Samuel Boteler Bristowe QC (5 October 1822 – 5 March 1897) was an English

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 ...

and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician from

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1870 to 1880, and later became a county court judge, surviving a murder attempt in 1889.

Early life

Bristowe was the son of Samuel Ellis Bristowe of Beesthorpe Hall, near

Caunton Caunton is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire on the A616, north-west of Newark-on-Trent, in the NG23 postcode. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 483, and this increased ...

in Nottinghamshire and his wife Mary Ann Fox.the Peerage.com
/ref> He was educated at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, where he graduated with a BA degree in 1845, receiving his MA in 1848. 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 ...

in 1849 at 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 ...

, and was appointed in 1869 as

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

. 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 ...

(QC) in 1872, and was a member of the Council for Legal Education as well as being one of the editors of "Burn's Justice of the Peace".

Political career

In April 1870, Bristowe was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for Newark, at a by-election following the death of the Liberal MP Edward Denison. After his election, he resigned his post as Recorder of Newark but became a bencher of his inn and

in 1872. He was re-elected for Newark at the 1874 general election, and held the seat until he was defeated at the 1880 general election. General elections were then held over a period of several weeks, with different constituencies voting on different days. After his defeat in Newark, Bristowe still had time to be selected a few days later as a Liberal candidate for the Southern division of Nottinghamshire, where he duly stood. However, both of the division's two seats had been held unopposed by the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

since 1837; no Liberal candidate had stood since 1835.Craig, page 440–1 Bristowe polled a poor third, behind the two successful Conservative candidates.

Judge

After leaving Parliament, Bristowe was a County Court Judge from 1880 to 1891. He was appointed initially to the Midland County Court, where an attempt was made to kill him in 1889. At a sitting of the Nottingham District County Court, Bristowe had dismissed a civil action in which a German manufacturer of

false teeth Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable (removable partial denture or complet ...

sued someone for the value of a set of teeth. The plaintiff, William Edward Arnemann, who lived in Nottingham, had previously been prosecuted for falsely advertising himself as a dentist. He had brought several similar cases for non-payment, most of which failed because the teeth did not fit. On this occasion, he denounced the ruling, claiming that he was being outlawed. After court sittings, Bristowe routinely left Nottingham on the 5.40pm Great Northern train to return to his home at

West Hallam West Hallam is a large village and civil parish west of Ilkeston in the county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. West Hallam has had its own parish council since 1894 and, since 1974, has been part of the Erewash borough. Th ...

in Derbyshire, and on this occasion was followed unobserved by Arnemann, who bought a ticket to the same destination and followed the judge onto the platform. When Bristowe went to board his first-class carriage, Arnemann shot him in the back, firing one shot from a full-loaded six-chambered revolver. Bristowe collapsed unconscious, but recovered consciousness before being taken to hospital. ''The Times'' newspaper reported that Arnemann said "I have had his blood; I wish I may have killed him". The bullet was not removed, and remained in Bristowe's body until his death. Later in 1891 he was succeeded as Treasurer of the

by William Pearson,

Karl Pearson Karl Pearson (; born Carl Pearson; 27 March 1857 – 27 April 1936) was an English biostatistician and mathematician. He has been credited with establishing the discipline of mathematical statistics. He founded the world's first university ...

's father. Mr. William Pearson, Q. C., has been elected Treasurer of the Inner Temple for the ensuing succession to his Honour Judge Bristowe, Q.C. (28 November 1891). ''The Morning Post'' (London, England), (37272), 5.

Family

Bristowe married Albertine Eugenie Elizabeth Lavit, daughter of Jean Jacques Lavit of Paris and Isabella Roper, on 1 July 1856. He lived at Beesthorpe, Nottinghamshire and died at St Leonards on Sea, aged 74. His brother, Sir Henry Fox Bristowe, Q.C., was Vice-Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.National Archives – Bristowe of Beesthorpe
/ref> Samuel's son, the Rev. Charles John Bristowe, served from 1902 to 1911 as the first Director of Education for Nottinghamshire.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bristowe, Samuel 1822 births 1897 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1868–1874 19th-century English judges Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge People from Newark and Sherwood (district) Members of the Inner Temple People from the Borough of Erewash County Court judges (England and Wales)