James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lord Bramwell
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Personal details
Born22 March 1782
Died25 February 1868 (1868-02-26) (aged 85)
NationalityBritish
SpouseCecilia Barlow
Parent
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
ProfessionBarrister, Judge

James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale

Privy Counsellor in 1833 and, a year later, a Baron of the Exchequer. He resigned his post in 1855, angered by the passing of the Common Law Procedure Acts, but was recalled by the government, who gave him a peerage as Baron Wensleydale of Walton to allow him to undertake the judicial functions of the House of Lords
, a role he fulfilled until his death on 25 February 1868.

Early life and education

Parke was born on 22 March 1782 in Highfield, near

called to the Bar in 1813.[2]

Career

Parke's early career as a

Privy Councillor, and on 29 April 1834 was transferred, along with Edward Hall Alderson, to the Court of Exchequer, succeeding and being succeeded as a judge of the Court of King's Bench by John Williams.[6]

His work in the Court of Exchequer has led to him being called "one of the greatest of English judges; had he comprehended the principles of equity as fully as he did the principles of the common law, he might fairly be called the greatest. His mental power, his ability to grasp difficult points, to disentangle complicated facts, and to state the law clearly, have seldom been surpassed. No judgments delivered during this period are of greater service to the student of law than his". He was criticised for being too respectful of authority and unwilling to overturn precedent; John Coleridge accused him of being dedicated to the form of the law rather than the substance.[7]

The

County Palatine of Lancaster on 23 July 1856.[9] This was irrelevant, since he had no sons able to take the peerage even if it was not a life appointment. He sat as part of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords until his death on 25 February 1868.[10]

Personal life

In 1817 he married Cecilia, the daughter of Samuel F. Barlow of Middlethorpe, Yorkshire. They had three children who survived childhood, all daughters:

Arms

Coat of arms of James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale
Crest
A talbot’s head couped Gules gorged with a plain collar and pierced on the breast with a pheon Or.
Escutcheon
Gules on a pale engrailed plain cottised Argent three stags’ heads cabossed of the field attired Or.
Supporters
On either side a stag Gules attired and gorged with a collar therefrom pendent a portcullis Or.
Motto
Justitiae Tenax (Holding Fast To Justice)[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wensleydale, James Parke, Baron" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 519.
  2. ^ a b "Parke, James (PRK799J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. ^ Foss (1865) p.85
  4. ^ "No. 18529". The London Gazette. 5 December 1828. p. 2249.
  5. ^ Foss (1870) p.497
  6. ^ Foss (1865) p.86
  7. ^ Harvard Law Review (1897) p.195
  8. ^ "No. 21837". The London Gazette. 11 January 1856. p. 112.
  9. ^ "No. 21905". The London Gazette. 25 July 1856. p. 2552.
  10. ^ Foss (1870), p. 498
  11. ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1865.

Bibliography

Legal offices
Preceded by
George Holroyd
 Justice of the Court of King's Bench
28 November 1828 – 29 April 1834 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Baron of the Exchequer
29 April 1834 – December 1855 		Succeeded by
George Wishere
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Wensleydale
1856–1868 		Extinct
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Parke,_1st_Baron_Wensleydale&oldid=1217255233"