Sir George Nares (1716–1786) was an English barrister, judge, and politician. George Nares Hone

Life

Born at

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

, Middlesex, he was the younger son of George Nares of

Albury, Oxfordshire Albury is a village in the civil parish of Tiddington-with-Albury, about west of Thame in Oxfordshire. Manor Its toponym is derived from the Old English ''Aldeberie'', meaning "old fortified place", suggesting that the village's origins are Sa ...

, steward to the Earl of Abingdon; James Nares was his elder brother. He was educated at

Magdalen College School, Oxford Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school (English independent day school) in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen Colle ...

, was admitted a member of 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 associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

on 19 October 1738, and was called to the bar on 12 June 1741. Nares practised in the criminal courts, and defended

Elizabeth Canning Elizabeth Canning (married name Treat; 17 September 1734 – June 1773) was an English maidservant who claimed to have been kidnapped and held against her will in a hayloft for almost a month. She ultimately became central to one of the most fa ...

, charged with perjury, in April 1754. He received the degree of the coif on 6 February 1759, and in the same year was appointed one of the

king's serjeant A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are w ...

s. He was employed as one of the counsel for the crown in several of the cases arising out of the seizure in 1763 of issue No. 45 of ''

The North Briton ''The North Briton'' was a radical newspaper published in 18th-century London. The North Briton also served as the pseudonym of the newspaper's author, used in advertisements, letters to other publications, and handbills. Although written ano ...

''. At the general election in March 1768 he was returned to the House of Commons for , of which he was already recorder. He spoke in favour of

Lord Barrington Viscount Barrington, of Ardglass in the County of Down, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1720 for the lawyer, theologian and politician John Barrington. He was made Baron Barrington, of Newcastle in the County of Limeri ...

's motion for the expulsion of

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he ...

on 3 February 1769. Lord Apsley appointed Nares a justice of the

court of common pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, and he was sworn in on 26 January 1771; he was knighted on the following day. Nares took part in the hearing of Brass Crosby's case, Fabrigas v. Mostyn, and Sayre v. Earl of Rochford. After holding office for over 15 years, Nares died at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populatio ...

on 20 July 1786, and was buried at Eversley, Hampshire, where there was a monument to his memory. Nares was created a D.C.L. of Oxford University on 7 July 1773. He was ridiculed by

Samuel Foote Samuel Foote (January 1720 – 21 October 1777) was a British dramatist, actor and theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic opportunity. Early l ...

in his comedy of ''

The Lame Lover ''The Lame Lover'' is a 1770 comedy play by the British writer Samuel Foote. Foote wrote the play while he was recovering from the amputation of his leg, following a riding accident.Kelly p.247-48 The original Haymarket cast starred Foote himse ...

'', as the character of Serjeant Circuit.

Family

Nares married, on 23 September 1751, Mary, third daughter of Sir John Strange, master of the rolls; she died on 6 August 1782, aged 55. Their eldest son, John, a magistrate at Bow Street and a bencher of the Inner Temple, died on 16 December 1816, and was the grandfather of

George Strong Nares Vice-Admiral Sir George Strong Nares (24 April 1831 – 15 January 1915) was a Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. He commanded the ''Challenger'' Expedition, and the British Arctic Expedition. He was highly thought of as a leader an ...

the Arctic explorer. George Strange, their second son, became a captain in the 70th regiment of foot, and died in the West Indies in 1794. Their youngest son was Edward Nares.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Nares, George 1716 births 1786 deaths English barristers Serjeants-at-law (England) 18th-century English judges Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Inner Temple