415 
Hilts Obituary. 
Sir Reginald Francis Douce Palgrave, K.C.B. 
Died July 18th, 1904, aged 75. Buried in London Road Cemetery, 
Salisbury. Born in London, June 28th, 1829. Fourth son of Sir Francis 
Palgrave, and Elizabeth, d. of Mr. Dawson Turner, banker, of Great 
Yarmouth. [His father’s original name was Cohen, which he changed 
to Palgrave, on his conversion from Judaism to Christianity. He was 
knighted for his services to literature and history. His eldest son, 
Francis Turner Palgrave, was Professor of Poetry at Oxford, his second 
son, William Gifford Palgrave, was a celebrated traveller and oriental 
scholar.] Sir Reginald was educated at Charterhouse, and admitted solicitor 
at the age of 22. Became Clerk in Committee Office of House of Com- 
mons, 1853; Examiner of Petitions for Private Bills, 1866; Second 
Clerk Assistant, 1868; Clerk Assistant, 1870; and Clerk of the House 
of Commons, 1886, a post which he held until 1900, when he retired. 
He received the C.B. in 1887 and K.C.B. in 1892. Married, 1857, Grace, 
d. of Richard Battley, of Reigate, who survives him. On his retirement 
in 1900 he came to live at Salisbury. He took much interest in the 
Salisbury Museums, was a governor of the Infirmary, and was greatly 
esteemed by all who knew him. In religion a sound Churchman ; in 
politics he took no part. 
He was the author of :— 
“The House of Commons: Illustrations of its History and 
Practice.’ 1869. 
“ The Chairman's Handbook.” 1877. 
“ Oliver Cromwell, the Protector; an Appreciation.” 
“ Oliver Cromwell, H.H. the Lord Protector and the Royalist 
Insurrection aguinst his Government of March, 1659.” 
He also edited Sir Erskine May’s ‘ 7'reatise on the Laws, &e., of 
Parliament,” vols. I. and II. 
The Times, obit. notice, July 15th, says of him: ‘‘ Perhaps he was 
never so happy as when after long and painstaking research, involving 
weeks of labour in the House of Commons Library and the British 
Museum, he found himself able finally to determine by chapter and 
verse disputes with regard to historical incidents and matters of con- 
stitutional usage.” ‘The labour of love which occupied so much of his 
later leisure was his revision and bringing up to date of Sir Erskine May's 
monumental work on Parliamentary procedure. In preparing for the 
press the tenth edition of this volume he spared neither time nor energy ; 
and when the book was eventually published he seemed like a man whose 
work was finished and done.” 
Long obituary notices, Salisbury Journal, July 16th; Salisbury 
Diocesan Gazette, August; shorter notice, Wiltshire Times, July 16th, 
1904, 

