Sir Charles Barrie Knight Mantell, PC (30 January 1937 — 1 May 2010) was a British barrister who served as a High Court judge and a Lord Justice of Appeal. He is notable for presiding at the trial of

Rosemary West Rosemary Pauline West (née Letts; born 29 November 1953) is an English serial killer who collaborated with her husband, Fred West, in the torture and murder of at least nine young women between 1973 and 1987;

. Mantell was born in

Romiley Romiley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it borders Marple, Bredbury and Woodley. At the 2011 census, the Romiley ward, which includes Compstall, Bredbury Green ...

, then part of Cheshire, the second son of Francis Christopher Knight Mantell and Elsie, née Caton. His younger brother was actor, Knight Mantell. He attended

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and studied law at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. He married (Anne) Shirley Cogger in 1960. After

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

as an education officer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

between 1958 and 1961 (reaching the rank of flying officer), he was called to the bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

and later served at the chambers of Sir Patrick Russell in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He practised on the

Northern Circuit {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Northern Circuit is a court circuit in England. It dates from 1176 when Henry II sent his judges on circuit to do justice in his name. The Circuit encompassed the whole of the North of England but in 1876 i ...

and was present at the trials of the

Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six Irishmen who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and quashed by the C ...

Trevor Hardy Trevor Joseph Hardy (11 June 1945 – 25 September 2012), also known as the Beast of Manchester,Chris OsuhSerial killer will die in jail Manchester Evening News, 13 June 2008. was a convicted English serial killer who murdered three teenage girls ...

and Terry Clark. Between 1982 and 1985 Mantell was a Supreme Court judge in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, returning to Britain as a judge on the Western Circuit. In 1990 he was appointed to the High Court and knighted. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1997 and was sworn of the Privy Council. Retiring in 2004, he was a Surveillance Commissioner from 2006 until his death.

References

Obituary, ''Sir Charles Mantell'' ''The Telegraph'', 11 May 2010Obituary, ''Sir Charles Mantell'' ''The Scotsman'', 13 May 2010
1937 births 2010 deaths Alumni of the University of Manchester Knights Bachelor People educated at Manchester Grammar School People from Romiley Queen's Bench Division judges Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Royal Air Force officers Members of Gray's Inn Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel {{legal-stub