| The Right Honourable Evelyn Ashley PC |
|
|---|---|
| "Palmerston's Secretary". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1883. | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
| In office 12 May 1882 – 9 June 1885 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Leonard Courtney |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Dunraven |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 July 1836 |
| Died | 16 November 1907 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Sybella Charlotte Farquhar (d. 1886) (2) Lady Alice Cole (d. 1931) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
(Anthony) Evelyn Melbourne Ashley PC (24 July 1836 – 16 November 1907), was British barrister and Liberal politician. He was private secretary to Lord Palmerston and later published a biography of him. After entering Parliament in 1874, Ashley served under William Ewart Gladstone as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade from 1880 to 1882 and as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1882 to 1885.
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Ashley was the third child and second son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury and Lady Emily Cowper, eldest daughter of Peter Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper and sister of William Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple. He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1]
Ashley was private secretary to Lord Palmerston from 1858 to 1865 and worked as a barrister on the Oxford Circuit from 1865 to 1874. He sat as Liberal Member of Parliament for Poole from 1874 to 1880[2] and for Isle of Wight from 1880 to 1885[3] and served under William Ewart Gladstone as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade from 1880 to 1882 and as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1882 to 1885. He was also an Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioner from 1880 to 1885 and a Verderer of the New Forest. In 1891 he was sworn of the Privy Council.[4] His publications include the Life of Lord Palmerston.
Ashley married Sybella Charlotte Farquhar, daughter of daughter of Sir Walter Farquhar, 3rd Baronet, on 28 July 1866. They had two children:
Following Sybella's death on 31 August 1886 he married Lady Alice Cole, daughter of William Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen on 30 June 1891. Ashley died in November 1907, aged 71. Lady Alice Ashley died on 25 August 1931.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Waring |
Member of Parliament for Poole 1874–1880 |
Succeeded by Charles Schreiber |
| Preceded by Alexander Baillie-Cochrane |
Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight 1880–1885 |
Succeeded by Sir Richard Webster |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Gilbert Talbot |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade 1881–1882 |
Succeeded by John Holms |
| Preceded by Leonard Courtney |
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies 1882–1885 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Dunraven |