Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden
PC | |
---|---|
Lord Chief Justice | |
In office 4 November 1818 – 4 November 1832 | |
Preceded by | The Lord Ellenborough |
Succeeded by | Sir Thomas Denman |
Personal details | |
Born | 7 October 1762 Tory |
Spouse | Mary Lamotte |
Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
Profession | Barrister, judge |
Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden
Three months after he started sitting as a judge he was transferred to the Court of King's Bench, where he was initially rather poor, being unfamiliar with the court's business. Within two years he showed "the highest judicial excellence",[1] and when Lord Ellenborough had a stroke in 1818, Abbott was chosen to replace him as Lord Chief Justice. His reign at the head of the Court of King's Bench saw the court flourish, with strong justices and his own much-admired abilities. He was appointed to the peerage in 1827, sitting as Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden, and initially attended the House of Lords regularly. His opposition to the Reform Act 1832, which he claimed treated city corporations "with absolute contempt", led to his refusal to attend the Lords.[2] Continuing to sit as Lord Chief Justice, Abbott gradually grew weaker, and finally fell ill halfway through a two-day trial. His disease baffled doctors, and he died on 4 November 1832 at his home in Queen Square, London.
Early life and education
Abbott was born 7 October 1762 in
Career
Abbott began practising on the
In 1808 he was offered a position as a Justice of the
Abbott, unfamiliar with the Court of King's Bench (having been a regional lawyer rather than a London-based one), was initially a disappointment, but soon improved. By 1818, he showed "the highest judicial excellence", although he was criticised for snapping at boring barristers and for taking the government's side in prosecutions.[1]
That year, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Ellenborough had a stroke, forcing his retirement. Most of the other judges and legal figures were inappropriate for the role; Sir Samuel Shepherd, for example, was while an able lawyer too deaf to sit as a judge. As a result, Abbott was appointed, and formally took up his position on 4 November 1818.[19]
As Lord Chief Justice he saw the Court of King's Bench flourish, with competent Justices and his own abilities; "[Abbott] had more knowledge of mankind than any of [the Justices], and was more skilful as a moderator in forensic disputation".[20] Abbott's central weakness as a judge was seen to be his support of James Scarlett, his leader when Abbott was a barrister; "The timid junior, become Chief Justice, still looked up to his old leader with dread, was afraid of offending him, and was always delighted when he could decide in his favour".[21]
On 30 April 1827, Abbott was made Baron Tenterden, of
In 1830, he introduced several bills to Parliament following reports on the state of the Ecclesiastical Courts, common law courts and law of real property; all were passed, except the ecclesiastical bills, as Parliament ran out of time to hear them. They were heard during the next Parliamentary session in 1831, and both passed; they "by no means established for him the reputation of a skilful legislator... the judges have found it infinitely difficult to put a reasonable construction upon them".[24] The Reform Act 1832 led to his departure from the Lords, and is considered to have greatly shortened his life; he fought strongly for the city corporations, which he claimed the bill treated "with absolute contempt", but would be defeated. Having threatened that, should it pass, "Never, never my Lords, shall I enter the doors of this House", he was true to his word, and never returned to politics,[2] although from 8 August to 3 September 1827 he was interim Chancellor of the Exchequer, following the convention that, when vacant, the position should be held by the Lord Chief Justice.[10]
Death
Abbott first began to grow ill in May 1832, when he wrote to
He went to the Midland Circuit in June, as it was the easiest one, but he suffered from "a violent cough" and other symptoms, returning to his home in Hendon. After the first day of a two-day case he found himself losing his appetite and suffering from a fever, which caused him to talk incoherently and become delirious. The disease baffled doctors, and finally killed him on 4 November 1832 at his home in Queen Square, London;[26] his last words were "and now, gentlemen of the jury, you will consider of your verdict".[27][28] He was interred at the Foundling Hospital, of which he was a governor.[27]
Personal life
Abbott married Mary Lamotte on 30 July 1795.[29] He enjoyed the domestic element of his life, and records show love poetry written to his wife.[30] Prior to their marriage Mary had sent him a lock of her hair; in exchange, he wrote a poem for her entitled "The Answer of a Lock of Hair to the Inquiries of its Former Mistress".[31] The couple had two sons and two daughters; John (2nd Baron Tenterden), Charles, Mary, and Catherine. Catherine later married John Rowland Smyth.[32]
Abbott was considered cautious, with an "aversion to all that was experimental" and a "want of fancy" which were considered excellent traits for a judge, giving him "a very prominent rank indeed amongst our ablest judges". He possessed a violent disposition; "his temper was naturally bad; it was hasty and it was violent; forming a natural contrast with the rest of his mind", but he successfully controlled this.[33] This occasionally came out in court, however, and he was noted as particularly caustic and intolerant of unnecessarily complex sentences. When one witness, an apothecary, used a particularly complex medical phrase, Abbott shouted that he should "Speak English sir, if you can, or I must swear in an interpreter".[34] He was considered "dull in private life as well as in public; and neither crimes nor follies could ever be imputed upon him"; despite this he was "a great magistrate, and his judgments [were] studied and admired".[35]
Edward Foss wrote of him that "no judge ever sat on the bench who displayed greater learning, cleverness and discrimination; nor whose judgments have ever been so undisputed.[36]
Arms
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References
- ^ a b Campbell (2006) p. 268.
- ^ a b Campbell (2006) p. 304.
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 228.
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 229.
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 230.
- ^ Foss (2000) p. 1.
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 235.
- ^ Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1842) p. 62.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 254.
- ^ required.)
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 256.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 257.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 258.
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine (1832) p. 568.
- ^ Grant (1837), p. 82.
- ^ "No. 17138". The London Gazette. 21 May 1816. p. 961.
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine (1832) p. 569.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 267.
- ^ Foss (2000) p. 2.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 272.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 274.
- ^ "No. 18356". The London Gazette. 27 April 1827. p. 937.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 292.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 301.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 305.
- ^ Foss (1843) p.
- ^ a b Campbell (2006) p. 307.
- ^ The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography reports his words as "‘Gentlemen of the Jury, you are discharged.’"
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 238.
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 245.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 261.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 264.
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 239.
- ^ Brightwell (1866) p. 240.
- ^ Campbell (2006) p. 235.
- ^ Foss (1943) p. 179.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1903.
Bibliography
- Brightwell, C.L. (1866). Memorials of the early lives and doings of great lawyers. T. Nelson and Sons. OCLC 60719249.
- Campbell, John (2006). The Lives of the Chief Justices of England: From the Norman Conquest till the death of Lord Tenterden. Vol. 3. Elibron Classics. ISBN 0-543-95981-3.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Foss, Edward (1843). The grandeur of the law; or, The legal peers of England;. E.Spettigue. OCLC 7599534.
- Foss, Edward (2000). Biographia Juridica: A Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England from the Conquest to the Present Time, 1066-1870. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-886363-86-2.
- The Gentleman's magazine (1832). Lord Tenterden. Vol. 102. F. Jefferies.
- Grant, James (1837). The bench and the bar. Vol. 1. H. Colburn. OCLC 60718542.
- Macdonell, John (1885). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1842). The biographical Dictionary of the Society for the diffusion of useful Knowledge. Longmans. OCLC 18067040.
- OCLC 60719586.
External links
- Hutchinson, John (1892). . Men of Kent and Kentishmen (Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. pp. 1–2.