William Horne (British politician)

Sir William Horne (1774 – 13 July 1860) was a British barrister and Liberal politician.

Background and education

The son of the Reverend Thomas Horne of Chiswick, Horne studied law at Lincoln's Inn, being called to the Bar in 1798.

Legal and political career

In 1812 Horne was elected as a Whig Member of Parliament for Helston in Cornwall. He only served as the town's MP for a single term, and was unseated at the next election in 1818.^[1] On losing his seat, he returned to the law, becoming a king's counsel and bencher of Lincoln's Inn. He distinguished himself in the courts of chancery, and was briefly attorney-general to Queen Adelaide.^[2][3]

On 26 November 1830 Horne was appointed Solicitor-General for England, at which time he was knighted.^[2][3] The office required him to hold a seat in parliament, and he was duly returned as member for Bletchingley on 18 February 1831.^[2] Parliament was dissolved in April of the same year, and in the ensuing general election he became member for Newton, Isle of Wight.^[2][3] His tenure in this seat was also brief, as it was abolished in the following year by the Great Reform Act. Horne became one of two MPs for the newly enfranchised parliamentary borough of Marylebone, London. In November of the same year he was promoted to Attorney General for England. Horne's opposition to capital punishment and ambitions to reform the courts led to conflict with the Lord Chancellor, Lord Brougham. He resigned from the office in February 1834, returning to private practice, and did not stand at the subsequent election in 1835.^[2] In 1839 he was appointed a Master in Chancery, an office he held until 1853.^[2][3]

Family

Horne married Ann Hesse of Bedfordshire in 1799. They had a large family.^[2] Horne died at his London home, 49 Upper Harley Street, on 13 July 1860, aged 87.^[2][3]

References

1. . Leigh Rayment. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. H. C. G. Matthew (2004). "Horne, Sir William (1774–1860)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13796. Retrieved 25 August 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. "The Late Sir William Horne". The Times. 16 July 1860. p. 9.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir William Horne

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir John St Aubyn Lord Dufferin and Claneboye	Member of Parliament for Helston 1812 – 1818 With: Hugh Hammersley	Succeeded by James Townshend Harrington Hudson
Preceded by Robert William Mills Charles Tennyson	Member of Parliament for Bletchingley 1831 With: Charles Tennyson	Succeeded by Hon. John Ponsonby Charles Tennyson
Preceded by Hon. Charles Anderson-Pelham Hudson Gurney	Member of Parliament for Newtown 1831 – 1832 With: Hudson Gurney	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Marylebone 1832 – 1835 With: Edward Portman 1832 – 1833 Sir Samuel Whalley 1833 – 1835	Succeeded by Sir Henry Bulwer Sir Samuel Whalley
Legal offices
Preceded by Sir Edward Sugden	Solicitor-General for England 1830 – 1832	Succeeded by Sir John Campbell
Preceded by Sir Thomas Denman	Attorney-General for England 1832 – 1834	Succeeded by Sir John Campbell