Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
statesman who twice was
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 ...
(1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
(1834–1835). He previously was
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
twice (1822–1827, 1828–1830). He is regarded as the father of modern
British policing, owing to his founding of the
Metropolitan Police while he was Home Secretary. Peel was one of the founders of the modern
Conservative Party.
The son of a wealthy textile manufacturer and politician, Peel was the first prime minister from an industrial business background. He earned a
double first
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a Grading in education, grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and Master's degree#Integrated Masters Degree, integrated master's degrees in the United Kingd ...
in classics and mathematics from
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
. He entered 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 ...
in 1809 and became a rising star in the
Tory Party. Peel entered the
Cabinet as home secretary (1822–1827), where he reformed and liberalised the criminal law and created the modern police force, leading to a new type of officer known in tribute to him as "" and "
peelers". After a brief period out of office he returned as home secretary under his political mentor the
Duke of Wellington (1828–1830), also serving as
Leader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...
. Initially, a supporter of continued legal discrimination against Catholics, Peel reversed himself and supported the
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and the 1828 repeal of the
Test Act, claiming that "though
emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...
was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger".
After being in opposition from 1830 to 1834, he became prime minister in November 1834. Peel issued the
Tamworth Manifesto
The Tamworth Manifesto was a political manifesto issued by Sir Robert Peel in December 1834 to the voters of Tamworth prior to the 1835 United Kingdom general election. It is widely credited by historians as having laid down the principles upo ...
(December 1834), laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based. His
first ministry was a minority government, dependent on Whig support and with Peel serving as his own chancellor of the Exchequer. After only four months, his government collapsed and he was
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
during
Melbourne's second government (1835–1841). Peel became prime minister again after the
1841 general election. His
second government ruled for five years. He cut tariffs to stimulate trade, replacing the lost revenue with a 3%
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
. He played a central role in making
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
a reality and set up a modern banking system. His government's major legislation included the
Mines and Collieries Act 1842, the
Income Tax Act 1842, the
Factories Act 1844 and the
Railway Regulation Act 1844. Peel's government was weakened by
anti-Catholic sentiment following the controversial increase in the
Maynooth Grant of 1845. After the outbreak of the
Great Irish Famine, his decision to join with Whigs and
Radicals to repeal the
Corn Laws led to his resignation as prime minister in 1846. Peel remained an influential MP and leader of the
Peelite faction until his death in 1850.
Peel often started from a traditional Tory position in opposition to a measure, then reversed his stance and became the leader in supporting liberal legislation. This happened with the Test Act, Catholic emancipation, the Reform Act, income tax and, most notably, the repeal of the Corn Laws. Historian
A. J. P. Taylor wrote: "Peel was in the first rank of 19th-century statesmen. He carried Catholic Emancipation; he repealed the Corn Laws; he created the modern Conservative Party on the ruins of the old Toryism."
Early life
Peel was born at Chamber Hall,
Bury, Lancashire
Bury (, ) is a market town on the River Irwell in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. which had a population of 81,101 in 2021 while the wider borough had a population of 193,846.
The town was originally part of the ...
, to the industrialist and parliamentarian
Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet, and his wife Ellen Yates. His father was one of the richest textile manufacturers of the early
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. The family moved from Lancashire to
Drayton Manor near
Tamworth, Staffordshire
Tamworth (, ) is a market town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and south, Lichfield District, Lichfield to the north, south- ...
; the manor house has since been demolished, and the site occupied by
Drayton Manor Theme Park.
Peel received his early education from a clergyman tutor in Bury and at a clergyman's local school in Tamworth.
He may also have attended
Bury Grammar School or
Hipperholme Grammar School, though evidence for either is anecdotal rather than textual. He started at
Harrow School
Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...
in February 1800.
At Harrow, he was a contemporary of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, who recalled of Peel that "we were on good terms" and that "I was always in scrapes, and he never". On Harrow's Speech Day in 1804, Peel and Byron acted part of
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
's ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
'', Peel playing
Turnus and Byron playing
Latinus.

In 1805, Peel matriculated at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
. His tutor was
Charles Lloyd, later
Regius Professor of Divinity, on Peel's recommendation appointed
bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...
. In 1808 Peel became the first Oxford student to take a double first in Classics and Mathematics.
Peel was a law student at
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
in 1809. He also held military commissions as a captain in the Manchester Regiment of
Militia
A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
in 1808, and later as lieutenant in the
Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1820.
Early political career: 1809–1822
Member of Parliament
Peel entered politics in 1809 at the age of 21, as MP for the Irish
rotten borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...
of
Cashel,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
. With a scant 24 electors on the rolls, he was elected unopposed. His sponsor for the election (besides his father) was the
chief secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...
, Sir
Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, with whom Peel's political career would be entwined for the next 25 years. Peel made his
maiden speech at the start of the 1810 session, when he was chosen by prime minister
Spencer Perceval to second the reply to the
king's speech. His speech was a sensation, famously described by the
Speaker,
Charles Abbot, as "the best first speech since that of
William Pitt".
Peel changed constituency twice, becoming one of the two Members for
Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...
in 1812, and then one of those for
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
in 1817.
Junior minister
In 1810, Peel was appointed an
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies; his
secretary of state was
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, ...
. When Lord Liverpool formed a government in 1812, Peel was appointed
chief secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...
.
The
Peace Preservation Act 1814 authorised the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to appoint additional magistrates in a county in a state of disturbance, who were authorised to appoint paid special constables (later called "peelers"). Peel thus laid the basis for the
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...
.
Peel was firmly opposed to
Catholic emancipation, believing that Catholics could not be admitted to Parliament as they refused to swear the
Oath of Allegiance to the Crown. In May 1817, Peel delivered the closing speech in opposition to
Henry Grattan's Catholic emancipation bill; the bill was defeated by 245 votes to 221. Peel resigned as chief secretary and left Ireland in August 1818.
In 1819, the House of Commons appointed a Select Committee, the
Bullion Committee, charged with stabilising British finances after the end of the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, and Peel was chosen as its chairman.
Peel's Bill planned to return British currency to the
gold standard
A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
, reversing the
Bank Restriction Act 1797, within four years (it was actually accomplished by 1821).
Home Secretary: 1822–1830
Senior minister

Peel was considered one of the rising stars of the Tory party, first entering the cabinet in 1822 as
home secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
. As home secretary, he introduced a large number of important reforms to British criminal law.
Reforms and policies
In one of his policies, he reduced the number of crimes punishable by death, and simplified the law by repealing a large number of criminal statutes and consolidating their provisions into what are known as
Peel's Acts. He reformed the gaol system, introducing payment for gaolers and education for the inmates in the
Gaols Act 1823 (
4 Geo. 4. c. 64).
In 1827 the 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, ...
became incapacitated and was replaced by
George Canning. Peel resigned as home secretary. Canning favoured
Catholic emancipation, while Peel had been one of its most outspoken opponents (earning the nickname "Orange Peel", with Orange the colour of the Protestant
Orange Order
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...
). George Canning himself died less than four months later and, after the brief premiership of
Lord Goderich, Peel returned to the post of home secretary under the premiership of his long-time ally the
Duke of Wellington. During this time he was widely perceived as the number-two in the Tory Party, after Wellington himself.
The
Test and Corporation Acts required many officials to be communicants in the Anglican Church and penalised both nonconformists and Catholics. They were no longer enforced but were a matter of humiliation. Peel at first opposed the repeal, but reversed himself and led the repeal on behalf of the government, after consultation with Anglican Church leaders. The
Sacramental Test Act 1828 passed into law in May 1828. In future religious issues he made it a point to consult with church leaders from the major denominations.
The
1828 Clare by-election returned the Catholic Irish nationalist leader
Daniel O'Connell. By autumn 1828, the Chief Secretary for Ireland was alarmed by the extent of civil disorder and the prospect of a rebellion if O'Connell were barred from Parliament. Wellington and Peel now conceded the necessity of Catholic emancipation, Peel writing to Wellington that "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger".
Peel drew up the Catholic Relief bill. He felt compelled to stand for re-election to his seat in Oxford, as he was representing the graduates of Oxford University (many of whom were Anglican clergymen), and had previously stood on a platform of opposition to Catholic Emancipation. Peel lost his seat in a by-election in February 1829 to
Ultra-Tory Robert Inglis, but soon found another by moving to a
rotten borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...
,
Westbury, retaining his Cabinet position. He stood for
Tamworth in the
general election of 1830, representing Tamworth until his death.
Peel guided the Catholic Relief (Emancipation) bill through the House of Commons, Wellington through the House of Lords. With many
Ultra-Tories vehemently opposed to emancipation, the bill could pass only with Whig support.
Wellington threatened to resign if
King George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
did not give Royal assent; the King finally relented. The
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 passed into law in April 1829. Peel's U-turn cost him the trust of many Tories: according to
Norman Gash, Peel had been "the idolized champion of the Protestant party; that party now regarded him as an outcast".
Founding the Metropolitan Police
It was in 1829 that Peel established the Metropolitan Police Force for London based at
Scotland Yard. The 1,000 constables employed were affectionately nicknamed 'bobbies' or, somewhat less affectionately, 'peelers'. Although unpopular at first, they proved very successful in cutting crime in London, and, by 1857, all cities in Britain were obliged to form their own police forces. Known as the father of modern policing, Peel is thought to have contributed to the Metropolitan Police's first set of "Instructions to Police Officers", emphasising the importance of its civilian nature and policing by consent. However, what are now commonly known as the
Peelian Principles were not written by him but were instead produced by
Charles Reith in his 1948 book, ''A Short History of the British Police'', as a nine-point summary of the 1829 "Instructions".
Opposition: 1830–1834
The middle and working classes in England at that time, however, were clamouring for reform, and Catholic Emancipation was only one of the ideas in the air. The Tory ministry refused to bend on other issues and were swept out of office in 1830 in favour of the
Whigs. The following few years were extremely turbulent, but eventually
enough reforms were passed that
King William IV felt confident enough to invite the Tories to form a ministry again in succession to those of
Lord Grey and
Lord Melbourne in December 1834. Peel was selected as prime minister but was in Italy at the time, so Wellington acted as a caretaker for three weeks until Peel's return.
Prime Minister: 1834–1835
Appointment
Following the resignation of former prime minister
Charles Grey, because of an issue regarding Ireland's conciliatory reform and at the invitation of King
William IV, Peel became prime minister in early December 1834. Peel formed his own government, though it was a Tory government that was a minority government and depended on Whig goodwill for its continued existence. Parliament was dissolved in late December 1834 and a general election was called. Voting took place in January and February 1835, and Peel's supporters gained around 100 seats, but this was not enough to give them a majority.
Tamworth Manifesto
As his statement of policy at the general election of January 1835, Peel issued the
Tamworth Manifesto
The Tamworth Manifesto was a political manifesto issued by Sir Robert Peel in December 1834 to the voters of Tamworth prior to the 1835 United Kingdom general election. It is widely credited by historians as having laid down the principles upo ...
. This document was the basis on which the modern
Conservative Party was founded. In it, Peel pledged that the Conservatives would endorse reform such as reforms concerning economic and financial affairs, free trade and factory workers' rights.
The Whigs formed a compact with
Daniel O'Connell's Irish Radical members to repeatedly defeat the government on various bills. Eventually, after only about 100 days in government, Peel's ministry resigned out of frustration and the Whigs under Lord Melbourne returned to power. The only real achievement of Peel's first administration was a commission to review the governance of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. This ecclesiastical commission was the forerunner of the
Church Commissioners.
Confidence vote and resignation
Despite the January 1835 general election, from which Peel attempted to consolidate his party's majority in Parliament, the Conservatives still remained a minority. This made Peel's position in the Commons precarious from the start.
The immediate cause of Peel's downfall was a debate over the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
. On 7 April 1835, Whig MP
Ralph Bernal brought forward a report critical of Peel's administration of the Church of Ireland's revenues and proposed reforms. The report was passed 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 ...
by a vote of 285 to 258, signifying a lack of confidence in Peel's government. This defeat underscored the government's inability to secure enough support to govern effectively.
This loss led to Peel's resignation the following day, on 8 April 1835. The passing of the
vote of no confidence
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
highlighted the conditions in British politics at the time in a
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
. After Peel's resignation, King William IV invited Lord Melbourne to form a new government, allowing the Whigs to return to power.
Leader of the Opposition: 1835–1841
Peel's party was bolstered by the adherence of a number of dissident Whigs associated with the
Derby Dilly. These self-described 'moderate Whigs' were led by former cabinet ministers
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served three times as Prime ...
, and
Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet.
In May 1839, Peel was offered another chance to form a government, this time by the new monarch,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. However, this too would have been a minority government, and Peel felt he needed a further sign of confidence from his Queen. Lord Melbourne had been Victoria's confidant since her accession in 1837, and many of the higher posts in Victoria's household were held by the wives and female relatives of Whigs; there was some feeling that Victoria had allowed herself to be too closely associated with the Whig party. Peel, therefore, asked that some of this entourage be dismissed and replaced with their Conservative counterparts, provoking the so-called
Bedchamber Crisis. Victoria refused to change her household, and despite pleadings from the Duke of Wellington, relied on assurances of support from Whig leaders. Peel refused to form a government, and the Whigs returned to power.
Prime Minister: 1841–1846
Economic reforms
Peel finally had a chance to head a majority government following the election of July 1841. Peel came to office during an economic recession which had seen a slump in world trade and a budget deficit of £7.5 million run up by the
Whigs. Confidence in banks and businesses was low, and a trade deficit existed.
To raise revenue Peel's 1842 budget saw the re-introduction of the
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
, removed previously at the end of the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. The rate was 7d in the pound, or just under 3 per cent. The money raised was more than expected and allowed for the removal and reduction of over 1,200
tariff
A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
s on imports including the controversial
sugar duties. It was also in the 1842 budget that the repeal of the
corn laws was first proposed. It was defeated in a Commons vote by a margin of 4:1.
The
economic historian
Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of ...
Charles Read has analysed Peel's economic policies as:
(i) Fixing the value of British currency to a gold standard
A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
, with the paper pound currency freely convertible to gold.
(ii) A limited banknote
A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...
supply based on a fixed relationship to the gold reserve.
(iii) Free movement of bullion flows from 1819 and lower import tariffs on food and raw materials from 1842 (often loosely referred to as free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
).
(iv) Control of interest rates and a balanced budget
A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
in order to reduce the national debt.
Domestic policy
Health
A Board of Supervision was established, and two measures passed, under which county asylums were erected and prompt medical treatment was ensured. In addition, it was provided "that a certificate of insanity, signed by two disinterested doctors, had to be presented before any person was confined to an asylum." According to one study, "the whole treatment of lunacy was humanised and lifted out of the atmosphere of profits into that of curative effort and civic responsibility."
Factory Act
Peel's promise of modest reform was held to, and the second most famous bill of this ministry, while "reforming" in 21st-century eyes, was in fact aimed at the reformers themselves, with their constituency among the new industrial rich. The
Factory Act 1844 acted more against these industrialists than it did against the traditional stronghold of the Conservatives, the
landed gentry
The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...
, by restricting the number of hours that children and women could work in a factory and setting rudimentary safety standards for machinery. This was a continuation of his own father's work as an MP, as the elder Robert Peel was most noted for the reform of working conditions during the first part of the 19th century. Helping him was
Lord Shaftesbury, a British MP who also established the
coal mines act.
Assassination attempt
In 1843 Peel was the target of a failed assassination attempt; a criminally insane Scottish woodturner named
Daniel M'Naghten stalked him for several days before, on 20 January, killing Peel's personal secretary
Edward Drummond thinking he was Peel, which led to the formation of the controversial
criminal defence of insanity.
Corn Laws
The most notable act of Peel's second ministry, however, was the one that would bring it down. Peel moved against the landholders by repealing the
Corn Laws, which supported agricultural revenues by restricting grain imports. This radical break with Conservative protectionism was triggered by the
Great Irish Famine (1845–1849). Tory agriculturalists were sceptical of the extent of the problem, and Peel reacted slowly to the famine, famously stating in October 1846 (already in opposition): "There is such a tendency to exaggeration and inaccuracy in Irish reports that delay in acting on them is always desirable".
His own party failed to support the bill, but it passed with Whig and Radical support. On the
third reading of Peel's Bill of Repeal (Importation Act 1846) on 15 May,
MPs voted 327 votes to 229 (a majority of 98) to repeal the Corn Laws. On 25 June the Duke of Wellington persuaded the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
to pass it. On that same night Peel's
Irish Coercion Bill was defeated in the Commons by 292 to 219 by "a combination of Whigs,
Radicals, and Tory protectionists". Following this, on 29 June 1846, Peel resigned as prime minister.
Famine in Ireland
Though he knew repealing the laws would mean the end of his ministry, Peel decided to do so. It is possible that Peel merely used the Irish Famine as an excuse to repeal the Corn Laws as he had been an intellectual convert to free trade since the 1820s. Blake points out that if Peel had been convinced that total repeal was necessary to stave off the famine, he would have enacted a bill that brought about immediate temporary repeal, not permanent repeal over a three-year period of gradual tapering-off of duties.
Peel's support for free trade could already be seen in his 1842 and 1845 budgets; in late 1842
Graham wrote to Peel that "the next change in the Corn Laws must be to an open trade" while arguing that the government should not tackle the issue. Speaking to the cabinet in 1844, Peel argued that the choice was the maintenance of the 1842 Corn Law or total repeal. The historian
Boyd Hilton argued that Peel knew from 1844 he was going to be deposed as the Conservative leader. Many of his MPs had taken to voting against him, and the rupture within the party between liberals and paternalists, which had been so damaging in the 1820s but masked by the issue of parliamentary reform in the 1830s, was brought to the surface over the Corn Laws. Hilton's hypothesis is that Peel wished to be deposed on a liberal issue so that he might later lead a Peelite/Whig/Liberal alliance. Peel was magnanimous towards Irish famine and permitted quick settlements of disputes at frontiers in India and America (
Treaty of Amritsar (1846) on 16 March 1846 and
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...
on 15 June 1846) in order to repeal
Corn Laws on 29 June 1846. As an aside in reference to the repeal of the Corn Laws, Peel managed to keep minimum casualties of
Irish Famine in its first year, Peel did make some moves to subsidise the purchase of food for the Irish, but this attempt was small and had little tangible effect. In the age of
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...
, government taxes were small, and subsidies or direct economic interference was almost nonexistent. That subsidies were actually given was very much out of character for the political times; his successor,
Lord John Russell, received more criticism than Peel on Irish policy, the worst year being 1847, despite all of Peel's efforts, his reform programmes had little effect on the situation in Ireland. Russell could not manage public distribution system during
Irish Famine even though subsidized food from USA was made available in Ireland. The repeal of the Corn Laws became more political than humanitarian.
Later career and death
Peel did, however, retain a hard core of supporters, known as
Peelites, and at one point in 1849 was actively courted by the Whig/Radical coalition. He continued to stand on his conservative principles, however, and refused. Nevertheless, he was influential on several important issues, including the furtherance of British free trade with the repeal of the
Navigation Acts. Peel was a member of the committee which controlled the
House of Commons Library
The House of Commons Library is the library and information resource of the lower house of the British Parliament. It was established in 1818, although its original 1828 construction was destroyed during the burning of Parliament in 1834.
Th ...
, and on 16 April 1850 was responsible for passing the motion that controlled its scope and collection policy for the rest of the century.
Peel was thrown from his horse while riding on
Constitution Hill in London on 29 June 1850. The horse stumbled on top of him, and he died three days later on 2 July at the age of 62 due to a
broken collarbone rupturing his subclavian vessels.
His body was buried in the churchyard of St Peter Church,
Drayton Bassett. Inside the church is a memorial tablet which reads "In Memory of / The Rt Hon Sir Robert Peel, Bart. / to whome the People / have raised Monuments /in many places. / His Children / erect this in the place / where his body / has been buried".
His Peelite followers, led by
Lord Aberdeen and
William Gladstone, went on to fuse with the Whigs as the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
.
Family
Peel became engaged to
Julia Floyd (1795–1859) (daughter of General
Sir John Floyd, 1st Baronet, and his first wife Rebecca Darke) in March 1820; they married on 8 June 1820. They had seven children:
*Julia Peel (30 April 1821 – 14 August 1893). She married
George Child Villiers, 6th Earl of Jersey, on 12 July 1841. They had five children. He died in 1859, and she married her second husband, Charles Brandling, on 12 September 1865.
*
Sir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet (4 May 1822 – 9 May 1895). He married
Lady Emily Hay on 17 June 1856. They had five children. He succeeded his father in
the baronecty in 1850.
*
Frederick Peel (26 October 1823 – 6 June 1906). He married Elizabeth Shelley (niece of the poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...
through his brother John) on 12 August 1857. She died on 30 July 1865. He was remarried to Janet Pleydell-Bouverie on 3 September 1879.
*
William Peel (2 November 1824 – 27 April 1858), a captain in the Royal Navy.
*John Peel (24 May 1827 – 21 April 1910). He married Annie Jenny in 1851.
*
Arthur Peel (3 August 1829 – 24 October 1912). He married Adelaide Dugdale, daughter of William Stratford Dugdale and Harriet Ella Portman, on 14 August 1862. They had seven children. He was created Viscount Peel in 1895; his eldest son
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
was created
Earl Peel in 1929.
*Eliza Peel ( – April 1883). She married the Hon. Francis Stonor (son of
Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron Camoys) on 25 September 1855. They had four children.
Lady Peel died in 1859. Some of their direct descendants now reside in South Africa, the Australian states of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Victoria and
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, and in various parts of the United States and Canada.
Legacy
Memory and recognition
In his lifetime many critics called him a traitor to the Tory cause, or as "a Liberal wolf in sheep's clothing", because his final position reflected liberal ideas. Others idealised Peel in heroic terms;
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...
referred to him as a "reforming Hercules" in ''
Latter-Day Pamphlets'' (1850).
The latter would become the consensus view of scholars for much of the 20th century. Historian
Boyd Hilton wrote that he was portrayed as:
Biographer
Norman Gash wrote that Peel "looked first, not to party, but to the state; not to programmes, but to national expediency". Gash added that among his personal qualities were, "administrative skill, capacity for work, personal integrity, high standards, a sense of duty
ndan outstanding intellect".
Gash emphasised the role of personality in Peel's political career:
Peel was the first British Prime Minister to have been photographed while in office.
Peel is featured on the cover of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
'
''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album.
A 2021 study in ''
The Economic Journal
''The Economic Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics published on behalf of the Royal Economic Society by Oxford University Press. The journal was established in 1891 and publishes papers from all areas of economics.The edito ...
'' found that the repeal of the corn laws adversely affected the welfare of the top 10% of income earners in Britain, whereas the bottom 90% of income earners gained.
A student association of the
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
, the Peel Club was founded in 1836 and named after Peel (who was a patron of the organisation). It later became the
Glasgow University Conservative Association. In 2024, a group claiming to be the revived Peel Club was founded in Pall Mall, London.
Art collector
From 1820 Peel began amassing a major art collection, acquiring works by Dutch and Flemish
Old Masters. He also commissioned a number of paintings by contemporary British artists including ''
A Frost Scene'' by
William Collins, ''Napoleon Musing at St Helena'' by
Benjamin Robert Haydon and ''John Knox Preaching Before the Lords of Congregation'' by
David Wilkie.
The biggest commissions Peel handed out were to
Sir Thomas Lawrence, the
President of the Royal Academy, who painted fifteen portraits for him between 1820 and his death in 1830. This made Peel Lawrence's greatest patron after
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
. The works Lawrence produced featured leading politicians and prominent figures of literature as well as portraits of Peel's family, notably his 1827 ''
Portrait of Julia, Lady Peel''.
Peel displayed his Old Masters in his London residence at Whitehall Gardens, while Lawrence's portraits were located in a dedicated gallery at Drayton Manor. Many of these works were then sold by his son to the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
in 1871.
Memorials
Statues
Statues of Sir Robert Peel are found in the following British and Australian locations:
File:Peel Memorial.jpg, Statue by Edward Hodges Baily in Bury
File:Robert Peel statue.jpg, Statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...
in Parliament Square, London
File:Statue of Sir Robert Peel, Piccadilly Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 1278311.jpg, Statue in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
File:Peel Statue Leeds.jpg, Statue in Woodhouse Moor, Leeds
File:Robert Peel statue, Glasgow.JPG, Statue in George Square
George Square () is the principal Town square, civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, Glasgow, Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, Glasgow, St Andrew's ...
, Glasgow
File:Robert Peel statue, Peel Pk, Bradford-800.jpg, Statue in Peel Park, Bradford
File:Sir Robert Peel, Gawsworth, East Cheshire.JPG, Statue near Gawsworth Old Hall
File:Statue of Robert Peel in Edgbaston, Birmingham.jpg, Statue in Edgbaston, Birmingham
Public houses and hotels
The following
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
s, bars or hotels are named after Peel:
United Kingdom

* Sir Robert Peel pub Bury, behind his statue Former Wetherspoon.
* Sir Robert Peel public house,
Tamworth.
* Peel Hotel,
Tamworth.
* Sir Robert Peel public house, Edgeley, Stockport, Cheshire.
* Sir Robert Peel public house,
Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire.
* Sir Robert Peel public house,
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
.
* Sir Robert Peel public house, Malden Road, London NW5.
* Sir Robert Peel public house, Peel Precinct, Kilburn, London NW6.
* Sir Robert Peel public house, London SE17.
* Sir Robert Peel Hotel,
Preston.
* Peel Park Hotel, Accrington, Lancashire.
* Sir Robert Peel public house
Rowley Regis.
* Sir Robert Peel public house,
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre.
Southsea began as a f ...
.
* Sir Robert Peel public house,
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
.
* Sir Robert Peel public house,
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.
* Sir Robert Peel public house,
Bloxwich,
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
.
Elsewhere
* The Sir Robert Peel Hotel (colloquially known as "The Peel"), a gay bar and nightclub located at the corner of Peel and Wellington Streets in the Melbourne suburb of
Collingwood, in Australia.
* The Sir Robert Peel Hotel on the corner of Queensberry Street and Peel Street in the Melbourne suburb of
North Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia.
* The Sir Robert Peel Motor Lodge Hotel,
Alexandria Bay, New York.
Other memorials
*
Peel Park, Bradford, is named after Sir Robert Peel. It is one of the largest parks in the city, and indeed
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
.
* The
Peel Monument, built on top of Holcombe Hill in
Ramsbottom,
Bury.
* The Sir Robert Peel Hospital in
Tamworth.
* A small monument in the centre of the town of
Dronfield
Dronfield is a town in North East Derbyshire, England, which includes Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston. It lies in the valley of the River Drone between Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield and Sheffield. The Peak District National Park i ...
in Derbyshire. Nearby is the Peel Centre, a community centre in a former Methodist church.
* Peel Streets in the CBD of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, and in
Collingwood, both in
Victoria, Australia.
* Peel Street in the CBD,
Adelaide, South Australia.
* Peel Street in Prospect, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
*
Peel Street in Montreal and its
Peel Metro station. The street also features a high-rise residential building named Sir-Robert-Peel.
* The
Peel River in
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...
, Australia.
*
Peel High School in
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...
, Australia.
*
Peel in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia.
* Robert Peel Primary School in
Sandy, Bedfordshire.
* A British steamer named SS ''Sir Robert Peel'', based in Canada, was burned by American forces on 29 May 1838, at the height of American-Canadian tensions over the
''Caroline'' affair.
*
Tamworth-raised musician
Julian Cope
Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...
sings "the king and queen have offered me the estate of Robert Peel" on the song "Laughing Boy", from his 1984 LP ''
Fried''.
* The right wing of the
Trafford Centre is called Peel Avenue, named after Robert Peel.
* The official mascot of
Bury Football Club is Robbie the Bobby, in honour of Sir Robert Peel.
* One of the buildings which make up the
Home Office
The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
headquarters,
2 Marsham Street
2 Marsham Street is an office building on Marsham Street in the City of Westminster, London, and headquarters of the Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and its predecessor bodies), departments of the Brit ...
, is named Peel.
* The Peel building, situated on Peel Campus of the
University of Salford.
* The Sir Robert Peel monument on the corner of George and High Streets, Montrose, Scotland
* Peel Crescent in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, UK.
*
Peel Street, Hong Kong, a small street in Hong Kong.
* The
Peel River in the
Yukon
Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
and
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
, Canada.
* Peel Street in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, is named in his honour.
* The
Regional Municipality of Peel (originally Peel County) in
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada.
**
10 Peel Centre Drive and Peel Centre.
**
Peel Regional Police.
**
Peel Regional Paramedic Services.
**
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
**
Peel District School Board.
** former
Peel Memorial Hospital (closed 2007) in
Brampton, Ontario
Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...
.
* New Zealand pioneer
Francis Jollie settled in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
in 1853 and named
Peel Forest after the former prime minister, as he had died in the year that Canterbury was founded. The
adjacent mountain and the
settlement that formed also took Peel's name.
* The names "bobbies" and "peelers" for
British police
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Most law enforcement duties are carried out by police, police constables of ...
officers.
*
Peel's Acts are named after Peel.
In literature
Letitia Elizabeth Landon gave her tribute to Sir Robert in her poetical illustration ''Sir Robert Peel'' to
Thomas Lawrence
Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...
's portrait in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837.
Robert Peel is a secondary character in the novel ''Dodger'' by
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
.
Peel is an unseen nemesis of
Harry Flashman in the humorous
Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser. A young Flashman regularly battled with Peel's nascent London police force.
Arms
See also
*
Peelian principles
*
Benjamin Hick
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* , vol. 1 of the standard scholarly biography.
** ; vol. 2 of the standard scholarly biography.
*
*
*
*
* Irwin, Douglas A., and Maksym G. Chepeliev. "The economic consequences of Sir Robert Peel: a quantitative assessment of the repeal of the Corn Laws." ''Economic Journal'' 131.640 (2021): 3322-3337
online*Morrell, William Parker. ''British colonial policy in the age of Peel and Russell'' (Routledge, 2023) .
*
*
*
*
* Read, Charles. "The Political Economy of Sir Robert Peel." in ''Money and Markets: Essays in Honour of Martin Daunton'' (2019): 71-89.
*
* Read, Charles. (2023). ''Calming the Storms: The Carry Trade, the Banking School and British Financial Crises Since 1825.'' Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 21−54.
*
*
Historiography
*
*
*
*
Primary sources
*
*
External links
*
More about Sir Robert Peelon the Downing Street website.
at www.victorianweb.org
at www.victorianweb.org
For A-level History students
''Sir Robert Peel'' a memorial biography by
H. Morse Stephens
*
*
*
*
*
, -
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The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
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