Sir Joseph Littledale (1767 – 26 June 1842) was an English judge.

Life

He was eldest son of Henry Littledale of Eton House, Lancashire, who was of a Cumberland family. He entered St John's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, in 1783 and was

senior wrangler The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." Specifically, it is the person who a ...

and 1st Smith's prizeman in 1787. He graduated B.A. in 1787 and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1790. Littledale was admitted 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 ...

in 1786 but moved to

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 Wale ...

in 1793. 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 ...

in 1798, and became a bencher in 1821. Littledale joined the northern circuit, and attended the Chester sessions. In 1813 he was appointed counsel to the University of Cambridge. He enjoyed a good practice. On 30 April 1824 he was appointed, in succession to Mr. Justice Best, to a judgeship of the

King's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

, though beyond being appointed

John Hullock Sir John Hullock (3 April 1767 – 31 July 1829) was an English lawyer and judge, a baron of the exchequer. Early life Hullock was the son of Timothy Hullock, a master weaver and proprietor of a timber-yard at Barnard Castle in County Durham ...

's colleague in managing the government prosecutions in Scotland in 1822 he had had little official recognition to that point. He took his seat on the first day of Easter term, 5 May 1824, and was knighted on 9 June. He also became

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 ...

at this point. Littledale resigned because of failing health on 31 January 1841. He was sworn a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, but died shortly after at his house in Bedford Square on 26 June 1842. He left £250,000. He edited

John Skelton John Skelton may refer to: *John Skelton (poet) (c.1460–1529), English poet. * John de Skelton, MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (died 1439), MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (American footb ...

's ''Magnyfycence, an Interlude'' for the

Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 days ...

in 1821.

Family

On 26 February 1821 Littledale married Hannah Timberlake. His only daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas Coventry, barrister-at-law.

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Littledale, Joseph 1767 births 1842 deaths Justices of the King's Bench Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Senior Wranglers