George Denman (23 December 1819 – 21 September 1896) was an English barrister,
High Court judge, and
Liberal politician.
Early life
Denman was born at 50 Russell Square, London, the fourth son of
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, of Dovedale, and his wife Theodosia Anne Vevers.
[the Peerage.com]
/ref> He was educated at Repton School
Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England.
Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...
and 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 ...
, where he was a pupil of Joseph Blakesley. Denman became a Fellow of Trinity College. A student at 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 ...
from November 1843, he read in the chambers of Peter Bellinger Brodie. In November 1844 he became a pupil of Barnes Peacock, 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 ...
in November 1846.
Legal career
Denman was appointed Cambridge University counsel in 1857. He became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1861. In 1872 he was appointed Justice of the Court of Common Pleas and resigned his seat in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. In 1875, he was appointed a Judge of the High Court, turning down the customary knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
because he was the son of a peer. He retired as a judge in 1892 and in 1893 was invested as a Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...
.
It was said of Denman that "He looked a model Judge. But he was never quite so good a Judge as he looked."
In politics
In 1856, Denman stood for parliament unsuccessfully for Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. He was elected Member of Parliament for Tiverton at the 1859 general election and held the seat until 1865. In 1866, he was re-elected MP for Tiverton.
Denman was known as a criminal law reformer. He gave evidence, however, to the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1864–66, supporting the retention of public executions. In parliament he interested himself in the reform of the law of evidence in criminal trials, and on 20 June 1860 moved the second reading of the Felony and Misdemeanor Bill, which aimed to assimilate proceedings for a criminal trial to those current in civil trials (at nisi prius
''Nisi prius'' () (Latin: "unless before") is a historical term in English law. In the 19th century, it came to be used to denote generally all legal actions tried before judges of the King's Bench Division and in the early twentieth century for a ...
). The bill passed the Commons, but was abandoned after alteration in the Lords. Five years later, 22 February 1865, he successfully carried through a similar measure, the Felony and Misdemeanor Evidence and Practice Act. The Evidence Further Amendment Act of 1869, popularly known as Denman's Act, was his personal initiative. It meant that witnesses professing no religious belief were able to affirm in courts of justice, and parties previously incompetent were able to give evidence.
Death and legacy
Denman died at Cranley Gardens, London, S.W., on 21 September 1896, and was buried in the churchyard at Willian, near Hitchin. A brass with an inscription by John Edwin Sandys
Sir John Edwin Sandys ( "Sands"; 19 May 1844 – 6 July 1922) was an English classical scholar.
Life
Born in Leicester, England on 19 May 1844, Sandys was the 4th son of Rev. Timothy Sandys (1803–1871) and Rebecca Swain (1800–1853). Livin ...
was placed in the chapel of Repton School to his memory, and a memorial scholarship founded at the school by public subscription.
Works
Denman translated '' Gray's Elegy'' into Greek and dedicated the work in 1871 to Sir Alexander Cockburn, the Lord Chief Justice. He also translated Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
's ''Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
'' into Latin and in 1873 dedicated it to W. E. Gladstone, the Prime Minister.
Oarsman
At Cambridge Denman was an energetic rower and in 1840 rowed for Trinity in the Grand Challenge Cup
The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male cr ...
at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...
. In 1841 he rowed for Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
in the Boat Race. Four days before the event he was injured in a collision on the river in a training outing with his brother. He was leeched by the junior footman and recovered sufficiently that Cambridge won the race. He was also bow in the Cambridge Subscription Rooms crew that won the Grand Challenge Cup that year. In 1842, he won the Colquhoun Sculls, stroked his college boat to the head of the Cam, and rowed for Cambridge again in the Boat Race and in the Grand at Henley. In 1843 he rowed for Trinity again in the Grand in a crew down to seven oarsmen because the stroke went ill and substitutions were not permitted. Trinity lost to a full Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
eight that won by two lengths.
In 1881 Denman provided an English translation of Herbert Kynaston's Latin hexameters written for the fiftieth anniversary of the Boat Race. It was published in his book, Intervalla, published in 1898; pages 67–77
Family
Denman married Charlotte Hope, daughter of Samuel Hope, on 19 February 1852.
Children of Rt. Hon. George Denman and Charlotte Hope:
Charlotte Edith Denman d. 29 Dec 1884; Grace Denman d. 16 Apr 1935; George Lewis Denman b. 5 May 1854, d. 26 May 1929; Sir Arthur Denman b. 1 May 1857, d. 15 Dec 1931; Commander Launcelot Baillie Denman b. 15 Jan 1861, d. 29 Aug 1935;
Francis Richard Amory Denman b. 5 Dec 1862, d. 5 May 1900.
Denman's brother Joseph Denman was an admiral.[ A daughter, Edith, was the first wife of Rev. William Henry Draper, who wrote the English translation of All Creatures of Our God and King.William Draper's obituary notice]
on the Weare Village website, accessed 1 December 2015
See also
* List of Cambridge University Boat Race crews
References
External links
The Rowers of Vanity Fair/Denman G Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks
at en.wikibooks.org
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, George
1819 births
1896 deaths
People educated at Repton School
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Cambridge University Boat Club rowers
English male rowers
English barristers
19th-century English judges
Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
Queen's Bench Division judges
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1865–1868
UK MPs 1868–1874
Justices of the common pleas
19th-century King's Counsel
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Younger sons of barons
Common Pleas Division judges
George