Sir Edward Abbott Parry (2 October 1863 – 1 December 1943) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. Parry was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

into a prominent Welsh family, the second son of barrister

John Humffreys Parry John Humffreys Parry (24 January 1816 – 10 January 1880) was a British barrister, who became serjeant-at-law. Early life The son of John Humffreys Parry the antiquarian (1786–1825), he was born in London on 24 January 1816. He received a comm ...

and grandson of antiquary

, a leader of the Welsh literature movement in the early 19th century. His great-uncle Thomas Parry was bishop of Barbados and his great-grandfather Edward Parry was Rector of

Llanferres Llanferres is a village and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. At the 2001 Census the population of the village was recorded as 676, increasing to 827 at the 2011 census. Geography It is located 230 metres above sea level in t ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

. Parry himself studied at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

and was called to the Bar in 1885. He was Judge of Manchester County Court 1894-1911 and became Judge of

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

County Court in 1911. He wrote several histories, plays and books for children. He was appointed to sit on a Pensions Appeal Tribunal in the summer of 1917, which dealt with appeals against governmental decisions on military pensions, and later published a book on ''War Pensions: Past and Present'', co-authored with Sir Alfred Codrington, another member of the Tribunal. He died in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

, Kent, aged 80. Parry's autobiography, ''My Own Way'', as published in 1932. To cite one anecdote, he took a summer holiday, probably in 1895 or 1896, in the tiny village of

Rhoscolyn Rhoscolyn is a village and Community (Wales), community located on Holy Island, Anglesey, Wales. It is just over five miles south of Holyhead and is the most southerly settlement on the island. The name Rhoscolyn is said to mean "The Moor" ''(Rho ...

on Anglesey and became a great friend of the Revd. John Hopkins, the Rector. When Hopkins died in 1901, Parry was instrumental (with others) in erecting a fine copper memorial tablet in the church. He also published an appreciation in the

Cornhill Magazine ''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian magazine and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill in London.Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, ''Dictionar ...

. There was mutual empathy and warmth of the friendship between two men of very different backgrounds: the London-educated judge, son of a barrister and the iron miner (before his ordination) and son of a Merthyr publican, fined for selling beer during the time of divine service.

Works

*1888: (ed.) ''The Love Letters of

Dorothy Osborne Dorothy Osborne, Lady Temple (1627–1695) was a British writer of letters and wife of Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet. Life Osborne was born at Chicksands Priory, Bedfordshire, England, the youngest of twelve children of Sir Peter Osborne, Lieu ...

to Sir William Temple, 1652-54''. London: Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh *1895: ''Katawampus, its Treatment and Cure''. London: David Nutt (many later editions) **''Katawampus, its treatment and cure, and the First Book of Krab''. Illustrated by Archie Macgregor, coloured by Cynthia Moon. Manchester: Sherratt & Hughes, 1921 *1897: ''The First Book of Krab: Christmas stories for young and old''; with illustrations by Archie MacGregor. London: David Nutt *1900: ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

of the Mancha''. Re-told by Judge Parry. Illustrated by

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and K ...

. London: David Nutt *1914: ''The Law and The Poor''. London: Smith, Elder & Co. *1922: ''What the Judge Thought''. London: T. Fisher Unwin *1923: ''The Seven Lamps of Advocacy''. London: T. Fisher Unwin *1925: ''The Overbury Mystery''. London: T. Fisher Unwin *1929: ''The Drama of The Law''. London: Ernest Benn *1929: ''The Bloody Assize''. London: Ernest Benn *1930: ''Queen Caroline''. London: Ernest Benn *1931: ''The Persecution of Mary Stewart'' ary, Queen of Scots London: Cassell *1932: ''My Own Way''. London, Ernest Benn

References

* ''The seven lamps of advocacy''. Published 1968 by Books for Libraries Press in Freeport, N.Y .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, Edward Abbott 1863 births 1943 deaths 20th-century English judges British dramatists and playwrights British children's writers Writers from London British male dramatists and playwrights Knights Bachelor 19th-century English judges Lawyers from Manchester