Sir John Eldon Bankes, (17 April 1854 – 31 December 1946) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

judge 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 ...

of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

, and later the

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 ...

Biography

Born in

Northop Northop ( cy, Llaneurgain) is a village, community and electoral ward situated in Flintshire, Wales, approximately 12 miles west of the city of Chester, midway between Mold and Flint, and situated just off junction 33 of the A55 North Wale ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

on 17 April 1854, he was the eldest son of John Scott Bankes (1826-1896) and his first wife, Annie (1829-1876), daughter of Sir John Jervis, himself a chief justice. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he rowed for

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century. The Boat Race The club races agai ...

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 1878, he

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or a ...

in 1901. Whilst on the bench, he was often referred to as J. Eldon Bankes. In 1910 he became a judge of the High Court, and in 1915 a Lord Justice of Appeal and a Privy Councillor. He retired from the bench in 1927. Bankes was chairman of Quarter Sessions in Flintshire for 33 years, and as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

an active member of

Flintshire County Council Flintshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Flintshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. It is based at County Hall in Mold. Elections take place every five years. The last election was on 5 May 2022. Histor ...

, of which he was chairman in 1933. He unsuccessfully fought for one of the Flintshire constituencies in 1906. Bankes was on numerous commissions or committees of inquiry, including: Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Education in Rural Wales, 1928; and as a prominent

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

, with

Lord Sankey John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey, (26 October 1866 – 6 February 1948) was a British lawyer, judge, Labour politician and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, famous for many of his judgments in the House of Lords. He gave his name to th ...

he drafted the new constitution of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

. On the death of his father, he inherited the family home of

Soughton Hall Soughton Hall is a Grade II* listed country house hotel in Sychdyn, Flintshire, Wales. Notable guests that have stayed include Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Jackson and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. William John Bankes inherited Soughton Hall in the ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. He married Edith Ethelston in 1882 (d.1931), and the couple had two sons and two daughters. In 1921 Bankes was made an honorary LL.D. of the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

. The Northop Village Hall was endowed as the Edith Bankes Memorial Institute in her memory. Bankes died at his home in North Wales on 31 December 1946 aged 92. After his death, the Soughton estate passed to their second son, Robert Wynne Bankes, who served as Private Secretary to successive

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 ...

s. After the death of his mother, his son John Wynne Bankes sold the hall into private hands, and in 1987 it was converted into a country house hotel.

Notable judicial decisions

Bankes handed down a number of notable decisions during his judicial career, predominantly in the field of banking law. Key decisions included: * ''

Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England ''Tournier v National Provincial and Union Bank of England'' 9241 KB 461 was a landmark legal case in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is ...

'' 9241 KB 461, the leading authority on a banker's duty of confidentiality * ''

Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank v Comptoir d'Estcompte de Mulhouse ''Russian Commercial and Industrial Bank v Comptoir d'Estcompte de Mulhouse'' 925AC 112 is a UK company law and banking case, concerning the authority of an officer of a company to carry out its actions, and a company's existence as a legal pers ...

'' 925AC 112, on the authority of the bank's officers * ''

National Provincial Bank v Charnley ''National Provincial Bank v Charnley'' 9241 KB 431 is a UK insolvency law case, concerning the taking of a security interest over a company's assets and priority of creditors in a company winding up. Facts Two creditors of the Fylde Bacon Cu ...

'' 9241 KB 431, priority between competing

security interest In finance, a security interest is a legal right granted by a debtor to a creditor over the debtor's property (usually referred to as the ''collateral'') which enables the creditor to have recourse to the property if the debtor defaults in makin ...

s * ''

Banque Belge pour L'Etranger v Hambrouck ''Banque Belge pour L’Etranger v Hambrouck'' 9211 KB 321 is an English trusts law case concerning the common law remedies for receipt of trust property. Facts Mr Hambrouck forged cheques so £6000 came out of the account of Mr Pelabon at th ...

'' 9211 KB 321, on

knowing receipt Knowing receipt is an English trusts law doctrine for imposing liability on a person who has received property that belongs to a trust, or which was held by a fiduciary, having known that the property was given to them in breach of trust. To be li ...

and

tracing Tracing may refer to: Computer graphics * Image tracing, digital image processing to convert raster graphics into vector graphics * Path tracing, a method of rendering images of three-dimensional scenes such that the global illumination is faithf ...

* '' Joachimson v Swiss Bank Corporation'' 9213 KB 110, on the banker-customer relationship

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankes, John Eldon People from Northop People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Welsh King's Counsel Queen's Bench Division judges Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 1854 births 1946 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Bachelor Conservative Party (UK) councillors Members of Flintshire County Council