Sir Roland Bowdler Lomax Vaughan Williams (31 December 1838 – 8 December 1916) was an English lawyer and judge. From 1897 to 1914 he was a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal. He was an authority on the laws of bankruptcy, and wrote a book that remained the standard English work on the subject for many years.

Life and career

Vaughan Williams was born in

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 ...

, London, the fifth son of the judge Sir Edward Vaughan Williams and his wife, Jane Margaret, ''née'' Bagot. Among his brothers was Arthur, who became a clergyman and was the father of the composer

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. He was educated at the

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

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 ...

, graduating in the year 1860."Williams, Rt Hon Sir Roland Lomax Bowdler Vaughan"
''Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2014 retrieved 10 October 2015 Vaughan Williams 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 ...

in 1861 and was 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 ...

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 ...

. In 1870 he published ''The Law and Practice of Bankruptcy'', a work that was for many years the standard English authority on the subject. He became 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 ...

in 1889. The following year he was raised to the bench as a Judge of the Queen's Bench Division, from which he was promoted to be a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in 1897; he was appointed to the Privy Council at the same time. In 1906 he was appointed chairman of the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

on the disestablishment of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

; the success of the commission and the smooth implementation of its recommendations were largely attributable to him. Vaughan Williams' conduct in the Court of Appeal was said to have driven a fellow Lord Justice, Sir Robert Romer, into retirement. In 1865 he married Laura Susannah, daughter of Edmund Lomax of Surrey after which he added her surname to his own. They had one son who survived to adulthood and two who did not.Jones, N. G
"Williams, Sir Edward Vaughan (1797–1875)
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 10 October 2015 Vaughan Williams died at his home in Abinger, Surrey, at the age of 77.

Notable cases

High Court

* '' Re Anglo-Austrian Printing & Publishing Union'' 8952 Ch 891, concerning recovery of assets under a misfeasance action

Court of Appeal

*'' Re Peveril Gold Mines Ltd'' 8981 Ch 122, regarding the power of a shareholder to wind-up an insolvent company *'' Allen v Gold Reefs of West Africa Ltd'' 9001 Ch 656 (dissenting), on amendments to the

articles of association In corporate governance, a company's articles of association (AoA, called articles of incorporation in some jurisdictions) is a document that, along with the memorandum of association (where applicable), forms the company's constitution. The ...

which were not in the interests of the company as a whole *'' Krell v Henry'' 9032 KB 740, one of the "Coronation cases" relating to frustration of purpose under contract law *'' Re Yorkshire Woolcombers Association Ltd'' 9032 Ch 295, arguably his most famous judicial contribution, formulating the description of a

floating charge In finance, a floating charge is a security interest over a fund of changing assets of a company or other legal person. Unlike a fixed charge, which is created over ascertained and definite property, a floating charge is created over property of ...

* '' Re Atkinson'' 9042 Ch 160, on apportioning entitlements between a life tenant and remainderman in a trust *'' Hirachand Punumchand v Temple'' 9112 KB 330, relating to part payment of debts *'' Chaplin v Hicks'' 9112 KB 786, on damages for loss of chance

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Roland Vaughan 1838 births 1916 deaths English barristers 20th-century English judges Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Westminster School, London Knights Bachelor Lord justices of appeal Queen's Bench Division judges English King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Members of Lincoln's Inn 19th-century English judges