Sir William Webb Follett QC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Attorney-General for England | |
| In office 15 April 1844 – 28 June 1845 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel |
| Preceded by | Sir Frederick Pollock |
| Succeeded by | Sir Frederic Thesiger |
| Solicitor-General for England | |
| In office 1841–1844 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel |
| Preceded by | Sir Thomas Wilde |
| Succeeded by | Sir Frederic Thesiger |
| In office 1834–1835 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel |
| Preceded by | Sir Robert Rolfe |
| Succeeded by | Sir Robert Rolfe |
| Member of Parliament forExeter | |
| In office 6 January 1835 – 28 June 1845 | |
| Preceded by | James Wentworth Buller Edward Divett |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Duckworth, Bt Edward Divett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1796-12-02)2 December 1796 |
| Died | 28 June 1845(1845-06-28) (aged 48) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Sir William Webb Follett, QC (2 December 1796 – 28 June 1845) was an Englishlawyer and politician who served asMP forExeter (1835–1845). He served twice asSolicitor-General, in 1834-5 and 1841 and asAttorney-General in 1844. He was knighted in 1835. He was reputed to have been the "greatest advocate of the century".[1]
Follett was born 2 December 1796 atTopsham inDevon, the eldest surviving son of ten children. His father was Captain Benjamin Follett, late 13th Regiment of Infantry, who had retired from the army in 1790 and gone into business as a timber merchant,[2] and his mother was Ann Webb, daughter of John Webb, ofKinsale, Ireland.[3][4] His younger brother wasBrent Spencer Follett (1810–1887) QC, MP and his sister Elizabeth marriedRichard Bright.[5][4]
Follett attendedExeter grammar school[6] and was privately educated by Mr Hutchinson, thecurate ofHeavitree. In 1813, he matriculated atTrinity College, Cambridge, receiving a B.A. without honours in 1818 and an M.A. in 1830.[5][7]
On 11 October 1830, Follett married Jane Mary Giffard, the eldest daughter of SirAmbrose Hardinge Giffard (1771–1827) who was chief justice ofBritish Ceylon. They had five sons and two daughters.[5][8]
He joined theInner Temple inMichaelmas term 1814 and read in the chambers of Robert Bayly and Godfrey Sykes. He became aspecial pleader in 1821 and wascalled to the bar on 28 May 1824. He joined thewestern circuit in 1825, where his first notable case wasGarnett v Ferrand.[5][8]
In November 1828, he andHenry Brougham were briefed on the case ofRowe v Brenton and when Brougham becameLord Chancellor, he offered to make Follett asilk, but Follett declined. He had a large practice with theHouse of Lords and, when it was re-organised in 1833, thePrivy Council of the United Kingdom.[5]
In 1832, Follett ran to be aMember of Parliament forExeter but was unsuccessful. Instead he served asrecorder for Exeter from 1832 to 1834,[7] whenSir Robert Peel formed his first administration. He becamesolicitor-general in November and thereafter was appointed aKing's Counsel and received aknighthood.[5]
On 6 January 1835, he was returned to parliament for Exeter with 1425 votes.[9] He resigned with the ministry in April 1835.[8] In 1837 and 1841, Follett was re-elected to Parliament.[5] On the return of Peel to power in 1841 Follett was again appointed Solicitor-General on 6 September, and on 15 April 1844 he succeededSir Frederick Pollock asAttorney-General.[8][10]
Follett never gave up his private practice. He was best known for defendingJames Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan in 1841 after a duel withCaptain Harvey Tuckett,[5] and representingGeorge Chapple Norton in an action againstLord Melbourne in 1836.[11] His speech in the latter case was parodied in thePickwick Papers (1837).[5]
Follett was first ill in December 1835 and April 1836. He collapsed in February 1839 and could not return to work until later that year.[5] He collapsed again in April 1844 and he was compelled to relinquish legal practice and to visit the south of Europe to recuperate. He returned to England in March 1845, but thetuberculosis, with which he had previously been diagnosed, reasserted itself and he died at Croker's house, 9Cumberland Terrace,Regent's Park,London on 28 June 1845.[5][8] He was buried in theTemple Church in London on 4 July.[1][5]
A statue of Follett executed byWilliam Behnes was erected by subscription and placed in the north transept[12] atWestminster Abbey.[8] His marble bust byEdward Bowring Stephens exists in theDevon and Exeter Institution, Exeter.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Follett, Sir William Webb".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 602.
Media related toWilliam Webb Follett at Wikimedia Commons| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forExeter 1835 – 1845 With:Edward Divett | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Solicitor-General for England 1834–1835 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Solicitor-General for England 1841–1844 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney-General for England 1844–1845 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
