Patrick Mayhew

The Right Honourable The Lord Mayhew of Twysden PC QC DL
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 10 April 1992 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Peter Brooke
Succeeded by	Mo Mowlam
Attorney General for England and Wales Attorney General for Northern Ireland
In office 13 June 1987 – 10 April 1992
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher John Major
Preceded by	Michael Havers
Succeeded by	Sir Nicholas Lyell
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office 13 June 1983 – 13 June 1987
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Ian Percival
Succeeded by	Sir Nicholas Lyell
Minister of State for the Home Office
In office 5 January 1981 – 13 June 1983
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Leon Brittan
Succeeded by	Douglas Hurd
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment
In office 4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	John Grant
Succeeded by	David Waddington
Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells
In office 28 February 1974 – 2 May 1997
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Archie Norman
Personal details
Born	Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew (1929-09-11)11 September 1929 Cookham, England
Died	25 June 2016(2016-06-25) (aged 86) Kilndown, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Jean Gurney ​ (m. 1953)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford Middle Temple

Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, PC, QC, DL (11 September 1929 – 25 June 2016) was a British barrister and politician.

Mayhew was born in Cookham, Berkshire, on 11 September 1929.^[1] His father, George Mayhew, was a decorated army officer turned oil executive; his mother, Sheila Roche, descended from members of the Anglo-Irish Protestant ascendancy, was a relative of James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy, an Irish National Federation MP for Kerry East. Through his father, Mayhew was descended from the Victorian social commentator Henry Mayhew. He was educated at Tonbridge School, an all boys public school in Tonbridge, Kent.^[2][3]

He then served as an officer in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, studied law at Balliol College, Oxford, and was president of the Oxford University Conservative Association and of the Oxford Union.^[4] He was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1955.^[3]

Mayhew contested Dulwich in 1970,^[3] but the incumbent Labour member, Sam Silkin, beat him by 895 votes.^{[citation needed]} He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tunbridge Wells constituency from its creation at the February 1974 general election, standing down at the 1997 election.^[5]

He was Under Secretary of Employment from 1979 to 1981, then Minister of State at the Home Office from 1981 to 1983.^{[citation needed]} After this, he served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 1983 to 1987,^[6] and then Attorney General for England and Wales^[7] and simultaneously Attorney General for Northern Ireland^[8] from 1987 to 1992.

He was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1992 to 1997.^[1]

He was one of only five Ministers (Tony Newton, Kenneth Clarke, Malcolm Rifkind and Lynda Chalker are the others) to serve throughout the whole 18 years of the Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.^{[citation needed]} This represents the longest uninterrupted Ministerial service in Britain since Lord Palmerston in the early 19th century.^{[citation needed]}

Mayhew was knighted in 1983.^[6] On 12 June 1997, he was given a life peerage as Baron Mayhew of Twysden, of Kilndown in the County of Kent.^[9] He retired from the House of Lords on 1 June 2015.^[10]

In 1963, Mayhew married the Rev. Jean Gurney, and they had four sons.^[4] Mayhew's son the Hon Henry Mayhew appeared in the fourth episode of the series The Secret History Of Our Streets, discussing life in Portland Road, Notting Hill, London.^{[citation needed]} His son Jerome Mayhew is the Conservative MP for the constituency of Broadland and Fakenham (previously Broadland) in Norfolk since the 2019 general election. Another son, Tristram, co-founded the outdoor adventure company Go Ape.^[11]

Mayhew, a devout Anglican, was a churchwarden at Christ Church, Kilndown.^[1]

Mayhew suffered from cancer and Parkinson's disease in his later years.^[12] He died from cancer at his home on 25 June 2016, aged 86.^[1][12]

Coat of arms of Patrick Mayhew

Crest An eagle winds elevated and addorsed Argent beaked and legged Or the dexter foot plucking a harp also Or. Escutcheon Or an orle fracted and there conjoined to two chevronels couped Azure between three trefoils slipped Vert each enfiling a coronet Azure. Supporters Dexter a roach urinant argent finned Or sinister a gurnard urinant Argent finned Or. Motto Mon Dieu Est Ma Roche[13]

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Patrick Mayhew
• "Lawyer and huntsman who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
• "Lord Mayhew of Twysden – obituary". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
• Bates, Stephen (26 June 2016). "Lord Mayhew of Twysden obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
• "Patrick Mayhew: Northern Ireland secretary at a critical time in peace process". The Irish Times. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
• "Lord Mayhew of Twysden". The Times. Times Newspapers. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
• "Patrick Mayhew's funeral service". GK Church Goudhurst & Kilndown. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.