Brent Spencer Follett QC (1809-1886) politician and barrister

Location

Country: UK
City: Croydon
Place: Land Registry

Brent Spencer Follett was the son of a timber merchant from Topsham, near Exeter. His brother, William Webb (1796-1845), was a lawyer and politician, who became Attorney General in 1844. His sister, Elizabeth, married the physician Richard Bright (1789-1858) in 1826.

Follet was MP for Bridgwater. He was called to the bar in 1833 and made Q.C. in 1851. In October 1847 Follet married the daughter of Walter Skirrow Q.C., a commissioner in bankruptcy. In August 1862 Lord Westbury, the Lord Chancellor, appointed Follett Registrar of the Land Registry under a newly passed act ‘to facilitate the proof of title and the conveyance of real estates.’ Follett later became Chief Registrar. He died at Cannes on 23 January 1886.

James Archer was born in Edinburgh; the son of a dentist. He studied at the Trustees' Academy, under painters William Allan and Thomas Duncan. In 1840 he enrolled at the life school of the Royal Scottish Academy. Archer first established himself as a portraitist but turned to biblical and literary subjects as his career progressed. He became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1858. In c.1860 he moved to London and soon afterwards began to produce works on the theme of Arthurian legend. In 1884 Archer visited the United States and two years later he set sail for India, returning to London by 1891. During the 1890s he served as secretary to the London Scottish Artists. By 1903 he had settled in Haslemere, Surrey, where he died aged 82.

People

Brent Spencer, QC Follett (1809 - 1887)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, man, 19th century costume, barrister, Chief Land Registrar

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

James Archer (1823 - 1904)

Title

Brent Spencer Follett QC (1809-1886) politician and barrister

Date

1878

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 61.50 cm, width: 51.00 cm

Acquisition

Bequeathed by Susan Follett for HM Land Registry

Inscription

centre left: signed with monogram [JA transfixed by an arrow] and dated 1878

Provenance

Collection of the sitter's family; bequeathed by Susan Follett to HM Land Registry, early 2000s

GAC number

18383