John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge

The Right Honourable
The Lord Coleridge
PC
Lord Coleridge.
2nd Lord Chief Justice of England
In office
29 November 1880 – 14 June 1894
Monarch Victoria
Preceded by Sir Alexander Cockburn, Bt
Succeeded by The Lord Russell of Killowen
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
In office
November 1873 – 20 November 1880
Monarch Victoria
Preceded by Sir William Bovill
Succeeded by Himself
as Lord Chief Justice of England
Attorney General for England
In office
10 November 1871 – 20 November 1873
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by Robert Collier
Succeeded by Henry James
Solicitor General for England
In office
12 December 1868 – 10 November 1871
Monarch Victoria
Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by Sir Richard Baggallay
Succeeded by Sir George Jessel
Personal details
Born John Duke Coleridge
3 December 1820
Ottery St Mary, Devon
United Kingdom
Died 14 June 1894(1894-06-14) (aged 73)
Westminster, London
United Kingdom
Nationality United Kingdom
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Jane Fortescue Seymour
Amy Augusta Jackson Lawford (1885–1894)
Relations John Taylor Coleridge (Father)
Children Bernard Coleridge
Stephen Coleridge
1 Other Son
1 Daughter
Alma mater Eton College
Balliol College, Oxford
Occupation Barrister, Politician

John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge PC (3 December 1820 – 14 June 1894) was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice of England.

Contents

Background and education

Coleridge was the eldest son of John Taylor Coleridge, and the great-nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, and was called to the bar in 1846.

Legal career

Coleridge established a successful legal practice on the western circuit. From 1853 to 1854 he held the post of secretary to the Royal Commission on the City of London.[1] In 1865 he was elected to the House of Commons for Exeter for the Liberal Party. He made a favourable impression on the leaders of his party and when the Liberals came to office in 1868 under William Ewart Gladstone, Coleridge was appointed Solicitor-General. In 1871 he was promoted to Attorney-General, a post he held until 1873. In 1871 he was also involved in the high-publicity Tichborne Case.

In November 1873 Coleridge succeeded Sir William Bovill as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and in January the following year was raised to the peerage as Baron Coleridge, of Ottery St Mary in the County of Devon. In 1880 he was made Lord Chief Justice of England on the death of Sir Alexander Cockburn. Despite his health failing towards the end of his life he remained in this office until his death.

Family

Lord Coleridge married Jane Fortescue Seymour, daughter of the Reverend George Seymour of Freshwater, Isle of Wight, herself an accomplished artist who notably painted John Henry Newman. They had three sons and a daughter. His first wife died in February 1878. He remained a widower until 1885 when married Amy Augusta Jackson Lawford, who survived him. Lord Coleridge died in June 1894, aged 74, and was succeeded by his eldest son Bernard John Seymour, who later became a Judge of the High Court of Justice. His second son Stephen also became a barrister.

Leading cases and judgments

References

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Richard Sommers Gard
Viscount Courtenay
Member of Parliament for Exeter
1865–1873
With: Viscount Courtenay 1865–1868
Edgar Alfred Bowring 1868–1873
Succeeded by
Edgar Alfred Bowring
Arthur Mills
Political offices
Preceded by
Sir Richard Baggallay
Solicitor General
1868–1871
Succeeded by
Sir George Jessel
Preceded by
Sir Robert Collier
Attorney General
1871–1873
Succeeded by
Sir Henry James
Legal offices
Preceded by
Sir William Bovill
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
1873–1880
Succeeded by
(office abolished)
Preceded by
Sir Alexander Cockburn
Lord Chief Justice of England
1880–1894
Succeeded by
Lord Russell of Killowen
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Coleridge
1874–1894
Succeeded by
Bernard John Seymour Coleridge