Sir Richard Garth PC QC (11 May 1820 – 23 March 1903) was member of parliament for

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

from 1866 to 1868 and Chief Justice of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

from 1875 to 1886.

Early life

Garth was born Richard Lowndes at

Morden Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...

, Surrey (now south-west London), the son of the Reverend Richard Lowndes (1790 – 30 January 1862) and his wife Mary Lowndes (née Douglas).www.william1.co.uk – Descendants of William the Conqueror
/ref> Rev. Lowndes was, through his mother, the grandson of Richard Garth (d. 1787),'Morden', The Environs of London: Volume 1: County of Surrey (1792), pp. 361–63
/ref>

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of Morden. On the death of his mother, the Rev. Lowndes inherited the manor and, in accordance with the requirements of his grandfather's

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, he changed his and his family's surname to Garth by royal licence in 1837. Garth was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

in 1838, graduating B.A. in 1842 and M.A. in 1845. He was captain of the university cricket team in 1840 and 1841. He also played cricket for

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

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 ...

between 1839 and 1844.Cricket Archive – Richard Garth
/ref> He received his MA from Oxford in June 1845. 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 1842, he became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

there on 19 November 1847. When his father died in 1862, Garth inherited the manor and its estate at Morden Hall. Garth sold the manor in about 1872.'Parishes: Morden', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4 (1912), pp. 235–37.
/ref> He was also instrumental in the early planning of parts of

Raynes Park Raynes Park is a residential suburb, railway station and local centre near Wimbledon, London, and is within the London Borough of Merton. It is situated southwest of Wimbledon Common, to the northwest of Wimbledon Chase and to the east of Ne ...

,Raynes Park & West Barnes Residents' Association – history
/ref> on land he owned in the neighbouring parish of Merton. Garth practised

commercial law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of Legal person, persons and organizations ...

in London, often appearing at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

. On 23 July 1866, Garth was made 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 ...

and, two days later, became a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of Lincoln's Inn. At a by-election on 17 December 1866, he became one of the two members of parliament for

, Surrey, replacing Sir William Bovill. His period as an MP ended at the 1868 general election when, as a consequence of the

1867 Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102), known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act, is an act of the British Parliament that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the f ...

, Guildford's second parliamentary seat was abolished.

In India

On 2 March 1875, Garth was made Chief Justice of

. He received a

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 ...

on 13 May 1875. Garth's legal opinions often brought him into conflict with the Indian and Bengal administrations, particularly with the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

, the Marquess of Ripon, over the Bengal Tenancy Act and the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Bill (the '' Ilbert Bill''), both of which Garth publicly opposed. In May 1883, Garth sentenced Surendranath Banerjea to two months' imprisonment for libel against another of the high court's judges. He remained in the post at Fort William,

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

until 26 February 1886. Although he had opposed legislation which would have brought the legal rights of whites and Indians closer together, Garth was a supporter of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and, in 1888, wrote a pamphlet ''A Few Plain Truths about India'' in support of the organisation's aims stating, "for myself I have long been persuaded that many of the abuses complained of are real and serious; and that some of the proposed reforms would be not only of advantage to India, but would materially strengthen the hands of the Government."Quoted in Hansard
6 December 1888, Questions on the Speech of Marquess of Dufferin. Retrieved on 3 September 2008

Later life and death

On 21 February 1888, Garth was appointed 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 ...

. He died on 23 March 1903 at 10 Cheniston Gardens,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, only weeks after his wife.

Family

On 27 June 1847, Garth married his cousin Clara Lowndes (1824–1903), daughter of Loftus Lowndes, QC. Lady Garth died at Cedar House, Cheniston-gardens, on 15 January 1903. The Garths had seven children: *Richard Garth, b. 1848 * George Douglas Garth, 1852–1900 *William Garth, b. 1854 *Charles Garth, b. 1870 *Mary Eliza Garth, d. 1932 *Helen Frances Garth *Evelyn Selina May Garth

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garth, Richard 1820 births 1903 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Knights Bachelor UK MPs 1865–1868 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Morden History of the London Borough of Merton People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English barristers Members of Lincoln's Inn British India judges Hampshire cricketers Surrey cricketers Oxford University cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 19th-century British sportsmen Politics of Guildford Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers Chief justices of the Calcutta High Court