The Lord Colchester | |
|---|---|
 Lord Colchester byJohn Hoppner, c. 1802 (Palace of Westminster) | |
| Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 10 February 1802 – 2 June 1817 | |
| Monarch | George III |
| Prime Minister | Henry Addington William Pitt William Grenville William Cavendish-Bentinck Spencer Perceval Robert Jenkinson |
| Preceded by | Sir John Mitford |
| Succeeded by | Charles Manners-Sutton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 October 1757 (1757-10-14) |
| Died | 8 May 1829(1829-05-08) (aged 71) |
| Political party | Tory |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Gibbes (1760–1847) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Charles Abbot, 1st Baron ColchesterPC,FRS (14 October 1757 – 8 May 1829) was aBritish barrister and statesman. He served asSpeaker of the House of Commons between 1802 and 1817.
Abbot was born at Roysse Court,Abingdon, to Dr John Abbot, headmaster ofAbingdon School and rector of All Saints,Colchester, and, by his mother's second marriage, step-brother ofJeremy Bentham. FromWestminster School he passed toChrist Church, Oxford, where he matriculated on 14 June 1775.[1] There he gained thechancellor's prize forLatin verse as well as theVinerian Scholarship.[2] He was admitted to theMiddle Temple on 14 October 1768 and wascalled to the Bar on 9 May 1783.[3]
Abbot was granted aBCL in 1783 and aDCL in 1793.[1] On 14 February 1793, he became aFellow of the Royal Society.[4]
In 1795, after having practised twelve years as a barrister, and having published a treatise proposing the incorporation of the judicial system ofWales with that of England, he was appointed to the office previously held by his brother of clerk of the rules in theKing's Bench; and in June of the same year he was elected Member of Parliament forHelston, through the influence of theDuke of Leeds.[2]
In 1796 Abbot commenced his career as a reformer inParliament by obtaining the appointment of two committees: one to report on the arrangements which then existed as to temporary laws or laws about to expire; and the other to devise methods for the better publication of new statutes. It was thanks to the work of the latter committee, and of a second committee which he proposed some years later, that copies of new statutes were subsequently routinely sent to all magistrates and municipal bodies.[2] At a local level, he and Henry Richards (the other member returned for Helston) raised 200 guineas for the demolishing and rebuilding of theHelston coinage hall.
Abbot's efforts also effected the establishment of theRecord Commission; the reform of the system which had allowed the public money to lie for some time at long interest in the hands of the public accountants, by charging them with payment of interest; and, most important of all, theact for taking the first census of the United Kingdom, that of 1801. On the formation of theAddington ministry in March 1801, Abbot becameChief Secretary for Ireland[5] and alsoKeeper of the Privy Seal of Ireland. In the February of the following year he was appointedSpeaker of the House of Commons: at this point he stood down as Chief Secretary for Ireland, but he remained Keeper of the Privy Seal until his death. He served as Speaker until 1817, when an attack oferysipelas compelled him to retire.[2] TheHouse of Commons Library traces its origins to his time as Speaker.[6] He objected to theLay College at Maynooth, leading to its suppression in 1814.
In response to an address of the Commons, Abbot was raised to the peerage asBaron Colchester, ofColchester in theCounty of Essex on 1 June 1817,[7] with a pension of £4,000, of which £3,000 was to be continued to his heir. His speeches against the Roman Catholic claims were published in 1828.[2]
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In 1796, he had married, in London, Elizabeth Gibbes (1760–1847), the elder daughter ofSir Philip Gibbes, 1st Baronet, of Springhead, Barbados, by whom he had two sons. He was succeeded by his elder sonCharles,Postmaster General in 1858, and subsequently by his grandson Reginald Abbot, 3rd Baron Colchester, on whose death in 1919 the title became extinct.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Colchester, Charles Abbot".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 660.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Abbot, Charles (1757-1829)".Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHelston 1795–1800 With:Stephen Lushington 1795–1796 Richard Richards 1796–1799 Lord Francis Osborne 1799–1800 | Succeeded by Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Parliament of Great Britain | Member of Parliament forHelston 1801–1802 With:Lord Francis Osborne 1801–1802 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHeytesbury 1802 With:Viscount Kirkwall | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWoodstock 1802–1806 With:Sir Henry Dashwood, Bt | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forOxford University 1806–1817 With:Sir William Scott | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chief Secretary for Ireland 1801–1802 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom 1802–1817 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Colchester 1817–1829 | Succeeded by |
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