Sir Joseph Francis Leese, 1st Baronet, (28 February 1845 – 29 July 1914) was a British judge, Liberal politician and first-class cricketer.

Background

The second of eight children, Joseph was born in February 1845 to Joseph Leese (1815–1906), of

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, a cotton spinner who had founded the firm of Messrs. Kershaw, Sidebotham & Co, and his wife Frances Susan Scurr (1819-1890). He was educated at Regent's Park College and gained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

in 1863.http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bq/09-3_139.pdf He briefly attended the Gonville & Caius College at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1864. In 1867, Leese married Mary Constance Hargreaves (1848-1928). They had six sons and two daughters, including first-class cricketer and barrister William Leese. Leese's younger sister married the Town Clerk of

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

, John Davies Williams. Williams was the uncle of Welsh priest John Rhys Davies.

Legal career

Leese qualified as a

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 givin ...

and was admitted to 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 ...

in 1868. During his early career he was heavily involved in nonconformist campaigning for religious education reform, serving as a member of the United Nonconformist Committee, (frequently chairing meetings across England), and the

National Education League The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control. The National Education League, founded 1869, developed from the Birmingham Education Lea ...

. Both groups called for amendments and reform of the

Endowed Schools Act 1869 The Endowed Schools Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict c 56) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Endowed Schools Acts 1869 to 1948. It was passed during William Ewart Gladstone’s first ministry, to restructure endowed gr ...

and the Elementary Education Act in 1870. He was also known to have attended meetings in support of

disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

. He served as secretary, and later president, of the Manchester Nonconformist Association from its formation in 1871. Leese stood as a candidate for the first Manchester

School Board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

, but withdrew on account of the large number of Liberals standing. Leese was a member of the Manchester Athenaeum. Leese was a vocal supporter of the unsuccessful Liberal candidate George William Latham in 1873 and 1880, later supporting fellow nonconformist

Jacob Bright The Rt Hon. Jacob Bright (26 May 1821 – 7 November 1899) was a British Liberal politician serving as Mayor of Rochdale and later Member of Parliament for Manchester. Background Bright was born at Green Bank near Rochdale, Lancashire. He wa ...

in his successful re-election bid for

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

in 1876. He was invested as a

Queen's Counsel 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 o ...

in 1891. He was appointed Recorder of Manchester in 1893, and became a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

at the Inner Temple in 1898.

Political career

Leese first stood as a Liberal candidate for

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

in 1868; He stood again, this time for

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

in 1886, coming second. He was eventually elected at the 1892 General Election, gaining the seat from the Conservatives. During his time in office, Leese served on the committee for the

Irish Land Acts The Land Acts (officially Land Law (Ireland) Acts) were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by ...

, and was often involved in agricultural and educational affairs, particularly the

Education Act 1902 The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7 c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial Act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conserva ...

. He voted in favour of the 1908 Women's Enfranchisement Bill. He retired from parliament at the January 1910 General Election.

Cricket career

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

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, although the team also play ...

from 1865 to 1881. He played 25 first-class matches as a batsman but only averaged 13 runs per innings. He occasionally bowled, taking 5 wickets in his career at an average of 19.

Later life

Leese was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

1895 Birthday Honours The 1895 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen, and we ...

and was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 15 July 1908. Following his retirement he continued in his role as Recorder of Manchester, however he suffered with ill health throughout 1913, and he retired from the role in January 1914. He died at Sutton Park,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, Surrey in July that year, aged 69, and was buried in St. Mary's Churchyard, Send, on the 1st August. On his death, his baronetcy passed to his son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, but eventually became dormant following the passing of Joseph's great-grandson, Alexander William Leese, in 1979.

References

External links

* * http://www.ukwhoswho.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Leese, Joseph 1845 births 1914 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 British barristers English King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor English cricketers Lancashire cricketers Gentlemen of the North cricketers Alumni of Regent's Park College, London