Charles Nicholas Pallmer (1772 – 30 September 1848) was an English politician, West Indies estate owner and a supporter of slavery. He twice served as a Member of Parliament (MP), with his later career overshadowed by high debts and bankruptcy.

Life

Charles Nicholas Pallmer was born in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in 1772. He was the eldest son of Charles Pallmer, an owner of a large Jamaican sugar plantation in Clarendon, employing several hundred slaves. Pallmer later inherited the estate. In June 1808 Pallmer married Maria Francis Dennis, who had inherited

Norbiton Norbiton is an area within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It lies approximately east of Kingston upon Thames town centre, and from Charing Cross. Its main landmarks include Kingston Hospital, Kingsmeadow football stad ...

Place, a house and estate near

Kingston Upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. This became their main residence, Pallmer greatly altering and extending the estate using the services of architect Edward Lapidge. The changes included adding a grotto, a dairy styled like an Indian temple and a lodge in the form of a doric temple. Pallmer also acquired neighbouring Norbiton Hall. This he sold in 1829 to the Countess of Liverpool, widow of the former prime minister,

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...

, with whom Pallmer had been on friendly terms.

MP for Ludershall, (1815–17)

In a June 1815

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, Pallmer stood as a Whig, and was returned as MP for Ludgershall,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. In Parliament he championed the cause of West Indies planters. While the slave trade in British colonies had been abolished in 1807, slave ownership continued, and Pallmer was among those who resisted

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

's slave registry bill, which slave owners feared would lead to eventual emancipation. At the end of the 1817 session he vacated his seat and left Parliament. Out of Parliament he remained a prominent figure in the opposition to emancipation, chairing the standing committee of the

London Society of West India Planters and Merchants The London Society of West India Planters and Merchants was an organisation established to represent the views of those engaged in the trade with the Caribbean that held a diverse range of views on the region, ranging from London-based merchants ...

from 1818 to 1820.

High Sheriff of Surrey, (1822)

Pallmer served as High Sheriff of

in 1822, an honour that involved administrative and ceremonial duties across the county. A Surrey resident, he had previously held a number of other county appointments, including bailiff of Kingston in 1819.

MP for Surrey, (1826–30)

In the June 1826 general election Pallmer, standing as a Whig, was returned as MP for

. He again played a leading role in promoting the interests of West Indies planters, lobbying for compensation for slave owners in the event of abolition. He defended the tax advantages enjoyed by West Indian over East Indian sugar and, in January 1829, led a delegation to the prime minister, the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

, to lobby for a reduction in sugar duties. While sympathetic for some measure of parliamentary reform, Pallmer opposed Catholic emancipation, believing that the Protestant constitution would be endangered by the government's

Catholic Relief Bill The Roman Catholic relief bills were a series of measures introduced over time in the late 18th and early 19th centuries before the Parliaments of Great Britain and the United Kingdom to remove the restrictions and prohibitions imposed on British ...

. He did not contest the 1830 general election, and retired from politics. Citing health problems, the real reason appeared to be his mounting debts.

Later life

Pallmer had clearly been living above his means and had accumulated large debts. He left for France in March 1831, and was declared

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

a month later. While many of his creditors were eventually paid, he continued to live abroad, including in Jamaica and France. He died in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

on 30 December 1848, aged 76. There is a memorial to Pallmer in

All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames All Saints Church is the historic parish church of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London, and is set between the ancient Market Place and the main shopping centre. It forms part of the Diocese of Southwark and together with the St John's Churc ...

References

Bibliography

* Accessed 4 April 2020 * Accessed 4 April 2020 * Accessed 4 April 2020 * Accessed 19 May 2025 * Accessed 4 April 2020 * Accessed 4 April 2020 * Accessed 4 April 2020

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pallmer, Charles Nicholas 1772 births 1848 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies 19th-century Jamaican politicians Jamaican slave owners UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1826–1830