Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone
The Marquess of Salisbury | |
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| Preceded by | Sir Robert Reid |
| Succeeded by | Sir Robert Finlay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Everard Webster 22 December 1842 Holborn, London United Kingdom |
| Died | 15 December 1915 (aged 72) Cranleigh, Surrey United Kingdom |
| Resting place | West Norwood Cemetery Lambeth, London United Kingdom |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Barrister, judge |
Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone, (22 December 1842 – 15 December 1915) was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.
Background and education
Webster was the second son of Thomas Webster QC. He was educated at King's College School and Charterhouse, and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1] He was well known as an athlete in his earlier years, having represented his university in the first Inter-Varsity steeplechase and as a runner. As such, the Cambridge University Alverstone Club is named in his honour, and makes a pilgrimage to Alverstone, Isle of Wight, every 4 years.
His interest in
Legal, judicial and political career
Webster was
In 1890 he was leading counsel for The Times in the Parnell inquiry; in 1893 he represented Great Britain in the Bering Sea arbitration; in 1898 he discharged the same function in the matter of the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela.
In the
In 1903 during the Alaska boundary dispute he was one of the members of the Boundary Commission. Against the wishes of the Canadians it was his swing vote that settled the matter, roughly splitting the disputed territory. As a result, he became extremely unpopular in Canada.
He retired in 1913, and was created Viscount Alverstone, of Alverstone, Isle of Wight in the County of Southampton.[12]
In 1914, Webster published Recollections of Bar and Bench.[13]
Personal life
Webster married in 1872 Louisa Mary Calthrop, daughter of William Charles Calthrop. She died in March 1877. They had one son and one daughter. Their only son, the Honourable Arthur Harold Webster (1874–1902) died childless in August 1902, aged 28, after an operation for appendicitis.[14] The Arthur Webster Hospital, opened in 1905, was presented to the town of Shanklin, Isle of Wight by Lord Alverstone in memory of his son. The building is still in use as the Arthur Webster Clinic.
He commissioned the architect Edward Blakeway I'Anson to build Winterfold House near Cranleigh in the Surrey Hills in 1886, in a classic late Victorian style, and laid out grounds with flowering trees and shrubs.
Lord Alverstone died at Cranleigh, Surrey, on 15 December 1915,[15] aged 72 and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery under a Celtic cross. His peerages became extinct on his death.
Arms
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References
- ^ "Webster, Richard Everard (WBSR860RE)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ISBN 1845131630.
- ^ "No. 25490". The London Gazette. 14 July 1885. p. 3239.
- ^ "No. 26465". The London Gazette. 8 December 1893. p. 7183.
- ^ "No. 27157". The London Gazette. 26 January 1900. p. 512.
- ^ "No. 27202". The London Gazette. 15 June 1900. p. 3752.
- ^ "No. 27192". The London Gazette. 15 May 1900. p. 3066.
- ^ "University intelligence". The Times. No. 36740. London. 12 April 1902. p. 12.
- ^ "Fellows 1660–2007" (PDF). Royal Society. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Library and Archive catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ "Martial Law in South Africa". The Times. No. 36894. London. 9 October 1902. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 28783". The London Gazette. 19 December 1913. p. 9337.
- ^ "Recollections of Bar and Bench". Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Obituary". The Times. No. 36842. London. 9 August 1902. p. 5.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 30 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 117.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alverstone, Richard Everard Webster, 1st Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1916 edition: obituary.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Alverstone
- Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London: London: Dean & son, limited. p. 38.
- Vanity Fair caricature 1913
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