John Arthur Godley, 1st Baron Kilbracken, (17 June 1847 – 27 June 1932), was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and British civil servant and the longest serving, and probably the most influential,

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule between 1858 and 1937 for India(and Burma by extension), and for India and Burma from 1937 ...

Early life

Arthur Godley was the only son of

John Robert Godley John Robert Godley (29 May 1814 – 17 November 1861) was an Anglo-Irish statesman and bureaucrat. Godley is considered to be the founder of Canterbury, New Zealand, although he lived there for only two years. Early life Godley was born in Dubl ...

, a colonial reformer, and

Charlotte Godley Charlotte Godley (14 November 1821 – 3 January 1907) was a New Zealand letter-writer and community leader. Family She was born as Charlotte Griffith-Wynne in Voelas House (subsequently demolished) in Denbighshire, Wales in 1821. She was the ...

, a letter-writer and community leader. From April 1850 to December 1852, he was with his parents in New Zealand; his father has become to be regarded as the founder of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. Godley Jr. was painted by

Mary Townsend Mary Townsend may refer to: * Mary Townsend (entomologist) (1814–1851), American abolitionist and entomologist * Mary Townsend (artist) (1822–1869), New Zealand artist * Mary Ashley Townsend (1836–1901), American poet * Mary Elizabeth Towns ...

in 1851; the original is held by Canterbury Museum. He studied at

Radley Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfo ...

, Rugby, and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

(where he won the

Gaisford Prize The Gaisford Prize is a prize in the University of Oxford, founded in 1855 in memory of Dr Thomas Gaisford (1779–1855). For most of its history, the prize was awarded for Classical Greek Verse and Prose. The prizes now include the Gaisford Ess ...

for Greek Verse).

Career

His first important role was acting as Assistant Private Secretary to

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

, then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, during the years 1872 to 1874 and called to Lincoln's Inn bar in 1876. He was elected a fellow of

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

for the period 1874 to 1881. In 1880 Godley was appointed Commissioner for

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ...

, a position he held till 1882. Appointed Under-Secretary of State at the India Office in 1883, he remained there for 26 years, retiring in 1909. He was a member of the 'Royal Commission on Indian Finance and Currency' in 1913. He was bestowed a GCB in the 1908 Birthday honours list, and on 8 December 1909 he was raised to the peerage as The Baron Kilbracken, of Killegar in the County of Leitrim. His autobiography, ''Reminiscences of Lord Kilbracken'', was published in 1931, the year before he died.

Personal life

Lord Kilbracken was a first cousin of the classical scholar

A. D. Godley Alfred Denis Godley (22 January 1856 – 27 June 1925) was an Anglo-Irish classical scholar and author of humorous poems. From 1910 to 1920 he was Public Orator at the University of Oxford, a post that involved composing citations in Latin fo ...

. He was married to Sarah (Sarina) James daughter of 1st

Baron Northbourne Baron Northbourne, of Betteshanger in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1884 for Sir Walter James, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Kingston upon Hull in the House of Commons as a C ...

on 26 September 1871 until her death on 13 September 1921. The union bore 2 sons and three daughters. The barony was inherited by his eldest and only surviving son, Hugh.

References

Book cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilbracken, John Godley, 1st Baron 1847 births 1932 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Hertford College, Oxford People educated at Radley College People educated at Rugby School Godley, Arthur Godley, Arthur Godley, Arthur Peers created by Edward VII