Sir Henry Edward Duke, 1st Baron Merrivale (5 November 1855 – 20 May 1939) was a British judge and Conservative politician. He served as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

between 1916 and 1918.

Background and education

Duke was the second son of William Edward Duke, a granite merchant of Merrivale, Devon, and his wife Elizabeth Ann (née Lord). From a modest background, he was educated locally and did not attend a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

or university.

Legal career

In early life Duke worked as a journalist for the local newspaper the ''

Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western Mo ...

'', but at the age of 25 he came to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to cover the House of Commons. While in London he began to study law, and 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 ...

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

, in 1885. He at first worked on the Western circuit but later established a successful legal practice in London. He was a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

for Devonport and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

from 1897 to 1900 and for Devonport alone until 1914, and was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1899.

Political career

In 1900 Duke was elected to the House of Commons for

as a Unionist, a seat he held until 1906 when he was defeated. He returned to Parliament in the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

as the representative for

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. He lost the seat in the December 1910 election by only four votes, but regained it by a single vote after an election petition in April 1911 due to closeness of the result, and held it until 1918 when he resigned for the appointment of

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

. Duke sat on the front opposition bench during the early years of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was admitted to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1915. In July 1916 he was appointed by Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

to succeed

Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell King's Counsel, KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers t ...

, with a seat in the cabinet, after Birrell had resigned due to the consequences of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

. The political situation in Ireland remained strained during Duke's tenure as Chief Secretary, notably over the Conscription Crisis of 1918, and he resigned in May 1918.

Judicial career

After his resignation Duke was knighted and appointed a

. In 1919 he was made President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

, a post he held until 1933. A notable case he decided was ''

Balfour v. Balfour ''Balfour v Balfour'' 9192 KB 571 is a leading English contract law case. It held that there is a rebuttable presumption against an intention to create a legally enforceable agreement when the agreement is domestic in nature. Facts Mr. Balfour ...

''. He also dissented at the Court of Appeal level in the famous case of ''

Attorney-General v De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd ''Attorney-General v De Keyser's Royal Hotel Limited'' is a Lists of landmark court decisions, leading case in UK constitutional law decided by the House of Lords in 1920 which exhaustively considered the principles on which the courts decide whe ...

'',

919 __NOTOC__ Year 919 ( CMXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By Place Byzantine Empire * March 25 – Romanos Lekapenos, admiral (''droungarios'') of the ...

2 Ch. 197, 238–255. On 19 January 1925 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Merrivale, of

Walkhampton Walkhampton is a village and civil parish on the western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. The village lies on the Black Brook, a tributary of the River Walkham, about south-east of Tavistock, near the villages of Horrabridge, ...

in the County of Devon.

Family

Lord Merrivale married Sarah, daughter of John Shorland, in 1876. They had one son and a daughter. His wife died in 1914. Merrivale survived her by 25 years and died in May 1939, aged 83. He was succeeded in the barony by his only son, Edward.

References

Bibliography

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (eds.) ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 ed.) (New York: St Martin's Press, 1990) * Legg, L.G. Wickham (ed.) ''The Dictionary of National Biography: 1931-1940''. Oxford University Press, 1949. * ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'' (106th ed.) (London 2002) * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrivale, Henry Duke, 1st Baron 1855 births 1939 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Duke, Henry Lords Justices of Appeal Duke, Henry Duke, Henry Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of Gray's Inn Duke, Henry Duke, Henry Duke, Henry UK MPs who were granted peerages Duke, Henry Duke, Henry Knights Bachelor Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Barons created by George V Presidents of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division