Sir William Goodenough Hayter, 1st Baronet
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Sir William Goodenough Hayter, 1st Baronet, PC, QC (28 January 1792 – 26 December 1878) was a British barrister and Whig politician. He is best remembered for his two tenures as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...
(government chief whip) between 1850 and 1852 and 1853 and 1858.


Background and education

Born at
Winterbourne Stoke Winterbourne Stoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about west of Amesbury and west of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. The village is on the River Till at the southern edge of Salisbury Plain, on both sides of a ...
, Wiltshire, Hayter was the youngest son of John Hayter and Grace, daughter of Stephen Goodenough, of Codford, Wiltshire. He entered
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
in 1804 and matriculated at
Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...
, on 24 October 1810, taking his BA in 1814.''
The Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''


Legal career

Hayter was
called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
,
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
, on 23 November 1819, and became an equity draftsman and conveyancer. He attended the Wiltshire sessions, but retired from practice on being made a
Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
on 21 Feb 1839. He was, however, bencher of his inn on 15 April 1839, and treasurer in 1853.


Political career

On 24 July 1837 Hayter was returned to parliament for Wells, and sat for that constituency till 6 July 1865. In 1839 he voted for the repeal of the Corn Laws alongside Charles Pelham Villiers, and was present at all the divisions in favour of
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
. He served under
Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as 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 again from 1865 to 186 ...
as Judge Advocate General from 30 December 1847 to 30 May 1849, when he was made
Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...
. In July 1850 he was appointed
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...
(chief government whip) by Russell, a post he held until March 1852, and again under
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 fo ...
and
Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
from December 1852 to March 1858. The ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' states that "When
Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...
came into power in 1852, Hayter marshalled the disorderly ranks of the liberal party with great success, and in the following governments of Lord Aberdeen and Lord Palmerston his powers developed, and his reputation steadily increased". Hayter was sworn of the Privy Council on 11 February 1848 and created a Baronet, of South Hill Park in the County of Berkshire, on 19 April 1858. Three years later, on 27 February 1861, he was presented by Lord Palmerston and 365 members of 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 ...
with a service of plate at a banquet in Willis's Rooms,''
Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...
'', 9 March 1861.
according to the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' "in remembrance of the courtesy, fairness, and efficiency with which he had discharged his duties for many years as liberal 'whip'". Hayter was not a frequent speaker in parliament, but took part in debates on matters within his knowledge. He was a member of the committee in Lord Denman's inquiry into the management of the woods and forests, as well as chairman of the committee on
Feargus O'Connor Feargus Edward O'Connor (18 July 1796 – 30 August 1855) was an Irish Chartism, Chartist leader and advocate of the Land Plan, which sought to provide smallholdings for the labouring classes. A highly charismatic figure, O'Connor was admired ...
's land scheme. Apart from his political and legal career Hayter was involved in farming. According to the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', "his farm, Lindsay, near Leighton,
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 ...
, was kept in the highest state of cultivation, and was a model of economy and profitable management". He was also a member of the council of the Agricultural Society from its start in 1838.


Family

Hayter married Anne, eldest daughter of William Pulsford, of
Linslade Linslade is an area in the civil parish of Leighton-Linslade, in the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority area of Bedfordshire, England. The original village was at Old Linslade on the banks of the River Ouzel. A new settlement called Linslade ...
, Buckinghamshire, on 18 August 1832. During 1878 he fell into a depressed state of mind, and on 26 December was found drowned in a small lake in the grounds of his residence,
South Hill Park South Hill Park is a English country house and its grounds, now run as an arts centre. It lies in the Birch Hill estate to the south of Bracknell town centre, in Berkshire. History Construction by Watts The original South Hill Park mansi ...
,
Easthampstead Easthampstead is a former village and now a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell, in the civil parish of Bracknell, in the Bracknell Forest district, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. The old village can still be easily ident ...
, Berkshire, aged 86. He was buried at Easthampstead on 2 January 1879 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son
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 ...
, who was elevated to the peerage as Baron Haversham in 1906. Lady Hayter died in London on 2 June 1889, aged 82.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayter, Sir William Goodenough, 1st Baronet 1792 births 1878 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Politicians from Wiltshire People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865