Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman

The Right Honourable The Lord Denman PC, KC

Lord Chief Justice of England
In office 1832–1850
Monarch	William IV Victoria
Preceded by	The Lord Tenterden
Succeeded by	The Lord Campbell
Interim Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 14 November 1834 – 15 December 1834
Monarch	William IV
Prime Minister	The Duke of Wellington (interim)
Preceded by	Viscount Althorp
Succeeded by	Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Personal details
Born	23 July 1779 (1779-07-23) London
Died	26 September 1854 (1854-09-27) Stoke Albany, Northamptonshire
Nationality	British
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	Theodosia Vevers (d. 1852)
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge

Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman PC KC (23 July 1779 – 26 September 1854) was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.

1 Background and education
2 Legal and judicial career
3 Family
4 Cases
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

Background and education

Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Denman. In his fourth year he attended Palgrave Academy in Suffolk, where his education was supervised by Anna Laetitia Barbauld and her husband.^[1] He continued to Eton and St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1800.^[2] In 1806 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, and at once entered upon practice.

Legal and judicial career

His success was rapid, and in a few years he attained a position at the bar second only to that of Henry Brougham and James Scarlett. He distinguished himself by his defence of the Luddites; but his most brilliant appearance was as one of the counsel for Queen Caroline. His speech before the House of Lords was very powerful, and some competent judges even considered it not inferior to Brougham's. It contained one or two daring passages, which made the King his bitter enemy, and retarded his legal promotion.

At the general election of 1818 he was returned Member of Parliament for Wareham, and at once took his seat with the Whig opposition. In the following year he was returned for Nottingham, which seat he represented until 1826 and again from 1830 until his elevation to the bench in 1832. His liberal principles had caused his exclusion from office till in 1822 he was appointed Common Serjeant of London by the corporation of London. In 1830 he was made Attorney General under Lord Grey's administration. Two years later he was made Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and in 1834 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Denman, of Dovedale in the County of Derby. As a judge he is best remembered for his decision in the important privilege case of Stockdale v. Hansard (9 Ad. & El. I.; II Ad. & El. 253). In 1850 he resigned his chief justiceship and retired into private life. He was a Governor of the Charter House, and a Vice-President of the Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy.

Family

Lord Denman married Theodosia Anne, daughter of Reverend Richard Vevers, in 1804. His Derbyshire seat was Middleton Hall, Stoney Middleton. He died at Stoke Albany, Northamptonshire aged 75, and was succeeded in the barony by his son Thomas.

One son, Joseph Denman, was a British Naval officer and another, George Denman, was an MP and High Court Judge.

Cases

Williams v. Carwardine (1833) 4 B. & Ad. 621
Stockdale v. Hansard 9 Ad. & El. I.; II Ad. & El. 253
O’Connell v The Queen [1844] 11 Cl. & Fin. 155

Notes

^ http://www.archive.org/stream/worksofannlaetit01barbuoft/worksofannlaetit01barbuoft_djvu.txt Memoir of Mrs Barbauld by Lucy Aikin, p v
^ Denman, Thomas in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.

References

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
www.thepeerage.com
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Robert Gordon Theodore Henry Broadhead	Member of Parliament for Wareham with John Calcraft 1818–1820	Succeeded by John Calcraft John Hales Calcraft
Preceded by The Lord Rancliffe Joseph Birch	Member of Parliament for Nottingham with Joseph Birch 1820–1826	Succeeded by Joseph Birch The Lord Rancliffe
Preceded by Joseph Birch The Lord Rancliffe	Member of Parliament for Nottingham with Sir Ronald Crauford Ferguson 1830–1832	Succeeded by Sir Ronald Crauford Ferguson Viscount Duncannon
Legal offices
Preceded by Sir James Scarlett	Attorney General for England and Wales 1830–1832	Succeeded by Sir William Horne
Preceded by The Lord Tenterden	Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench 1832–1850	Succeeded by The Lord Campbell
Political offices
Preceded by Viscount Althorp	Chancellor of the Exchequer pro tempore 1834	Succeeded by Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by New Creation	Baron Denman 1834–1854	Succeeded by Thomas Denman

Chancellors of the Exchequer

of England	Giffard Stanton Browne Witham Fowler Catesby Lovell Berners Cromwell Baker Sackville Mildmay Fortescue Dunbar Caesar Brooke Portland Barrett Cottington Colepeper Clarendon Shaftesbury Duncombe Ernle Warrington Hampden Halifax Smith Carleton

of Great Britain	Carleton Smith Oxford/Mortimer Bingley Wyndham Onslow Walpole Stanhope Aislabie Pratt Walpole Sandys Pelham Lee Bilson-Legge Lyttelton Bilson-Legge Mansfield Bilson-Legge Barrington le Despencer Grenville Dowdeswell Townshend North Cavendish Pitt Cavendish Pitt Sidmouth Pitt Lansdowne Perceval Bexley

of the United Kingdom	Bexley Goderich Canning Tenterden Herries Goulburn Spencer Denman Peel Monteagle Northbrook Goulburn Halifax Disraeli Gladstone Lewis Disraeli Gladstone Disraeli Hunt Lowe Gladstone Iddesleigh Gladstone Childers Hicks Beach Harcourt R Churchill Goschen Harcourt Hicks Beach Ritchie A Chamberlain Asquith Lloyd George McKenna Bonar Law A Chamberlain Horne Baldwin N Chamberlain Snowden W Churchill Snowden N Chamberlain Simon Wood Waverley Dalton Cripps Gaitskell Butler Macmillan Thorneycroft Amory Lloyd Maudling Callaghan Jenkins Macleod Barber Healey Howe Lawson Major Lamont Clarke Brown Darling Osborne

Persondata
Name	Denman, Thomas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 July 1779
Place of birth	London
Date of death	26 September 1854
Place of death	Stoke Albany, Northamptonshire