Richard Preston (1768–1850) was an English legal author and politician.

Life

The only son of the Rev. John Preston of

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, he was born at Ashburton in the same county in 1768, inheriting the family's notable Roman nose from his mother, Gunilda Preston. He began life as an attorney, but attracted the notice of

Sir Francis Buller Sir Francis Buller, 1st Baronet (17 March 1746 – 5 June 1800) was an English judge. Origins Buller was born at Downes House in the parish of Crediton in Devon, a younger son of James Buller (1717–1765), of Downes and of King's Nympton ...

by his first work. On Buller's advice he 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 ...

in 1793. After practising for some years as a certificated conveyancer, he 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 ...

on 20 May 1807, was elected a bencher in 1834, in which year 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 ...

, and was reader in 1844. Preston represented Ashburton in the parliament of 1812–18, and was one of the early advocates of the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

. He had invested in land in Devon. In law, as in politics, he was intensely conservative, and thought the Fines and Recoveries Act a dangerous innovation. Preston was for some time professor of law at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He died on 20 June 1850 at his seat, Lee House,

Chulmleigh Chulmleigh ( ) is a small Saxon hilltop market town and civil parish in North Devon, in the heart of the English county of Devon. It lies north west of Exeter, just north of the Mid Devon boundary, linked by the A377 and B3096 roads. Hist ...

, in North Devon.

Works

Preston was author of: *''An Elementary Treatise by way of Essay on the Quantity of Estates'', Exeter, 1791. *''A Succinct View of the Rule in Shelley's Case'', Exeter, 1794. *A volume of ''Tracts'' (on cross-remainders, fines and recoveries, and related subjects), London, 1797. *''A Treatise on Conveyancing'', London, 1806–9, 2 vols.; 2nd edit., 1813; 3rd edit., 1819–29. *''An Essay in a Course of Lectures on Abstracts of Title'', London, 1818; 2nd edit. 1823–4. His political views are in ''Address to the Fundholder, the Manufacturer, the Mechanic, and the Poor on the subject of the Corn Laws'', London, 1815; and other tracts in ''The Pamphleteer'', vols. vii.–xi., London, 1816–18. Preston also edited in 1828 William Sheppard's ''Touchstone of Common Assurances'', London.

Notable Relatives

Preston's grandson,

John Burgess Karslake Sir John Burgess Karslake, QC (13 December 1821 – 4 October 1881) was an English lawyer and politician. The son of Henry Karslake, a solicitor and Confidential Secretary to the Duke of Kent, by his wife Elizabeth Marsh Preston, the daugh ...

, was a Member of Parliament from 1867-68 and 1873-76,

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

in 1866, and

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 ...

from 1867-86 and in 1874.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Richard 1768 births 1850 deaths Academics of King's College London English barristers English legal writers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Ashburton UK MPs 1812–1818 People from Ashburton, Devon