Sir Nicholas John Hannen (24 August 1842 – 27 April 1900) was a British

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 ...

, diplomat and judge who served in China and Japan. He was the Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1891 to 1900 and also served concurrently as Consul-General in Shanghai from 1891 to 1897. He was judge of the

British Court for Japan The British Court for Japan (formally Her Britannic Majesty's Court for Japan) was a court established in Yokohama in 1879 to try cases against British subjects in Japan, under the principles of extraterritoriality. The court also heard appeals ...

from 1881 to 1891. He was the brother of

James Hannen James Hannen, Baron Hannen, PC, FRS (19 March 1821 – 29 March 1894) was an English barrister and judge. Biography Son of a London merchant, he was born at Peckham. He was educated at St Paul's School and at Heidelberg University, which ...

, a noted British judge of the 19th century. His son,

Nicholas "Beau" Hannen Nicholas James "Beau" Hannen OBE (mil) (1 May 1881 – 25 June 1972) was a British actor of the early and mid-20th century who acted in a number of stage plays and films. Early life Hannen was born on 1 May 1881 at No. 40 Westbourne Park Ro ...

was a famous actor of the early and mid-20th century.

Early life

Hannen was born on 24 August 1842. He was the 6th son (and 13th child) of James Hannen of Kingswood,

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

. He was educated at the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

and

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

where he obtained a BA in 1862 with honours in logic and moral philosophy. He was called to the Bar at 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 Wal ...

in 1866. Soon after qualifying as a barrister, in 1868 Hannen moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

to commence practice as a

. He married in 1869 to Jessie Woodhouse, the daughter of James Woodhouse of

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

Career

Hannen held the following appointments in China and Japan: * Acting Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan based in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

(1871 to 1874) *

Crown Advocate Crown advocate is a title used in some former British colonies (and until recently in Britain) for a government prosecutor. In former British Colonies and certain British extraterritorial courts the title is (or was) used by the senior government ...

, Shanghai (1878 to 1881) * Judge of the

(1881 to 1891) * Acting Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan (1881 to 1883) * Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan (1891 to 1900) * British

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

, Shanghai (1891 to 1897) From 1871 to 1874 he was appointed Acting Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and was based in

. Following this, he returned to

to private practice. In 1878 he was appointed

of the Supreme Court, a position akin to that of a colonial

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. The Crown Advocate was allowed to accept cases from private clients that did not affect their duties as Crown Advocate. In 1881, he was appointed as Judge for the

. Before taking up the appointment, he acted as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan for more than one year until the new Chief Justice, Sir

Richard Rennie Sir Richard Temple Rennie (1839 – 14 April 1905) was a British barrister and judge who served in China and Japan. He was the Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1881 to 1891. He was judge of the British Cour ...

, returned from long leave to take up the post. In 1891, on Rennie's retirement, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and

. This appointment was the first and only time the Chief Justice also served as

. There was much opposition from foreign residents in China to the amalgamation of the positions. The opposition was not based on Hannen's ability but rather that it was inappropriate for one man to hold a judicial and executive position at the same time. The position of Chief Justice and Consul General were separated in 1897 and Hannen continued as Chief Justice. George Jamieson who had been Assistant Judge and Consul was appointed Consul-General. Frederick Bourne took over the position of Assistant Judge. Hannen was knighted on 18 July 1895 at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

and received the

Jubilee Medal A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

in 1897.

Death

Hannen was due to retire in May 1900. He died of heart failure, brought on by an attack of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on 27 April 1900. His death came just two weeks before his planned retirement and departure from Shanghai for the town of

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old ...

, near

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, where he owned a house, Lake Lodge. Funeral services were conducted for Hannen at Trinity Cathedral in Shanghai and he was given full honours. Marines from acted as an honour guard and pallbearers. He was cremated and his ashes taken back to England. In 1907 his ashes were lodged in the Hannen Mausoleum, a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "'' colu ...

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...

and built for the Hannen family in the churchyard of St Mary's Church in

.Description of the Hannen Mausoleum on the Mausolea & Monuments Trust website www.mausolea-monuments.org.uk. Hannen's successor as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was

Hiram Shaw Wilkinson Sir Hiram Shaw Wilkinson, JP, DL (1840–1926) was a leading British judge and diplomat, serving in China and Japan. His last position before retirement was as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Corea. Early life Hira ...

, then judge of the

who had also succeeded Hannen as

in 1881.

Hannen Road

Hannen Road (海能路）in Shanghai was named for Hannen. It has now been renamed Hainan Road (海南路).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannen, Nicholas John 1842 births 1900 deaths English civil servants 19th-century English judges British diplomats British extraterritorial judges British diplomats in East Asia British Supreme Court for China judges Knights Bachelor

Early life

Career

Death

Hannen Road

Further reading

References