William Webb Follett

File:Sir William Webb Follett by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg

Sir William Webb Follett, portrait by Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769–1850). National Portrait Gallery, London

Sir William Webb Follett, QC (2 December 1796Template:Snd28 June 1845) was an English lawyer and politician who served as MP for Exeter (1835–1845). He served twice as Solicitor-General, in 1834-5 and 1841 and as Attorney-General in 1844. He was knighted in 1835. He was reputed to have been the "greatest advocate of the century".<ref name="ReferenceA">Per inscribed plaque on base of his bust in the Devon & Exeter Institution</ref>

Early life

Follett was born 2 December 1796 at Topsham in Devon, the eldest surviving son of ten children. His father was Captain Benjamin Follett, late 13th Regiment of Infantry, who had retired from the army in 1790 and gone into business as a timber merchant,<ref>The Heraldic Register 1849-1850, with an annotated obituary, Bernard Burke, E. Churton, 1850, p. 73</ref> and his mother was Ann Webb, daughter of John Webb, of Kinsale, Ireland.<ref>Ryall's Portraits of Conservative Statesmen, Henry Thomas Ryall, p. 1</ref><ref name="Dod" /> His younger brother was Brent Spencer Follett (1810–1887) QC, MP and his sister Elizabeth married Richard Bright.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref name="Dod">Template:Cite book</ref>

Follett attended Exeter grammar school<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and was privately educated by Mr Hutchinson, the curate of Heavitree. In 1813, he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving a B.A. without honours in 1818 and an M.A. in 1830.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Template:Acad</ref>

On 11 October 1830, Follett married Jane Mary Giffard, the eldest daughter of Sir Ambrose Hardinge Giffard (1771–1827) who was chief justice of British Ceylon. They had five sons and two daughters.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="EB1911" />

Career

He joined the Inner Temple in Michaelmas term 1814 and read in the chambers of Robert Bayly and Godfrey Sykes. He became a special pleader in 1821 and was called to the bar on 28 May 1824. He joined the western circuit in 1825, where his first notable case was Garnett v Ferrand.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="EB1911" />

In November 1828, he and Henry Brougham were briefed on the case of Rowe v Brenton and when Brougham became Lord Chancellor, he offered to make Follett a silk, but Follett declined. He had a large practice with the House of Lords and, when it was re-organised in 1833, the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.<ref name=":0" />

In 1832, Follett ran to be a Member of Parliament for Exeter but was unsuccessful. Instead he served as recorder for Exeter from 1832 to 1834,<ref name=":1" /> when Sir Robert Peel formed his first administration. He became solicitor-general in November and thereafter was appointed a King's Counsel and received a knighthood.<ref name=":0" />

On 6 January 1835, he was returned to parliament for Exeter with 1425 votes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He resigned with the ministry in April 1835.<ref name="EB1911" /> In 1837 and 1841, Follett was re-elected to Parliament.<ref name=":0" /> On the return of Peel to power in 1841 Follett was again appointed Solicitor-General on 6 September, and on 15 April 1844 he succeeded Sir Frederick Pollock as Attorney-General.<ref name="EB1911">{{#if: |

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Follett never gave up his private practice. He was best known for defending James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan in 1841 after a duel with Captain Harvey Tuckett,<ref name=":0" /> and representing George Chapple Norton in an action against Lord Melbourne in 1836.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His speech in the latter case was parodied in the Pickwick Papers (1837).<ref name=":0" />

Death and legacy

File:WilliamWebbFolletByEBStephens.JPG

Sir William Webb-Follett. Marble bust sculpted by Edward Bowring Stephens, presented in 1842 to the Devon & Exeter Institution, Exeter

Follett was first ill in December 1835 and April 1836. He collapsed in February 1839 and could not return to work until later that year.<ref name=":0" /> He collapsed again in April 1844 and he was compelled to relinquish legal practice and to visit the south of Europe to recuperate. He returned to England in March 1845, but the tuberculosis, with which he had previously been diagnosed, reasserted itself and he died at Croker's house, 9 Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, London on 28 June 1845.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="EB1911" /> He was buried in the Temple Church in London on 4 July.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name=":0" />

A statue of Follett executed by William Behnes was erected by subscription and placed in the north transept<ref>Stanley, A.P., Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey (London; John Murray; 1882), p. 244.</ref> at Westminster Abbey.<ref name="EB1911" /> His marble bust by Edward Bowring Stephens exists in the Devon and Exeter Institution, Exeter.

External links

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