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William Brampton Gurdon

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Sir
William Brampton Gurdon
KCMG CB JP
William Brampton Gurdon
Member of Parliament for North Norfolk
In office
1899 – January 1910
Preceded byHerbert Cozens-Hardy
Succeeded byNoel Noel-Buxton
Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk
In office
1907–1910
Preceded byFrederick Hervey, 3rd Marquess of Bristol
Succeeded byCourtenay Warner
Personal details
Born(1840-09-05)5 September 1840
Died31 May 1910(1910-05-31) (aged 69)
Spouse
Lady Eveline Camilla Wallop
​
​
(m. 1888; died 1894)​
Parents
Relatives1st Baron Colborne (maternal grandfather)
Robert Gurdon, 1st Baron Cranworth (brother)
5th Earl of Portsmouth (father-in-law)
EducationEton College
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge

Sir William Brampton Gurdon KCMG CB JP (5 September 1840 – 31 May 1910)[1][2] was a British civil servant who became a Liberal Party politician.

Early life

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Gurdon was the youngest son of Brampton Gurdon (MP for West Norfolk) of Letton, Norfolk and his wife Henrietta Susanna, daughter of the 1st Baron Colborne.[3] He was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1863 with a BA degree.[4] His elder brother, Robert, would also enter politics and served as an MP 1880-1895.[2]

Career

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Gurdon entered the Treasury as a clerk in 1863, and became private secretary to William Ewart Gladstone when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1865 to 1866 and when Prime Minister from 1868 to 1874.[3] In 1879 he served as a special commissioner in South Africa following the Anglo-Zulu War, and then in 1881 on the Royal Commission appointed to draw up the Pretoria Convention.[2]

Parliament

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At the 1885 general election Gurdon stood unsuccessfully in South West Norfolk.[5] He was unsuccessful again at Rotherhithe in 1886[6] and in Colchester at a by-election in 1888.[7]

He finally entered Parliament on his fourth attempt, when he was elected at a by-election in March 1899 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Norfolk.[8] He held the seat for 11 years, until he stood down at the January 1910 general election.[8] His major achievement as an MP was successfully bringing the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907 through Parliament; this had been a controversial proposal for over seventy years. [2]

He was also a Justice of the Peace (JP) for Suffolk, and a member of East Suffolk County Council.[3] He was sworn as a Privy Counsellor in July 1907,[9] and became Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk in October 1907.[10]

Personal life

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In 1888 he married Lady Eveline Camilla Wallop, daughter of the 5th Earl of Portsmouth.[11] She died in 1894.[11] There is a memorial to them both in the church of St Edmund in Assington, Suffolk.

Memorial to Sir William Brampton Gurdon in the church of St Edmund in Assington, Suffolk

References

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  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 2)
  2. ^ a b c d Obituary, London Evening Standard]
  3. ^ a b c Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1901. London: Dean & Son. 1901. p. 61.
  4. ^ "Gurdon, William Brampton (GRDN859WB)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  5. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 356. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
  6. ^ Craig, page 48
  7. ^ Craig, page 98
  8. ^ a b Craig, page 353
  9. ^ "No. 28038". The London Gazette. 9 July 1907. p. 4681.
  10. ^ "No. 28072". The London Gazette. 25 October 1907. p. 7123.
  11. ^ a b "Election Intelligence. Norfolk (Northern Division).-Result". The Times. London. 18 March 1899. pp. 14, col C.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for North Norfolk
1899–January 1910 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk
1907–1910 		Succeeded by
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