Spencer Perceval

Of all the prime ministers in the political history of the United Kingdom, Spencer Perceval still has the finest name. Nevertheless, Perceval, who resided at 10 Downing Street between 1809 and 1812, belongs to the ‘forgotten prime ministers’. He is actually only remembered for his death. On May 11, 1812, Perceval was stabbed to death in the House of Commons by an angry citizen. This makes him the only assassinated prime minister in the island’s history. The murderer was hanged just a week later. No half measures back then.

Perceval was the youngest son of the Earl of Egmont, an Anglo-Irish earl. He spent his school years at Harrow and his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge. After working as a lawyer, Perceval became the Conservative MP for Northampton at the age of 33. As a follower of William Pitt the Younger, he supported the war against Napoleon and was in favor of the abolition of the slave trade. At the same time, this devout, pre-Victorian evangelical was opposed to the emancipation of Catholics and the modernization of the electoral system.

Perceval was a small, slender, and pale man who usually dressed in black. He never posed for a life-size portrait. Images of him are either miniatures or based on a death mask by Joseph Nollekens. Perceval was the last resident of Downing Street to wear a powdered wig tied in a ponytail, complete with breeches. He has gone down in history as a dedicated, diligent, and principled leader of a weak government who attempted to steer the country through difficult times.

On the evening of May 11, 1812, disaster struck. As he entered the House of Commons, a man stepped forward, drew a pistol, and shot the Prime Minister in the chest. ‘Murder!’ and ‘Oh my God’ were reportedly his last words. The murderer was John Bellingham, a merchant who believed he had been unjustly imprisoned in Russia and was entitled to compensation from the government. However, all his requests had been rejected. The trial was held at the Cat and Bagpipes, a pub near Downing Street.

The 49-year-old father of twelve children was to be interred in the family grave at St Luke’s. This church is situated opposite Charlton House, the home of the Percevals. His father, who died young, a naval officer and advisor to King George III, had purchased this old country house from King James I so that he would be closer to his work at the Woolwich docks. The unknown Spencer Perceval is depicted as a local hero on the outer wall of a local park café, in the good company of James I and Queen Elizabeth II.

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