SIr George Markham Giffard, PC (4 November 1813 – 13 July 1870) was an English barrister and judge.

Life

The fourth son of Admiral John Giffard and Susannah, daughter of Sir John Carter, he was born at his father's official residence in

Portsmouth dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

on 4 November 1813. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he was elected to a fellowship in 1832 and took the degree of BCL on 4 March 1841. While studying at Oxford, he played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on four occasions between 1834 and 1836. He scored 128 runs in these matches, with a high score of 105 against the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

in 1835. As a bowler he took 7 wickets, on one occasion taking a

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

. Giffard 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 associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

, of which he eventually became a bencher, and 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 November 1840. He obtained an equity practice and was a leading chancery junior counsel. In 1859, he became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

and attached himself to the court of Vice-chancellor Sir William Page Wood. When Vice-Chancellor Wood in March 1868 became a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

, Giffard succeeded him and was again his successor on his promotion from the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

, when he also became a member of the Privy Council. After an extended illness, he died at his house, 4 Prince's Gardens,

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

, London. In 1853, he married Maria, second daughter of Charles Pilgrim of Kingsfield,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. As a barrister, he appeared in numerous cases, including the successful respondents in ''Liverpool Marine Credit Co v Hunter'' (1868) 3 LR Ch App 479. As a judge, Giffard handed down the decision in '' In re Panama, New Zealand, and Australian Royal Mail Co'' (1870) 5 Ch App 318, generally regarded as the first case in English law to recognise the

floating charge 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 an ambulator ...

. He also gave the judgment in ''Munns v Isle of Wight Railway Company'' (1870) 5 Ch App 414 in relation to the appointment of a receiver in favour of the holder of an

equitable lien A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the pers ...

Arms

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Giffard, George Markham 1813 births 1870 deaths Lawyers from Portsmouth People educated at Winchester College Alumni of New College, Oxford English cricketers Oxford University cricketers Fellows of New College, Oxford English barristers Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Inner Temple English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 19th-century English lawyers