Cecil Vere Davidge of

Little Houghton House Little Houghton House is a Grade II*-listed, nineteenth century Manor House with parts going back to 1685. The house has been owned by notable people, including Cecil Davidge and Christopher Davidge, both of whom served as High Sheriff of Nor ...

DL (14 February 1901 – 27 January 1981) was a British lawyer and academic, who served as a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

and

bursar A bursar (derived from ''wikt:bursa, bursa'', Latin for 'Coin purse, purse') is a professional Administrator of the government, administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usual ...

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

, and as

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

Life

Davidge was born on 14 February 1901. His father, Cecil William Davidge, was Professor of English at

Kobe University , also known in the Kansai region as , is a public research university located in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan. The university was established in 1949, but the academic origins of Kobe University trace back to the establishment of Kobe Higher Commercia ...

in Japan. His mother, Elsie Davidge née Hamer was of an old Lancashire family who settled at Hamer Hall in the 14th century. Davidge was educated at

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

from September 1913 until 1919 and rowed in the first four for the Abingdon School Boat Club before studying at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

, where he obtained a second-class degree in

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

in 1923; he obtained the

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

degree in 1925. He 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 ...

(becoming a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

) as a member of

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 1927. He was a lecturer in jurisprudence at

, from 1927 to 1933, when he was appointed a

and Tutor in Jurisprudence; he was regarded as a fine tutor and lecturer. He remained a Fellow until 1968, when he retired. He also served as the college's

between 1945 and 1968, and as Sub-

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

from 1965 to 1968. During his time as bursar, he purchased a number of farms for the college for investment purposes, and considerably strengthened the college's financial position. On his retirement, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow. He was

in 1950. Davidge was a keen

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

. Whilst at Pembroke, he rowed for the

college boat club The College Boat Club of the University of Pennsylvania is the rowing program for University of Pennsylvania Rowing, which is located in the Burk-Bergman Boathouse at #11 Boathouse Row on the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

, and helped improve its position in

Eights Week Eights Week, also known as Summer Eights, is a four-day regatta of bumps races which constitutes the University of Oxford's main intercollegiate rowing event of the year. The regatta takes place in May of each year, from the Wednesday to the ...

, the main inter-college races, raising them to high in the 1st Division of the races. He was later to become Treasurer of

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the Rowing (sport), rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in 1829. The prime constitutional aim of OUBC is to beat Cambridge Univers ...

. He helped to attract rowers to Keble, making it a strong rowing college. He acquired a love of the country, particular horses and

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...

, from his first wife, and became a keen follower of the

Pytchley Hunt The Pytchley with Woodland Hunt is an organisation formerly based near the Northamptonshire village of Pytchley, but since 1966 has had kennels close to Brixworth. The Pytchley country used to include areas of the Rockingham Forest but was split ...

, in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. Davidge died in a hunting accident on 27 January 1981.

Personal life

Davidge married his first wife, Ursula Catherine Smyth, daughter of Christopher Smyth and Emma Louisa, oldest daughter of Sir George William Gunning, 5th Baronet in 1928 and had issue: * Christopher Guy Vere Davidge (5 November 1929 - 22 November 2014), represented Britain on three occasions in rowing events at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

(in 1952, 1956 and 1960). *Anne Catherine Davidge (Born 19 September 1932), married William Ernest Broadbent Usher, had issue. Ursula Catherine Smyth died on 26 October 1948 and Davidge remarried Philippa Felicia Goldwyre Lester, daughter of Peter Frank Lester (son of Rev.

John Moore Lester John Moore Lester (4 September 1851 – 24 December 1919) was a British priest who served as Rector of Litchborough and Rural Dean of Lichfield. He was the son of Frederick Lester. Lester was a clergyman and academic and grandfather of James ...

) and Gertrude Mary Felicia Hewett (niece of

Sir John Hewett Sir John Prescott Hewett, (25 August 1854 – 27 September 1941) was a British Indian civil servant who served as Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh and later as a Conservative MP for Luton. Early life Hewett was born ...

and

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

George Hayley Hewett), in 1961 and had issue: *Mary Philippa Rose Davidge (Born 25 August 1964), married Edward Peter Hilary James, son of Philip Seaforth James, had issue. *Peter Vere Davidge (7 October 1966), married Alison Fergusson, no issue.

References

External links

*
Painting of Cecil Vere Davidge by George Herbert Buckingham Holland commissioned by Keble College, Oxford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidge, Cecil Vere 1901 births 1981 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Fellows of Keble College, Oxford British barristers Members of the Inner Temple High sheriffs of Northamptonshire Hunting accident deaths Legal scholars of the University of Oxford 20th-century British lawyers People educated at Abingdon School Accidental deaths in England Cecil Vere

Life

Personal life

See also

References

External links