Henry Hartley Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton, (16 May 183025 February 1911) was a British solicitor and Liberal politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1880 until 1908 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

. A member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, he was the first solicitor and the first Methodist to enter the Cabinet or to be raised to the peerage.

Early life

Fowler was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, the son of Rev. Joseph Fowler. He was educated at Woodhouse Grove School, Apperley Bridge, Bradford (1840–42) and later at St. Saviour's Grammar School, Southwark. He moved to

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

and was admitted as a solicitor in 1852. He served as a local councillor and was Mayor of Wolverhampton in 1866. He was chairman of Wolverhampton School Board in 1870, and was a Deputy Lieutenant for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and JP for Wolverhampton.

Political career

At the 1880 general election Fowler was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Wolverhampton, a seat he held until the borough was divided under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

. He then was then returned at the 1885 general election as the MP for Wolverhampton East. In the

1895 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The 1895 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were announced in the British national press on 1 July 1895 following the resignation of Lord Rosebery's government on 22 June. The appointments to the Order of the Bath appeared officially in the '' ...

he was appointed

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # K ...

. He remained in Parliament until he was ennobled in 1908. He served under

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department This article lists past and present parliamentary under-secretaries of state serving the home secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *Apri ...

from 1884 to 1885, as

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...

in 1886 and as

President of the Local Government Board The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the ...

from 1892 to 1894 and under

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

from 1894 to 1895. In 1886, he was sworn of the Privy Council. Fowler later held office under

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Liberal Party (UK)#Liberal le ...

and

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

between 1905 and 1908. The latter year he was raised to the peerage as

Viscount Wolverhampton 200px, Henry Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton. Viscount Wolverhampton, of Wolverhampton in the County of Stafford, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 May 1908 for the Liberal politician Henry Fowler. The ti ...

, of Wolverhampton in the County of Stafford, and served under Asquith as

Lord President of the Council The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...

until 1910. He was widely thought of as a future

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

, but his ill health prevented this. In his approach to policymaking, according to Neil Smith, Sir Henry Fowler (who became Viscount Wolverhampton in 1908) was supportive of reform legislation in the areas of pensions, education, and the Poor Law. According to his private secretary, however, he did not have "the patience to suffer Radical and Labour members gladly." He was an elected President of

The Law Society The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

1901–02. Lord Wolverhampton died on 25 February 1911, aged 80.

Family

Fowler married Ellen Thorneycroft, daughter of ironmaster and first Mayor of Wolverhampton, George Benjamin Thorneycroft, in 1857. They had a son and two daughters. Their son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

succeeded to the viscountcy. Their daughters were the authors the Hon.

Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler (9 April 1860 – 22 June 1929) was an English author of popular romances, and a poet and children's writer. She was a keen Methodist. Family and status The elder daughter of Henry Hartley Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverham ...

and the Hon. Edith Henrietta Fowler (who wrote a biography of her father). Viscountess Wolverhampton's great nephew was

Peter Thorneycroft George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, (26 July 1909 – 4 June 1994) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958. Early life Born in Dunston, Staffordshire, Thor ...

Arms

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – ''Fowler, Henry Hartley''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler

People from Sunderland Politicians from Tyne and Wear People educated at St Olave's Grammar School Secretaries of State for India

Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India

Presidents of the Law Society of England and Wales Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs who were granted peerages Politicians from Wolverhampton Mayors of Wolverhampton Methodist Church of Great Britain people People of the Victorian era Peers created by Edward VII