{{Short description|British barrister and Whig politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Use British English|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox MP|image=Robert_Aglionby_Slaney_1847_(cropped).jpg|birth_date=9 June 1791|death_date=19 May 1862|party=[[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]]|parliament=British|constituency_MP=[[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]]|term_start=1826|term_end=1834|term_start1=1837|term_end1=1841|term_start2=1847|term_end2=1852|term_start3=1857| term_end3=1862|alma_mater=[[Trinity College, Cambridge]]|occupation=[[barrister]]|spouse={{ubl|{{marriage|Elizabeth Muckleston|1812|1847}}<ref name=hub/>|{{marriage|Catherine Anne Archer|1854}}}}|children=3}} '''Robert Aglionby Slaney''' (9 June 1791 – 19 May 1862)<ref name="rayment">{{Rayment-hc|s|3|date=March 2012}}</ref> was a British [[barrister]] and [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] politician from [[Shropshire]]. He sat in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for the [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|borough of Shrewsbury]] for most of the period from 1826 until his death in 1862.
== Early life == Slaney was the eldest son of Robert Slaney (1764–1834) of [[Hatton Grange]], Shropshire, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Thomas Mason of Shrewsbury.<ref name="DNB">{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25713 |title='Slaney, Robert Aglionby (1792–1862) |last=Clarke |first=Ernest |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/25713 |accessdate=9 November 2010}}</ref> He was educated at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]],<ref>{{acad|id= SLNY809RA|name=Slaney, Robert Aglionby}}</ref> and was [[called to the bar]] in 1817 at [[Lincoln's Inn]].<ref name="DNB" /> He succeeded to his father's Hatton Grange estates in 1834.<ref name=hop>{{cite web|last=Escott|first=Margaret|title=SLANEY, Robert Aglionby (1791-1862), of Walford, Salop and 16 Tavistock Square, Mdx|website=The History of Parliament|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/slaney-robert-1791-1862|accessdate=2 July 2021}}</ref>
== Career == [[File:Health of Towns Association Meeting, 1847 Wellcome L0000061.jpg|thumb|Health of Towns Association Meeting, 1847. Slaney 2nd left]] He was first elected at the [[1826 United Kingdom general election|1826 general election]],<ref name="stooks-smith">{{cite book |last=Stooks Smith |first=Henry. |editor=Craig, F. W. S. |editor-link=F. W. S. Craig |title=The Parliaments of England |orig-date=1844-1850 |edition=2nd |year=1973 |publisher=Parliamentary Research Services |location=Chichester |isbn=0-900178-13-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/parliamentsofeng0000smit/page/277 277–278] |title-link=The Parliaments of England }}</ref> and was re-elected at the next three general elections,<ref name="stooks-smith" /><ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 18720 |date=24 August 1830 |page=1809 |city=London }}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 18810 |date=7 June 1831 |page=1107 |city=London }}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 19010 |date=4 January 1833 |page=27 |city=London }}</ref> until his defeat at the [[1835 United Kingdom general election|1835 general election]] by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] candidate [[John Cressett-Pelham]].<ref name="craig1832-1885">{{cite book |last=Craig |first=F. W. S. |author-link= F. W. S. Craig |title=British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 |orig-date=1977 |edition= 2nd |year=1989 |publisher= Parliamentary Research Services |location=Chichester |isbn= 0-900178-26-4 |page=277 }}</ref> He was re-elected in [[1837 United Kingdom general election|1837]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 19530 |date= 8 August 1837 |page=2082 |city=London }}</ref> but did not stand in [[1841 United Kingdom general election|1841]], when the seat was won by [[Benjamin Disraeli]].<ref name="craig1832-1885" /> He won the seat again in [[1847 United Kingdom general election|1847]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 20765 |date=17 August 1847 |page=2996 |city=London }}</ref> but did not stand in [[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852]].<ref name="craig1832-1885" /> He was [[High Sheriff of Shropshire]] in 1854.<ref name="times-1854-02-02">{{cite news |title=Sheriffs For The Year 1854 |date=2 February 1854 |work=[[The Times]] |pages=7, col F |location=London }}</ref>
Slaney was returned again at the [[1857 United Kingdom general election|1857 general election]],<ref name="gazette-1857-eln">{{London Gazette |issue= 21983 |date=31 March 1857 |page=1181 |city=London }}</ref> re-elected in [[1859 United Kingdom general election|1859]],<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 22258 |date= 3 May 1859 |page=1812 |city=London }}</ref> and held the seat until his death, aged 70.<ref name="rayment" />
Among other achievements, Slaney was instrumental in setting up the Select Committee on Public Health of 1840, which paved the way for the later Board of Health;<ref>E Halévy, ''Victorian Years'' (1961) p. 176</ref> and in fostering the [[Industrial and Provident Societies Partnership Act 1852]], sometimes known as Slaney's Act.<ref>C Raven, ''Christian Socialism, 1848-1854'' (1968) p. 289</ref> He served as commissioner "on the health of towns" from 1843 to 1848, and was particularly noted for his efforts to improve living conditions in urban industrial areas.<ref name=hop/>
Attending the opening of the [[International Exhibition (1862)|London International Exhibition]] on 1 May 1862, he fell through a gap in a platform floor and injured his right leg, despite which he continued to view the exhibition and attended Parliament up until the 8th. He died on 19 May 1862, at his London house in [[Mayfair, London|Mayfair]], from [[gangrene]] (then reported as 'mortification') that set in.<ref name=schron>{{cite news|title=The late Mr. Slaney, M.P.|work=Shrewsbury Chronicle|date=23 May 1862|page=4}}</ref>
== Family == His residence was listed in 1857 as [[Walford Manor]], Shropshire.<ref name="gazette-1857-eln" /> He married twice: in 1812 to Elizabeth Muckleston, and in 1854 to Catherine Anne Archer.<ref name=hub>{{cite web|url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/7423bc6d-4e1b-3277-8cd7-ca566544ef96|title=Eyton and Slaney Family Papers|website=Archives Hub|accessdate=2 July 2021}}</ref> Slaney had three daughters, amongst whom his estate was shared.<ref name="gazette-kenyon">{{London Gazette |issue= 22648 |date=29 July 1862 |page=3777 |city=London }}</ref> The youngest, Frances Catherine, married William Kenyon, who as a condition of Slaney's will took the additional surname of Slaney.<ref name="gazette-kenyon" /> The eldest, Elizabeth Frances (died ''c.'' 1870), married the naturalist [[Thomas Campbell Eyton]], a [[Deputy Lieutenant]] of Shropshire.<ref name="times-1880-10-29">{{cite news |title=Obituary: Thomas Campbell Eyton |date=29 October 1880 |work=[[The Times]] |pages=6, col A |location=London }}</ref>
==Archives== A collection of letters sent to Slanley are held at the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham. This archive collection also includes correspondence of his son-in-law, [[Thomas Campbell Eyton]], and other family members.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UoB Calmview5: Search results|url=https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=XEYT|access-date=2021-01-13|website=calmview.bham.ac.uk}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|colwidth=33em}}
==External links== * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-robert-slaney | Robert Aglionby Slaney }}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef | before = [[Henry Grey Bennet]]<br />[[Panton Corbett]] }} {{s-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]] | years = [[1826 United Kingdom general election|1826]]–[[1835 United Kingdom general election|1835]] | with = [[Panton Corbett]] to 1830 | with2 = [[Richard Jenkins (MP)|Richard Jenkins]] 1830–1832 | with3 = [[John Hanmer, 1st Baron Hanmer|Sir John Hanmer]] from 1832 }} {{s-aft | after = [[John Cressett-Pelham]]<br />[[John Hanmer, 1st Baron Hanmer|Sir John Hanmer]] }}
{{s-bef | before = [[John Cressett-Pelham]]<br />[[John Hanmer, 1st Baron Hanmer|Sir John Hanmer]] }} {{s-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]] | years = [[1837 United Kingdom general election|1837]]–[[1841 United Kingdom general election|1841]] | with = [[Richard Jenkins (MP)|Richard Jenkins]] }} {{s-aft | after = [[Benjamin Disraeli]]<br />[[George Tomline (politician)|George Tomline]] }}
{{s-bef | before = [[Benjamin Disraeli]]<br />[[George Tomline (politician)|George Tomline]] }} {{s-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]] | years = [[1847 United Kingdom general election|1847]]–[[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852]] | with = [[Edward Holmes Baldock|Edward Baldock]] }} {{s-aft | after = [[Edward Holmes Baldock|Edward Baldock]]<br />[[George Tomline (politician)|George Tomline]] }}
{{s-bef | before = [[Edward Holmes Baldock|Edward Baldock]]<br />[[George Tomline (politician)|George Tomline]] }} {{s-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Shrewsbury]] | years = [[1857 United Kingdom general election|1857]]–[[1862 Shrewsbury by-election|1862]] | with = [[George Tomline (politician)|George Tomline]] }} {{s-aft | after = [[Henry Robertson]]<br />[[George Tomline (politician)|George Tomline]] }} {{s-hon}} {{s-bef | before=Algernon Charles Heber-Percy}} {{s-ttl | title=[[High Sheriff of Shropshire]] | years=1854}} {{s-aft | after=Willoughby Hurt Sitwell}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaney, Robert Aglionby}} [[Category:1791 births]] [[Category:1862 deaths]] [[Category:Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:UK MPs 1826–1830]] [[Category:UK MPs 1830–1831]] [[Category:UK MPs 1831–1832]] [[Category:UK MPs 1832–1835]] [[Category:UK MPs 1837–1841]] [[Category:UK MPs 1847–1852]] [[Category:UK MPs 1857–1859]] [[Category:UK MPs 1859–1865]] [[Category:High sheriffs of Shropshire]] [[Category:Members of Lincoln's Inn]] [[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Shropshire]] [[Category:Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge]]