Northern Circuit

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The Northern Circuit is 826 years old. It dates from 1176 when Henry II sent his judges on circuit to do justice in his name. The Circuit encompassed the whole of the North of England but in 1876 it was divided. That part to the west of the Pennines retained the old name. The land to the east became the territory of the newly formed North Eastern Circuit. The two circuits have maintained strong links.

Stretching as it does from the Border City of Carlisle in Cumbria at its northernmost point, running through beautiful Lakeland to the port of Whitehaven in the West, on through Preston and Burnley in the heart of Lancashire to the great Northern powerhouses of Manchester, now regarded by many as England's "second city", and Liverpool, famous world-wide for its breathtaking waterfront over which Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts now keep watch; the Northern Circuit remains at the forefront of legal development.

In 1876, 62 members of the Bar had chambers on the circuit. There were 29 in Liverpool, 32 in Manchester and 1 solitary practitioner in Preston. Today the circuit has a membership of some 1100 barristers of whom about 77 are Queen's Counsel, practicing from chambers in Manchester, Liverpool, Preston and Chester. They follow on from a long line of Counsel who have become household names such as F.E. Smith, later to become Lord Birkenhead; Hartley Shawcross, Leading Counsel at the Nurenburg trials after World War II; and the late and much lamented George Carman, probably the best known barrister of our time.

There have been other Circuiteers who have attained fame outside the law who come quickly to mind - the author John Buchan, W.S. Gilbert and James Boswell, the biographer of Dr. Samuel Johnson. Boswell was Junior of the Circuit. Since 1876 the Circuit which presently comprises 10 per cent of the Bar has produced the following judges:

During 2001 the Circuit boasted 1 Law Lord, 3 Lord Justices of Appeal (including the Vice President of the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division), 1 Lady Justice of Appeal and 12 High Court Judges. Looking at the position from an "equal opportunities" point of view in 1994 there were 5 women High Court Judges, 4 were Northern Circuiteers following the fine example of Rose Heilbron QC who was the first from the Circuit 20 years earlier.