Correspondence between J. W. Croker and the third Viscount Palmerston

Ninety-two letters, together with enclosures, between John Wilson Croker, secretary to the Admiralty, and Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston, 1810-56, but principally 1810-30, largely on military, political and official business.

John Wilson Croker (1780-1857) was born in Galway. His father, John, was for many years Surveyor General of Customs and Excise in Ireland; his mother, Hester, was the daughter of Revd Richard Rathbone of County Galway. Croker was educated in Cork and Portarlington before entering Trinity College, Dublin, in November 1796. In 1800 he entered Lincoln's Inn as a student and was called to the Irish bar in 1802. From May 1804 until May 1807 Croker held the post of Customs comptroller of Wexford, Waterford and Ross; and he was secretary to the Admiralty, October 1809 to November 1830. He was elected Member of Parliament for Downpatrick in 1807, a seat which he held until 1812. Croker was subsequently Member of Parliament for Athlone, 1812-18, for Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, 1819-20, for Bodmin, 1820-6, for Aldeburgh, 1826-7, for Dublin University, 1827-30 and Aldeburgh, 1830-2. A quarrel with Robert Peel, together with Croker's die-hard opposition to reform, concluded his parliamentary career in 1832. He continued to exercise influence for the Conservative Party, editing the QUARTERLY REVIEW and contributing articles for the rest of his life. In May 1806 Croker married Rosamund Carrington whose father, William Pennell, was deputy comptroller of Customs and later British consul to South America.

Open for consultation

The letters were bought as lot 308, Sotheby's sale in New York of 5 June 1996. The letters are bound in a volume with the bookplate of Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson, Bart, Viscount Cowdray, Paddockhurst.

Compiled by Gwennyth Anderson

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