James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger, (13 December 1769 – 17 April 1844) was a British lawyer, politician and judge.

Early life

James Scarlett was born in the British

colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...

, where his father, Robert Scarlett, owned

slave plantation A slave plantation is an agricultural farm that uses enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century. Slavery Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...

s. In the summer of 1785 he was sent 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 ...

to complete his education at

Hawkshead Grammar School Hawkshead Grammar School in Hawkshead, Cumbria, England was founded in 1585 by Archbishop Edwin Sandys, the incumbent Archbishop of York, whose family came from the Hawkshead area. He petitioned Queen Elizabeth I for a charter to set up the sc ...

and afterwards 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 ...

, taking his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1789. Having entered 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 ...

he took the advice of

Samuel Romilly Sir Samuel Romilly (1 March 1757 – 2 November 1818) was a British lawyer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician, abolitionist and legal reformer. Born in London of French Huguenot descent, he was largely self-educated and escaped p ...

, studied law on his own for a year, and then was taught by George Wood. He was called to the bar in 1791, and joined the northern circuit and the Lancashire sessions. This cites: *

Peter Campbell Scarlett Peter Campbell Scarlett CB, DL (27 November 1804 – 15 July 1881), styled The Honourable from 1830, was a British diplomat. Background Scarlett was the youngest child of James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger and his wife Louise Henrietta Campbe ...

, ''A Memoir of the Right Honorable James, First Lord Abinger, Chief Baron of Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer'', 1877 *

Edward Foss Edward Foss (16 October 1787 – 27 July 1870) was an English lawyer and biographer. He became a solicitor, and on his retirement from practice in 1840, devoted himself to the study of legal antiquities. His ''Judges of England'' (9 vols., 1848� ...

, ''Lives of the Judges'' * Edward Manson, ''Builders of our Law'', 1904

Legal and political career

Though Scarlett had no professional connections, he gradually obtained a large practice, ultimately confining himself to the Court of King's Bench and the northern circuit. He

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

in 1816, and from this time till the close of 1834 he was the most successful lawyer at the bar; he was particularly effective before a jury, and his income reached £18,500, a large sum for that period. He first entered parliament in 1819 as Whig member for

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, representing that constituency with a short break (1822–1823) till 1830, when he was elected for the borough of Malton. He became

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, and was made 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 ...

when Canning formed his ministry in 1827; and though he resigned when the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

came into power in 1828, he resumed office in 1829 and went out with the Duke in 1830. His opposition to the

Reform Bill The Reform Acts (or Reform Bills, before they were passed) are legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in the 19th and 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U ...

caused him to leave the Whigs and join the

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

, and he was elected, first for

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

in 1831 and then in 1832 for

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, for which he sat until the dissolution of parliament in 1835. He was appointed

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...

in 1834, and presided in that court for more than nine years. He was appointed to the Privy Council at the end of that year. He was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Baron Abinger, ''of Abinger in the County of Surrey and of the City of Norwich'' in 1835, taking his title from the

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

estate he had bought in 1813. The qualities which brought him success at the bar were not equalled on the bench; he had a reputation for unfairness, and complaints were made about his domineering attitude towards juries. While he was studying in England, he became the guardian of Edward Moulton, who later assumed his mother's family name, and became the father of the poet

Elizabeth Barrett Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime and frequently anthologised after her death. Her work receiv ...

, later Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The Scarletts and the Barretts had been friends for many years in Jamaica, and it seems natural that James Scarlett would have been selected to keep an eye on young Moulton, while the boy was at school in England. In a note prefixed to the ''Collected Edition'' of his wife's poems,

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

tells us that "On the early death of his father, he (Edward Moulton) was brought from Jamaica to England when a very young child, as ward to the late Chief Baron Lord Abinger, then Mr. Scarlett, whom he frequently accompanied in his post-chaise when on pursuit."

Family

Lord Abinger was twice married (the second time only six months before his death), and by his first wife (d. 1829) had three sons and two daughters, the title passing to his eldest son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

. His second son was General Sir James Yorke Scarlett, leader of the heavy cavalry

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

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. His third son,

, was a diplomat. His elder daughter, Mary, married

John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC, FRSE (15 September 1779 – 23 June 1861) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, lawyer and man of letters. Background and education The second son of ...

, and was herself created Baroness Stratheden. Sir William Anglin Scarlett, Lord Abinger's younger brother, was

chief justice of Jamaica Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

. While attending the Norfolk circuit on 2 April, Lord Abinger was suddenly seized with

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

, and died in his lodgings at

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

. A more distant relation was the painter

John Scarlett Davis John Scarlett Davis (1 September 1804 – 29 September 1845), or Davies, was an English landscape painting, landscape, portrait painting, portrait and architectural painter, and lithographer.Tony Hobbs, ''John Scarlett Davis: A Biography'', ...

Cases

*'' Fouldes v. Willoughby'' (1841)

Property

In 1836, Scarlett was awarded compensation of £626 2s 2d for 30 slaves on the Spring Grove estate in Manchester, Jamaica.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abinger, James Scarlett, 1st Baron 1769 births 1844 deaths 19th-century British lawyers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Scarlett, James Attorneys general for England and Wales Chief Barons of the Exchequer Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James Scarlett, James People educated at Hawkshead Grammar School Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 1 British slave owners

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

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