Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
(1800-1873), Lord ChancellorEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 12 portraits
Called to the Bar in 1823, Bethell progressed rapidly and by 1840 had been made a Queen's Counsel. He entered Parliament as an MP in 1851 where he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Country Palatine of Lancaster almost immediately. He was swiftly promoted, first as Solicitor-General and then Attorney-General. In 1861, he was made Lord High Chancellor with the title Baron Westbury. However, his career ended rather sourly: he was forced to resign in 1865 having misled a House of Lords committee over a corrupt clerk. The matter was made worse as Westbury had appointed his son to the post vacated by the clerk.
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by William Walker & Sons
chalk, 1865
NPG 2792
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by Michele Gordigiani
oil on canvas
NPG 1941
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
after an engraving by Daniel John Pound, after John Jabez Edwin Mayall
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1860
NPG Ax5063
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by John Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1862
NPG Ax18361
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by John & Charles Watkins, published by Mason & Co (Robert Hindry Mason)
albumen carte-de-visite, 1862
NPG Ax39721
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by John & Charles Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, 1862
NPG x27351
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
probably by John & Charles Watkins
albumen print, circa 1862
NPG Ax7314
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by John Watkins
albumen print, circa 1862
NPG Ax21845
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by William Walker & Sons
albumen carte-de-visite, 1862-1866
NPG Ax68164
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by William Walker & Sons
albumen carte-de-visite, 1865
NPG x27350
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by Carlo Pellegrini
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 15 May 1869
NPG D43379
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury
by Carlo Pellegrini
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 15 May 1869
NPG D4737
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