William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby PC, KC (29 August 18356 November 1909) was a British lawyer and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1895 and 1905.

Background and education

Gully was the son of

James Manby Gully James Manby Gully (14 March 1808 – 1883) was a Victorian medical doctor, well known for practising hydrotherapy, or the "water cure". Along with his partner James Wilson, he founded a very successful "hydropathy" (as it was then called) clinic ...

of Malvern, a successful physician who became involved in the mysterious death of Charles Bravo in April 1876. His grandfather was Daniel Gully, a Jamaican coffee planter. He was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

, London and then

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he was president of the Union. He was called to the bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1860, went the northern circuit, and took silk in 1877.

Political career

William Court Gully Vanity Fair 17 September 1896

In 1880 and 1883 Gully unsuccessfully contested

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

as a

, but was elected for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

in 1886, and continued to represent that constituency until his elevation to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

. In April 1895 he was elected Speaker by a majority of eleven votes over Sir Matthew White Ridley, the Unionist nominee. The choice of Gully was a surprise to Lord Rosebery's cabinet. Rosebery did not want a Unionist as the new Speaker of the House of Commons, but rejected the two alternatives of

Richard Haldane Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, (; 30 July 1856 – 19 August 1928) was a British lawyer and philosopher and an influential Liberal and later Labour politician. He was Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912 during wh ...

and Sir Frank Lockwood. Rosebery faced hostility in his cabinet from Sir William Vernon Harcourt and from the opposition, and Harcourt wanted the Liberal Unionist Leonard Courtney as Speaker. Harcourt viewed this as purely a matter for the House of Commons (Rosebery being in the House of Lords). To Rosebery it became a minor cabinet crisis. Finally in disgust Harcourt placed the onus of the decision on Rosebery. Eventually the backbenchers of the Commons who knew Gully propelled him - most likely because he was close to Sir William Herschell. Harcourt was forced to produce the name to the House of Commons. The Conservatives were not happy about his selection, and (recalling the scandal that engulfed his father) would greet his appearance in the House with cries of "Bravo, Gully!". In 1905 he resigned and was raised to the peerage with the title of Viscount Selby, of the

City of Carlisle The City of Carlisle ( , ) is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns ...

, the name being that of his wife (see below). He died in November 1909, aged 74, and was succeeded by his son, James.

Family

Lord Selby married, in 1865, Elizabeth Selby (died 1906), daughter of Thomas Selby. They had six children: * James William Herschell Gully, 2nd Viscount Selby (1867–1923) *Hon. Edward Walford Karslake Gully, CB (1870–1931), who married 1901 Ada Symon *Hon. Gertrude Anne Gully (died 1949), who married 1888 His Honour James Aloysius Scully, Judge of Brighton District Court. *Hon. Florence Julia Gully (died 1949), who married 1892 Sir William Guy Granet. *Hon. Mary Honorah Rhoda Gully (died 1961), who married 1894 Sir

Adrian Donald Wilde Pollock Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...

(1867–1943). *Hon. Elizabeth Kate Shelley Gully (died 1908), who married first 1902 Captain Carleton Salkeld, and secondly Hon. Edward Brabazon Meade.

Arms

Notes

References

* * James, Robert Rhodes. ''Rosebery: A Biography of Archibald Primrose, Fifth Earl of Rosebery''. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1963, 1964, p. 371-373. * * Ruddick, James. ''Death at the Priory: Sex, Love, and Murder in Victorian England''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001. . (P. 185).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gully, William Court 1835 births 1909 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Union Speakers of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Selby, William Gully, 1st Viscount Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at University College School Peers created by Edward VII

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...