Charles Hall Vanity Fair 18 February 1888

Sir Charles Hall (3 August 1843 – 9 March 1900) was a British lawyer and politician. He was the second son of Sir Charles Hall (1814–1883) and his wife, Sarah née Duval. After attending

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

, he studied 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 ...

, and under

James Hannen, Baron Hannen James Hannen, Baron Hannen, PC, FRS (19 March 1821 – 29 March 1894) was an English barrister and judge. Biography Son of a London merchant, he was born at Peckham. He was educated at St Paul's School and at Heidelberg University, which ...

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 ...

. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn on 17 November 1866, and built up a large practice in the

Admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...

and the south-east of England, becoming a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1881. He was made a Bencher of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1884. From 1877 he was attorney-general to

the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, and he apparently was a great favourite with the Prince and his wife. In May 1890, he was made a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) for acting as the British representative at an international conference on

maritime law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between pri ...

held in Washington, D.C., the previous year. In the

1885 United Kingdom general election The 1885 United Kingdom general election was held from 24 November to 18 December 1885. The first general election after an Representation of the People Act 1884, extension of the franchise and Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, redistribution of ...

he was returned as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member of parliament for the Chesterton division of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. After his defeat in the 1892 general election, he was elected at a by-election in August 1892 for the Holborn division of

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the southeastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manorialism, Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man c ...

. He was not a frequent speaker in Parliament. In 1892 he was appointed

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

, an office which could be combined with being in Parliament, but not with a court position (thus he resigned as attorney-general to the Prince of Wales). A contemporary newspaper obituary has the following on his time as recorder: He was appointed as a Privy Councillor in 1899, and died in office on 9 March 1900 aged 56. He never married, and is buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

References

Sources

*Rigg, James McMullen (2004)
"Hall, Sir Charles (1843–1900)"
revised by Catherine Pease-Watkin, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Accessed 15 July 2008.

External links

*
Obituary in the New York Times, 10 March 1900
1843 births 1900 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Recorders of London People educated at Harrow School {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1840s-stub