James Manning (1781–1866) was an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

and law writer.

Biography

Manning, born in 1781 in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, was son of James Manning, a Unitarian minister, by his wife Lydia, daughter of John Edge of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. He early acquired a familiarity with history, antiquities, and the European languages. 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 ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

on 23 June 1817, and went the Western circuit, of which he was for many years the leader. His reputation rested mainly upon his learning. He was no orator, and his powers of advocacy were slight; but as a junior he obtained much business. By his knowledge of

copyhold Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the man ...

law he secured a perpetual retainer from the

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

Taunton Dean Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, whose rights were the subject of continual litigation. He enjoyed the friendship of Lords Brougham and

Denman Denman may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Denman Glacier, near Antarctica * Denman Shire, New South Wales, Australia ** Denman, New South Wales, a town in the Hunter Valley of Australia * Denman Island, one of the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Can ...

, and rendered them assistance in the defence of Queen Caroline. Following the passing of the Reform Act in 1832 Manning was appointed as a revising barrister in which office he served the Borough of Newport in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. He was appointed

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in 1836, and recorder of

Oxford 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 ...

and

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

in November 1837, three offices which he held till his death. He was raised to the degree of a

on 19 February 1840, received a

patent of precedence A patent of precedence is a grant to an individual by letters patent of a higher social or professional position than the precedence to which his ordinary rank entitles him. Historical use in the English legal profession The principal instance in ...

in April 1845, and was made Queen's ancient sergeant in 1846. This dignity, revived at his own suggestion after a long interval of dormancy, entitled him to a seat in the

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''ex officio'', but gave him no right of speaking, unless consulted, or of voting. He became judge of the

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

County Court in March 1847, from which he retired in February 1863 on an annual pension of £700. He died at 44

Phillimore Gardens Phillimore Gardens is a street in Kensington, West London, England. Phillimore Gardens runs roughly north to south from Duchess of Bedford's Walk to Kensington High Street. The houses on the west side all back on to Holland Park. History The r ...

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, London, on 29 August 1866. He was twice married: first, on 7 September 1820, to Clarissa, daughter of William Palmer of Kimbolton,

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

(died 15 December 1847, aged 51); and secondly, on 3 December 1857, to

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, daughter of

Isaac Solly Isaac Solly (1769 – 22 February 1853) was a London merchant in the Baltic trade. During the Napoleonic Wars his company Isaac Solly and Sons were principal contractors supplying hemp and timber to government dockyards. Early life and family He ...

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, and widow of William Speir, M.D., of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

(died 1 April 1871). Their daughters were Charlotte Manning and Elizabeth Adelaide Manning.

Publications

* ''A Digested Index to the Nisi Prius Reports of T. Peake, I. Espinasse, and Lord Campbell, with Notes and References'', 1813. * ''The Practice of the Exchequer of Pleas, Appendix'', 1816. * ''A Digest of the Nisi Prius Reports, with Notes and References'', 1820. * ''The Practice of the Court of Exchequer, Revenue Branch'', 1827, with an appendix containing an inquiry into the tenure of the conventionary estates in Cornwall, 1827. * ''Serviens ad Legem: a Report of Proceedings … in relation to a Warrant for the Suppression of the Antient Privileges of the Serjeants-at-Law'', 1840. * ''Observations on the Debate to make lawful Marriages within certain of the Prohibited Degrees of Affinity'', 1854. * ''An Inquiry into the Character and Origin of the Possessive Augment in English and in cognate Dialects'', 1864. * ''Thoughts upon Subjects connected with Parliamentary Reform'', 1866. With Archer Ryland : * ''Reports of Cases in Court of King's Bench, 8 Geo. IV–11 Geo. IV, 1828–37'', 5 vols. With T. C. Granger: * ''Cases in the Court of Common Pleas, 1841–6'', 7 vols. With T. C. Granger and J. Scott: * ''Common Bench Reports, 1846–57'', 9 vols.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, James 1781 births 1866 deaths English barristers 17th-century English judges Serjeants-at-law (England) Lawyers from Exeter Members of Lincoln's Inn English legal writers English male non-fiction writers Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge