...

and

William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics. The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is ...

Career

Verney joined the British Army for the

31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Origins ...

in 1819 and was sent to the country's legation in the German states

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

and

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, learning during this time German, French and Italian. He returned to England in the following year and was allocated to the 7th (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot. From 1824, he served with the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

and from 1826 was private secretary in the office of the

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the title of the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, wa ...

. Verney was meant to accompany

Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British military commander and politician who served as the governor of the Be ...

on his appointment as

Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

, however during the journey was left ill in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, where he recovered, later hunting with natives in the

Pampas The Pampas (; from Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all o ...

and the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. His voyage home led him around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

on board a ship commanded by Sir Michael Seymour, and in 1829 he arrived in England again. Verney was promoted to major in 1831 and was transferred to the

Royal Buckinghamshire Militia (King's Own) The Royal Buckinghamshire Militia (King's Own) was an infantry regiment of the British Militia which existed from 1758 to 1881. The regiment was raised in 1759 as the Buckinghamshire Militia. It was embodied in 1778 and ranked as the 10th Regime ...

in 1844, retiring two years later. Verney entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

in 1832, sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

until 1841. After a six-year break, he was successful for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

and represented it until 1852. Verney was again returned for Buckingham in 1857 until the 1874 general election. In 1880, he was reelected for the constituency for the following five years. In 1885, in his final year in the House, Verney was sworn a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

. Verney was nominated a deputy lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and a justice of the peace for the same county. He was a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and one of the founders of the Royal Agricultural Society. Verney acted as chairman of the Buckinghamshire Railway Company and deputy chairman of the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway Company.

Family

On 30 June 1835, he married firstly Eliza Hope, daughter of Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope, and had by her four sons and three daughters. After her death in 1857, Verney married Frances Parthenope Nightingale, daughter of William Edward Nightingale and sister of

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

, on 24 June 1858. He died, aged 92 and was succeeded in the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

by his oldest son

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

. His youngest son

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

was a diplomat and politician and father of Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Baronet.

Legacy

Verney was unusual in the sense that he gave his name to two

railway stations A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such a ...

in England, namely Calvert and Verney Junction stations in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. Mount Verney, Sir Harry Peak and Sir Harry Range in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

were also named after him. To this day, one of the campuses of the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

(housing the Law School) is named "Verney Park".Campus Maps , University of Buckingham
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Verney, Harry 1801 births 1894 deaths 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from Suffolk

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Deputy lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Harrow School Grenadier Guards officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1880–1885 202 Royal Fusiliers officers East Surrey Regiment officers British Militia officers