Sir Edward Vaughan Williams (6 June 1797 – 2 November 1875) was an English judge.

Life

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

,''1861 England Census'' he was the eldest surviving son of Welsh barrister

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. He was educated first at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

from 1808, and moved to

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

in 1811. In 1816, he began his studies at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduation with a BA in 1820 and an MA in 1824. After leaving university, Williams entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

as a student, and, after reading in the chambers of John Patteson and then with John Campbell, was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

on 17 June 1823. He first joined the

Oxford Circuit The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

, where he soon found work; but when South Wales was detached and became an independent circuit, he travelled on that and the Chester Circuit. In October 1846, Williams was made a

puisne judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

of the

court of common pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, and received a knighthood on 4 February 1847. Some of his major judgements were in the following cases: ''Earl of Shrewsbury v. Scott'', 6 CB. NS. 1 ( Roman Catholic disabilities); ''Behn v. Burness'', 1 B. & S. 877 (warranties in charter parties); ''Johnson v. Stear'', 15 CB. NS. 30 (measures of damages in trover); and ''Spence v. Spence'', 31 L. J. C. P. 189 (application of

Rule in Shelley's Case The Rule in ''Shelley's Case'' is a rule of law that may apply to certain future interests in real property and trusts created in common law jurisdictions.Moynihan, Cornelius (2002), ''Introduction to the Law of Real Property'' (3rd ed.), St Pa ...

). Williams retired from the bench in 1865 owing to increasing

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

; and was created a Privy Councillor and a member of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

. He died on 2 November 1875 at 24

Queen Anne's Gate Queen Anne’s Gate is a street in Westminster, London. Many of the buildings are Grade I listed, known for their Queen Anne architecture. Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner described the Gate’s early 18th century houses as “the best of the ...

, Westminster, which had been his home since 1836. He was buried at Wotton, near

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

. A scholar and man of letters, he associated with Dean Milman,

William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian, geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. His work in the early 1820s proved that Kirkdale Cave in North Yorkshire h ...

, Richard Trench, and

Henry George Liddell Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is now named after ...

. A portrait of Williams in oils, by

James Sant James Sant (1820–1916) was a British painter specialising in portraits and known particularly for images of women and children and artistic exploration of the symbolism of childhood. He was a member of the Royal Academy. George Sant and Sarah ...

, passed into the possession of the family.

Works

In 1824, with John Patteson, he brought out a fifth edition of his father's notes on '' Saunders's Reports'' and established his reputation in common-law learning. In 1832, the first edition of Williams's ''Treatise on the Law of Executors and Administrators'' was published. The text became and standard authority and seven editions were published during William's lifetime. Williams also edited Richard Burn's ''Justice of the Peace'' in conjunction with Serjeant D'Oyley in 1836, and ''Saunders's Reports'' in 1845 and 1871.

Family

In 1826, he married Jane Margaret Bagot, the eighth daughter of the Rev. Walter Bagot, brother to

William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot (28 February 1728 – 22 October 1798), known as Sir William Bagot, 6th Baronet, from 1768 to 1780, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1780. He was then raised to the peerage as B ...

. Together they six sons. His fifth son,

Roland Vaughan Williams Sir Roland Bowdler Lomax Vaughan Williams (31 December 1838 – 8 December 1916) was an English lawyer and judge. From 1897 to 1914 he was a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal. He was an authority on the laws of bankruptcy, and wrote a book th ...

, became Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in 1897. His grandson was the composer

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Edward Vaughan 1797 births 1875 deaths English barristers 19th-century English judges Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Knights Bachelor Justices of the common pleas People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn