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 that remained the standard English work on the subject for many years.

Life and career

Vaughan Williams was born in Kensington, London, the fifth son of the judge Sir Edward Vaughan Williams and his wife, Jane Margaret, ''née'' Bagot. Among his brothers was Arthur, who became a clergyman and was the father of the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. He was educated at the

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in the year 1860."Williams, Rt Hon Sir Roland Lomax Bowdler Vaughan"
''Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2014 retrieved 10 October 2015 Vaughan Williams was called to the bar in 1861 and was a barrister of Lincoln's Inn. In 1870 he published ''The Law and Practice of Bankruptcy'', a work that was for many years the standard English authority on the subject. He became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1889. The following year he was raised to the bench as a Judge of the Queen's Bench Division, from which he was promoted to be a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in 1897; he was appointed to the Privy Council at the same time. In 1906 he was appointed chairman of the Royal Commission on the disestablishment of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

; the success of the commission and the smooth implementation of its recommendations were largely attributable to him. In 1865 he married Laura Susannah, daughter of Edmund Lomax of Surrey after which he added her surname to his own. They had one son who survived to adulthood and two who did not.Jones, N. G
"Williams, Sir Edward Vaughan (1797–1875)
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 10 October 2015 Vaughan Williams died at his home in Abinger, Surrey, at the age of 77.

Notable cases

High Court

* '' Re Anglo-Austrian Printing & Publishing Union'' 8952 Ch 891, concerning recovery of assets under a misfeasance action

Court of Appeal

*'' Re Peveril Gold Mines Ltd''

898 __NOTOC__ Year 898 ( DCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 1 – King Odo I (or Eudes) dies at La Fère (Northern France) af ...

1 Ch 122, regarding the power of a shareholder to wind-up an insolvent company *'' Allen v Gold Reefs of West Africa Ltd''

900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are ...

1 Ch 656 (dissenting), on amendments to the articles of association which were not in the interests of the company as a whole *''

Krell v Henry ''Krell v Henry'' 9032 KB 740 is an English case which sets forth the doctrine of frustration of purpose in contract law. It is one of a group of cases, known as the "coronation cases", which arose from events surrounding the coronation of K ...

903 __NOTOC__ Year 903 ( CMIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lo ...

2 KB 740, one of the "Coronation cases" relating to

frustration of purpose Frustration of purpose, in law, is a defense to enforcement of a contract. Frustration of purpose occurs when an unforeseen event undermines a party's principal purpose for entering into a contract such that the performance of the contract is rad ...

under contract law *'' Re Yorkshire Woolcombers Association Ltd''

2 Ch 295, arguably his most famous judicial contribution, formulating the description of a

floating charge A floating charge is a security interest over a fund of changing assets of a company or other legal person. Unlike a fixed charge, which is created over ascertained and definite property, a floating charge is created over property of an ambulato ...

* '' Re Atkinson''

904 __NOTOC__ Year 904 ( CMIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * July 29 – Sack of Thessalonica: A Muslim fleet, led by the Greek ren ...

2 Ch 160, on apportioning entitlements between a life tenant and remainderman in a trust *''

Hirachand Punumchand v Temple ''Hirachand Punamchand v Temple'' 9112 KB 330 is often cited as one of the exceptions to the accord and satisfaction rule laid out in ''Foakes v Beer''. In that case, it is held that an agreement to accept part payment of a debt cannot validly ...

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 91 ...

2 KB 330, relating to part payment of debts *'' Chaplin v Hicks''

2 KB 786, on damages for loss of chance

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Roland Vaughan 1838 births 1916 deaths English barristers 20th-century English judges Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Westminster School, London Knights Bachelor Lords Justices of Appeal Queen's Bench Division judges English King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Members of Lincoln's Inn 19th-century English judges