Stanley Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster
| The Right Honourable The Viscount Buckmaster GCVO PC KC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lord Chancellor | |
|
In office 25 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Haldane |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Finlay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 January 1861 |
| Died |
5 December 1934 London |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Lewin (d. 1935) |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Stanley Owen Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster GCVO PC KC (9 January 1861 – 5 December 1934) was a British lawyer and Liberal Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for most of the years from 1906 to 1915, when he was elevated to the peerage and served as Lord Chancellor under H. H. Asquith from 1915 to 1916.
Background and education
Buckmaster was the third son of John Charles Buckmaster, of Ashleigh, Hampton Wick, by his wife Emily Anne (née Goodliffe). He was educated at Aldenham and Christ Church, Oxford. He was called to the Bar in 1884 at the Inner Temple and appointed King's Counsel in April 1902.[1]
Political career
At the 1906 general election, Buckmaster was elected as MP for Cambridge, winning the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of less than 4%. At the January 1910 general election, he lost the seat to the Conservative Almeric Paget on a 5% swing. He contested Cambridge again at the December 1910 election, but made only a small dent in the Conservative majority.
Buckmaster returned to the Commons the following year, when he was elected at a by-election in October 1911 for the safe Liberal seat of Keighley in Yorkshire. He was knighted in 1913 on his appointment as Solicitor general, when he was comfortable re-elected in the ministerial by-election.
He was a Member of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster and served under H. H. Asquith as Solicitor-General from 1913 to 1915. In 1915 he was sworn of the Privy Council, raised to the peerage as Baron Buckmaster, of Cheddington in the County of Buckingham, and appointed Lord Chancellor, a post he held until December 1916, when Asquith was ousted as Prime Minister. During his time as Lord Chancellor, he gave the decision in Cook v. Deeks, a notable company law case.
Buckmaster was also Counsel to the University of Oxford from 1911 to 1913, Director of The Press Bureau, 1914 to 1915, and a member of The Interallied Conference on Finance and Supplies. He later served as Chairman of the Governing Body of Imperial College of Science and Technology and as Chairman of the Political Honours Review Committee between 1924 and 1929. He was appointed GCVO in 1930 and was made Viscount Buckmaster, of Cheddington in the County of Buckingham, in 1933.
Family
Buckmaster married Edith Augusta, daughter of Spencer Robert Lewin, in 1889. Their eldest daughter the Hon. Barbara was the mother of the Conservative politician Hal Miller. Buckmaster died in London in December 1934, aged 73, and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.[2] He was succeeded in his titles by his only son, Owen. Lady Buckmaster died in October 1935. His niece, Hilda Buckmaster was also active in politics, three times standing as a parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party.
References
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27424. p. 2416. 11 April 1902.
- ↑ The Complete Peerage, Volume XIII - Peerage Creations 1901-1938. St Catherine's Press, London. 1949. p. 201.
Further reading
For a fuller biography see William Goodhart, ‘Buckmaster, Stanley Owen, first Viscount Buckmaster (1861–1934)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stanley Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster. |
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Buckmaster
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Robert Uniacke-Penrose-Fitzgerald, Bt |
Member of Parliament for Cambridge 1906 – January 1910 |
Succeeded by Almeric Paget |
| Preceded by Sir John Brigg |
Member of Parliament for Keighley 1911 – 1915 |
Succeeded by Sir Swire Smith |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir John Simon |
Solicitor General 1913 – 1915 |
Succeeded by Sir F. E. Smith |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Viscount Haldane |
Lord Chancellor 1915 – 1916 |
Succeeded by The Viscount Finlay |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Viscount Buckmaster 1933 – 1934 |
Succeeded by Owen Buckmaster |
| Baron Buckmaster 1915 – 1934 | ||
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