James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger

James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger

James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger (13 December, 1769 – 17 April 1844) was an English judge.

He was born in Jamaica, where his father, Robert Scarlett, had property. In the summer of 1785 he was sent to England to complete his education at Hawkshead Grammar School and afterwards at Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his B.A. degree in 1789. Having entered the Inner Temple he was called to the bar in 1791, and joined the northern circuit and the Lancashire sessions.

Though he had no professional connections, he gradually obtained a large practice, ultimately confining himself to the Court of King's Bench and the northern circuit. He took silk in 1816, and from this time till the close of 1834 he was the most successful lawyer at the bar; he was particularly effective before a jury, and his income reached £18,500, a large sum for that period.

He first entered parliament in 1819 as Whig member for Peterborough, representing that constituency with a short break (1822–1823) till 1830, when he was elected for the borough of Malton. He became Attorney-General, and was knighted when Canning formed his ministry in 1827; and though he resigned when the Duke of Wellington came into power in 1828, he resumed office in 1829 and went out with the Duke in 1830.

His opposition to the Reform Bill caused him to leave the Whigs and join the Tories, and he was elected, first for Cockermouth in 1831 and then in 1832 for Norwich, for which he sat until the dissolution of parliament in 1835. He was appointed Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1834, and presided in that court for more than nine years. While attending the Norfolk circuit on April 2, he was suddenly seized with apoplexy, and died in his lodgings at Bury.

He had been raised to the peerage as Baron Abinger in 1835, taking his title from the Surrey estate he had bought in 1813. The qualities which brought him success at the bar were not equalled on the bench; he had a reputation for unfairness, and complaints were made about his domineering attitude towards juries.

Lord Abinger was twice married (the second time only six months before his death), and by his first wife (d. 1829) had three sons and two daughters, the title passing to his eldest son Robert (1794–1861). His second son, General Sir James Yorke Scarlett (1799–1871), leader of the heavy cavalry charge at Balaklava, is dealt with in a separate article; and his elder daughter, Mary, married John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell of St Andrews, and was herself created Baroness Stratheden (Lady Stratheden and Campbell) (d. 1860). Sir Philip Anglin Scarlett (d. 1831), Lord Abinger's younger brother, was chief justice of Jamaica.

References

*PC Scarlett, "Memoir of Jaimes, 1st Lord Abinger" (1877)
*Foss's "Lives of the Judges"
*E Manson, "Builders of our Law" (1904).
*1911


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • James Scarlett, 4th Baron Abinger — James Yorke Macgregor Scarlett, 4th Baron Abinger (1871 ndash; 1903) was the son of William, 3rd Baron Abinger and Helen Magruder. He succeeded his father to the title in 1892, and died without male heirs. The title of Baron Abinger then went to… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Scarlett, 2nd Baron Abinger — Robert Campbell Scarlett, 2nd Baron Abinger (1794 ndash; June 24 1861) was a British Barrister at Law and politician. The son of James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger, he succeeded his father in 1844.The 2nd Baron married Sarah Smith (daughter of… …   Wikipedia

  • Baron Abinger — Baron Abinger, of Abinger in the County of Surrey and of the City of Norwich, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 12 January 1835 for the prominent lawyer and politician Sir James Scarlett, the Lord Chief Baron of… …   Wikipedia

  • Shelley Scarlett, 5th Baron Abinger — Commander Shelley Leopold Laurence Scarlett, 5th Baron Abinger (born 1872, died 1917), was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Leopold James Yorke Campbell Scarlett, and a great grandson of the 1st Baron Abinger.The 5th Baron succeeded his second… …   Wikipedia

  • Baron Stratheden and Campbell — Baron Stratheden, of Cupar in the County of Fife, and Baron Campbell, of St Andrews in the County of Fife, are two titles in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The titles were created in 1836 and 1841 respectively. The barony of Stratheden was… …   Wikipedia

  • James Yorke Scarlett — General Sir James Yorke Scarlett, GCB, (1799 1871), was the son of the 1st Baron Abinger, was a British general and hero of the Crimean War.Early lifeEducated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he entered the army as a cornet in 1818 and in… …   Wikipedia

  • Peter Campbell Scarlett — CB, DL (27 November 1804 ndash; 15 July 1881) was a British diplomat.The son of the 1st Baron Abinger and Louise Henrietta Campbell was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Brazil from 1855 and 1858, and Minister to Florence from… …   Wikipedia

  • List of alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge — This is a selective list of notable alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge sorted into chronological order. Please note that some of the alumni noted hereafter are connected to Trinity through honorary degrees. Not all studied at the College:*… …   Wikipedia

  • List of University of Cambridge members — The following persons attended the University of Cambridge but did not necessarily complete a degree course there.This selective list of alumni and members of the University has been divided into categories, but it should be noted that these… …   Wikipedia

  • Hawkshead Grammar School — in Hawkshead, Cumbria, England was founded in 1585 by Archbishop Edwin Sandys, of York, who petitioned a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to set up a governing body. The early School taught Latin, Greek and sciences, including arithmetic and… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”