415 



Milts fMtotg. 



Sir Reginald Francis Douce Palgrave, K.C.B. 



Died July 13th, 1904, aged 75. Buried in London Koad 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 Eeginald 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 Cromivell, the Protector ; an Appreciation.' 1 '' 

 " Oliver Cromwell, H.H. the Lord Protector and the Boyalist 

 Insurrection against his Government of March, 1655." 

 He also edited Sir Erskine May's " Treatise on the Latos, Sfc, 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. 



