William Thomas Charley

Who was William Thomas Charley?

Sir William Thomas Charley was a British judge and Conservative Party politician.

Charley was born in Woodbourne, County Antrim in the north of Ireland in 1833, and was the youngest son of Matthew Charley and Anne Roberts. He was educated at Elstree House School, Lee, Kent and St John's College, Oxford from where he matriculated in 1856. He enrolled as a law student at the Inner Temple, was called to the bar in 1865, and received a Doctorate in Civil Law in 1868.

He became involved in Conservative politics in the 1860s, and was elected as member of parliament for Salford at the 1868 general election. In parliament he advanced his protestant views on social matters and worked for the protection of children. He was defeated at the 1880 general election, and was an unsuccessful candidate at Ipswich at a by-election in 1883 and the 1885 general election.

In 1878 he was elected as the senior legal office of Common Serjeant by the Corporation of London. The appointment caused controversy, as it was felt to be purely political, and that there was a large number of better-qualified lawyers who should have been considered. As a result, the Local Government Act 1888 removed the right of the city corporation to choose the serjeant, which was vested in the Crown.