Henry Wyndham West

Who was Henry Wyndham West?

Henry Wyndham West was an English barrister and Liberal politician.

West was the son of Martin John West and his wife Lady Maria Walpole daughter of the 2nd Earl of Orford. His father was Recorder of Lynn, and Commissioner of Bankrupts for the Leeds District. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church College, Oxford. He was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1848 and served on the Northern Circuit, becoming Recorder of Scarborough in 1858 and then Recorder of Manchester. He was appointed Attorney General of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1861 and Queen's Counsel in 1868.

West stood unsuccessfully as Member of Parliament for Ipswich in 1865, but was elected for the seat in 1868. He lost the seat in 1874, but was re-elected in 1883. He was unnseated in 1886 after the election was declared void on account of corrupt practices by the party's agents.

West's nickname in early life was "Zephyr,". He married Violet Campbell, a sister of Lady Granville in the winter of 1870 and the nuptials were celebrated by an epigram written by George Webbe Dasent.

"Quaerebat Zephyrus brumali tempore florem:

En! Campis Bellis incidit in Violam."

"Zephyr was looking for a flower in the deepest winter. Lo!