Richard Vaughan Barnewall (1779/1780 – 29 January 1842) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

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er. He was the fourth son of Robert, a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

reputedly descended from fifteenth century Irish chief justice Sir Nicholas Barnewall, and Sophia, daughter of Captain Silvester Barnewall, himself uncle to Robert Barnewall. The

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

ies of Trimlestown and Kingsland were held by various members of his family.Rigg (2004) Barnewall was a lifelong

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, educated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a co-educational Catholic Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing education for boarding school, boarding and day school, day pupils, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition. It is ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. A

pupil The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black becau ...

of Richard Blick, a notable

special pleader A special pleader was a historical legal occupation. The practitioner, or "special pleader" in English law specialised in drafting "pleadings", in modern terminology statements of case. History Up to the 19th century, there were many rules, tech ...

, Barnewall 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 ...

at the

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in 1806. He began his practice on the home circuit and at 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 ...

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

. Barnewall is best remembered as a careful and accurate reporter of the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in t ...

, particularly in association with: * Edward Hall Alderson, (1817–1822); *Sir

Cresswell Cresswell Sir Cresswell Cresswell, PC (20 August 1794 – 29 July 1863), born Cresswell Easterby, was an English lawyer, judge and Tory politician. As a judge in the newly created divorce court, Cresswell did much to start the emergence of modern family l ...

, (1822–1830); and *

John Leycester Adolphus John Leycester Adolphus (1795–1862) was an English lawyer, jurist and author. Life He was the son of Martha Elizabeth née Leycester (1765–1842) and John Adolphus (1768–1845), a well-known London barrister who wrote ''A History of Engla ...

, (1830–1834). Barnewell retired in 1834, having inherited property from the baroness de Montesquieu. He died at his chambers at 13 King's Bench Walk, never having married, being buried in Paddington churchyard.

References

Bibliography

*Obituaries: **''Annual Register'' (1842), 247–8 **''Gentleman's Magazine'', 2nd ser., 17 (1842) 331–2 ---- * non.(1930) ''Stonyhurst Magazine'', 20(285), Feb * * * *Rigg, J. M. (2004)
Barnewall, Richard Vaughan (1779/80–1842)
, rev. Jonathan Harris, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, accessed 8 August 2007 (subscription required) {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnewall, Richard Vaughan 18th-century births 1842 deaths English barristers English Roman Catholics People educated at Stonyhurst College