Sir Adam Bittleston (12 September 1817 – 18 January 1892) was a British-born Indian judge.

Early life and education

He was the son of Thomas Bittleston, editor of ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...

'' and an official

assignee Assignment is a legal term used in the context of the laws of contract and of property. In both instances, assignment is the process whereby a person, the ''assignor'', transfers rights or benefits to another, the ''assignee''.For the assignment ...

of the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

District

Court of Bankruptcy A Commissioner of Bankruptcy (England and Wales) was, from 1571 to 1883, an official appointed (initially by commission of the Lord Chancellor) to administer the estate of a bankrupt with full power to dispose of all his lands and tenements.Commis ...

and his wife Ann. He was named for his paternal grandfather, surveyor Adam Bittleston, of

Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

(now

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

). Bittleston was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School until 1834, and was called to the bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1841.

Career

Bittleston practised on the

Midland Circuit Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

and from 1850, was a

revising barrister Electors must be on the electoral register in order to vote in elections and referendums in the UK. Electoral registration officers within local authorities have a duty to compile and maintain accurate electoral registers. Registration was introd ...

. In 1858, he was appointed 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 ...

at the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras and therefore created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

. After the

Indian High Courts Act 1861 The Indian High Courts Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 104) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to authorize the Crown to create High Courts in the Indian colony. Queen Victoria created the High Courts in Calcutta, Madras, and Bomba ...

, Bittleston switched to the new established

Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...

and served as acting chief justice in 1866 and 1867. He retired in 1870, and returned to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Personal life

In 1844, he married Rebecca Ann, eldest daughter of George Hastings Heppel, of

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

and Mansion House Street, London, an actuary and former paper mill owner who had also made a fortune as a

fruiterer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United ...

supplying to public dinners. Bittleston died in 1892, at

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

. Their children included Adam Henry Bittleston, George Hastings Bittleston, John Pattison Bittleston, and Thomas George Bittleston. Colonel George Hastings Bittleston, D.S.O.,

C.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, of Ashleigh, Whitchurch,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, late of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, was father of Mary Katharine, who married Major-General Charles Fullbrook-Leggatt,

, D.S.O., M.C.Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, ed. Patrick Montague-Smith, Kelly's Directories, 1963, p. 1695

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bittleston, Adam 1817 births 1892 deaths Chief justices of the Madras High Court Knights Bachelor Members of the Inner Temple British India judges