Fitzroy Kelly

Sir Fitzroy Edward Kelly (9 October 1796 – 18 September 1880) was an English commercial lawyer, Tory politician and judge. He was the last Chief Baron of the Exchequer.

The Right Honourable Sir Fitzroy Kelly QC
Chief Baron of the Exchequer
In office 16 July 1866 – 18 September 1880
Monarch	Victoria
Preceded by	Sir Frederick Pollock
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Attorney General for England and Wales
In office 21 February 1858 – 11 June 1859
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	Sir Richard Bethell
Succeeded by	Sir Richard Bethell
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office 27 February 1852 – 17 December 1852
Prime Minister	The Earl of Derby
Preceded by	Sir William Wood
Succeeded by	Sir Richard Bethell
In office 17 July 1845 – 29 June 1846
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Peel
Preceded by	Sir Frederic Thesiger
Succeeded by	John Jervis
Personal details
Born	(1796-10-09)9 October 1796 London, England
Died	18 September 1880(1880-09-18) (aged 83) Brighton, England
Political party	Tory
Spouse(s)	Agnes Scarth ​ ​ (m. 1821; died 1851)​ Ada Cunningham ​ (m. 1856)​

Background and education

Kelly was born in London, the son of Robert Hawke Kelly (died in or before 1807), a captain in the Royal Navy. His mother was the novelist Isabella Kelly, daughter of Captain William Fordyce, Groom of the Privy Chamber to George III. In 1824, he was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn, having already gained a reputation as a skilled special pleader.^[1]

Career

Sir Fitzroy Kelly, 1847

Vanity Fair caricature, November 1871

In 1834 Kelly was made a King's Counsel, remarkably after only ten years' call. A strong Tory, he was returned as Member of Parliament for Ipswich in 1835, but was unseated on petition. In 1837 however he again became member for that town.^[2] From 1843 to 1847 he was MP for Cambridge,^[3] and in 1852 was elected member for Harwich, but with a vacancy suddenly occurring in East Suffolk, he preferred to contest that seat and was elected.^[1]

Most of his legal cases were of a commercial nature, but one was one of the great criminal poisoning crimes of the early Victorian period. In March 1845 Kelly defended John Tawell, the "Quaker murderer," was in fact no longer a member of the Quakers, though he did try to return to that group. Tawell had poisoned his mistress, Sarah Hart, and fled from Salt Hill in Aylesbury by train. However, a description of Tawell was sent to London by electric telegraph, and he was captured. Kelly did the best he could for his client, but he was not accustomed to criminal defence. His argument that Sarah Hart had eaten too many apple pips and been poisoned by the prussic acid in the pips led to the nickname "Apple-pip," which followed Kelly for the rest of his life. Despite his endeavours, his client was found guilty and hanged.

Kelly was Solicitor General in 1845 (when he was knighted) and again from February to December 1852, during which time he was junior to Attorney General Sir Frederic Thesiger in the prosecution of John Henry Newman for libel, the Achilli trial.^{[citation needed]}

In 1854, Kelly was appointed to the Royal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law, a royal commission to consolidate existing statutes and enactments of English law.^[4]

In 1858–1859 he was Attorney General in Lord Derby's second ministry. In 1866 he was raised to the bench as the last Chief Baron of the Exchequer and made a member of the Privy Council, entitling him to sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.^[1]

Kelly died at Brighton on 18 September 1880, aged 83.^[2] He was buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery.

Grave of Sir Fitzroy Edward Kelly in Highgate Cemetery

Arms

Coat of arms of Fitzroy Kelly

Crest A griffin passant. Escutcheon Azure two lions rampant respectant Or supporting on their paws a castle Argent. Motto Turris Fortis Mihi Deus[5]

See also

• Politics of the United Kingdom

References

1. Chisholm 1911.
2. Allen, C. J. W. (2004) "Kelly, Sir Fitzroy Edward (1796–1880)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press
3. "The city of Cambridge: Parliamentary representation Pages 68-76 A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City and University of Cambridge". British History Online. Victoria County History, 1959. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
4. Ilbert, Courtenay (1901). Legislative methods and forms. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 57. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
5. Debrett's Illustrated House of Commons and Judicial Bench. 1867.

Bibliography

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kelly, Sir Fitzroy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 720.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Foss, E. (2006) [1848–64]. A Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England: from the Conquest to the present time, 1066–1870. ISBN 1-4286-2959-9.
• Gowing, Richard (1875) 'Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Lord Chief Baron' in: Richard Gowing Public Men of Ipswich and East Suffolk. a series of personal sketches. Ipswich: Scopes; London: Grant & Co., 1875; pp. 71–78

External links

• Media related to Fitzroy Edward Kelly at Wikimedia Commons
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir Fitzroy Kelly

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by James Morrison Rigby Wason	Member of Parliament for Ipswich 1835 With: Robert Adam Dundas	Succeeded by James Morrison Rigby Wason
Preceded by Thomas Milner Gibson Henry Tufnell	Member of Parliament for Ipswich 1838–1841 With: Thomas Milner Gibson 1838–1839; Thomas John Cochrane 1839–1841	Succeeded by George Rennie Rigby Wason
Preceded by Alexander Grant John Manners-Sutton	Member of Parliament for Cambridge 1843–1847 With: John Manners-Sutton	Succeeded by Robert Adair William Campbell
Preceded by Robert Wigram Crawford John Bagshaw	Member of Parliament for Harwich 1852 With: John Bagshaw	Succeeded by Isaac Butt John Bagshaw
Preceded by The Lord Rendlesham and Sir Edward Gooch, Bt	Member of Parliament for East Suffolk 1852–1866 With: Sir Edward Gooch, Bt 1852; John Henniker-Major, 1852–1866	Succeeded by John Henniker-Major Sir Edward Kerrison, Bt
Legal offices
Preceded by Sir Frederic Thesiger	Solicitor General for England and Wales 1845–1846	Succeeded by Sir John Jervis
Preceded by Sir William Wood	Solicitor General for England and Wales 1852	Succeeded by Sir Richard Bethell
Preceded by Sir Richard Bethell	Attorney General for England and Wales 1858–1859	Succeeded by Sir Richard Bethell
Preceded by Sir Frederick Pollock	Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1866–1880	Office abolished