Sir George Wood (1743–1824) was an English judge and politician.

Life

Born on 13 February 1743 at Roystone, near

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, he was the son of George Wood (1704–1781), vicar of Roystone, by his wife Jane, daughter of John Matson of Roystone. He was intended for a career as a solicitor, and was articled to an attorney at Cawthorn named West. At the end of his articles West urged him to study for the bar. Entering 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 ...

, Wood began as a

special pleader A special pleader was a historical legal occupation. The practitioner, or "special pleader" in English law specialised in drafting "pleadings", in modern terminology statements of case. History Up to the 19th century, there were many rules, tech ...

and established a reputation. He had many pupils, among whom were Edward Law, Thomas Erskine, Charles Abbott, James Scarlett, and John Williams. Immediately on being

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 ...

he was engaged by the Crown for all the state prosecutions beginning in December 1792. He joined the northern circuit, and on 5 November 1796 he was returned to parliament for Haslemere in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, retaining his seat until 1806. In April 1807 Wood was appointed a baron of the exchequer and was knighted; as a judge he was painstaking. He was a supporter of prerogative power and took a strong stand against free criticism of the executive by the press; Henry Brougham threatened to move his

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

. Wood resigned his office in February 1823, and died on 7 July 1824 at his house in

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, inclu ...

. He was buried in the

Temple church The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...

. By his wife Sarah he left no issue.

Works

Wood printed for private circulation ''Observations on Tithes and Tithe Laws'', which he later published in 1832 (London).

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, George 1743 births 1824 deaths People from Barnsley Members of the Middle Temple English barristers 19th-century English judges Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 Barons of the Exchequer Lawyers from Yorkshire