Background
Shaw-Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw-Lefevre by his wife Helena, daughter of John Lefevre.
Shaw-Lefevre was the son of Charles Shaw-Lefevre by his wife Helena, daughter of John Lefevre.
He was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge.
He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1839 to 1857. He is the second-longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons, behind Arthur Onslow. In 1819 he was called to the Bar, Lincoln"s Inn.
Shaw-Lefevre was the son-in-law of the sister of Lord Grey, the Whig Prime Minister, which advanced his career greatly.
During the 1830s he was chairman of a committee on petitions for private bills and of a committee on agricultural distress. His report from the latter position was not accepted by the House of Commons but was published as a pamphlet addressed to his constituents.
He acquired, says the Encyclopædia Britannica, "a high reputation in the House of Commons for his judicial fairness, combined with singular tact and courtesy." When James Abercromby retired as Speaker of the House of Commons in 1839, Shaw-Lefevre was put forward as the Whig candidate and defeated the Tory candidate Henry Goulburn by 317 votes to 299. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time.
Shaw-Lefevre remained speaker until 1857, by which time he was second-longest-serving speaker ever, after Arthur Onslow, who held the post for more than 33 years.
On his retirement in 1857 he was when he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Eversley, of Heckfield in the County of Southampton. He attended the House of Lords infrequently, with his last recorded speech in July 1873. In 1857 he was appointed Governor of the Isle of Wight, which he remained until 1888.
He was also an ecclesiastical commissioner and a trustee of the British Museum.
Lord Eversley married Emma Laura (d 1857), daughter of Samuel Whitbread and Lady Elizabeth Grey, in 1817. Lady Eversley died in June 1857.
Lord Eversley survived her by over thirty years and died in December 1888, aged 94. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
As he had no surviving sons, the title became extinct on his death.
9th United Kingdom Parliament. 10th United Kingdom Parliament. 11th United Kingdom Parliament.
12th United Kingdom Parliament.
13th United Kingdom Parliament. 14th United Kingdom Parliament.
15th United Kingdom Parliament. 16th United Kingdom Parliament]
A Whig, he was Member of Parliament for Downton from 1830 to 1831, for Hampshire from 1831 to 1832 and for North Hampshire from 1832 to 1857.