Beilby Lawley served as the Governor of Madras Presidency in the erstwhile undivided India. He held the position from the year 1891 to 1896, under the rule of the British Empire in India. He was officially known as Sir Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock GCSI, GCIE, KCB, VD, PC. Lawley served as a British Colonial administrator and a British soldier. He served as a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in the year 1880.
Early Life of Beilby Lawley
Beilby Lawley was born on 12 May 1849 to the parents Beilby Lawley, 2nd Baron Wenlock and Lady Elizabeth Grosvenor, daughter of Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster. He received his education from Eton College and later successfully completed his studies from the Trinity College in Cambridge. In the year 1869, Lawley was commissioned into the Yorkshire Hussars and was eventually promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He also held the honorary colonelcies of several reserve regiments.
Career of Beilby Lawley
Lord Wenlock was acted in local affairs as a Justice of the Peace for the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire. He also served as Chairman of East Riding County Council. Beilby Lawley was elected as Member of Parliament for Chester at the general election in 1880. In the same year, he inherited his peerage and was promoted to the House of Lords.
Sir Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock GCSI, GCIE, KCB, VD, PC was appointed as the Governor of Madras Presidency on 23 January 1891 by the Conservative Party. He was preceded by Sir John Henry Garstin who served as the Governor of Madras Province from 1 December 1890 to 23 January 1891. The Madras Presidency, also known as the Presidency of Fort St. George and Madras Province, was an administrative sub division of British dominated India. The territory included most of southern India, such as the modern states of Tamil Nadu, the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep Islands, the Malabar region of North Kerala, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangapur and Gajapati districts of southern Orissa and the Bellary, Ganjam, Dakshina Kannada, Rayagada and Udupi districts of Karnataka. Madras (now Chennai) was the winter capital of the province and Ootacamund (now Ooty) was the summer capital of the British presidency.
Lawley laid the foundation stone for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway that was started in August 1891. He also founded the Board of Mohammedan Education in the year 1893. Sir Beilby Lawley laid the foundation stone for a solar observatory at Kodaikanal in 1895. He also laid the foundation stone of the Madras High Court. Lawley served in office until 18 March 1896 and was succeeded by Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, who acted as the Governor of Madras from 18 March 1896 to 28 December 1900. Later in the year 1901, Sir Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock GCSI, GCIE, KCB, VD, PC was appointed a Privy Counsellor and became a Lord of the Bedchamber to George, Prince of Wales.
Honours of Beilby Lawley
Sir Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock was knighted with Knight Grand Commander of The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE); Knight Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB); and Knight Grand Commander of The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (GCSI).
Personal Life of Beilby Lawley
Beilby Lawley was married to Lady Constance Mary Lascelles in 1872. She was the daughter of the 4th Earl of Harewood. The couple had one daughter named Hon. Irene Constance Lawley. Sir Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock GCSI, GCIE, KCB, VD, PC died on 15 January 1912, at the age of 62 years, in United Kingdom. He was succeeded by his brother Richard in the Barony.
