Octavius Leigh Leigh-Clare (6 July 1841 – 16 July 1912) 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 ...

and

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 ...

politician. Originally known as Octavius Leigh Clare, he was the son of William Clare, a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

banker, and his wife Elizabeth née Leigh.
He was educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. He graduated in 1864 with a BA in the mathematical

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

. Clare was called to 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 January 1866. Initially he practised as conveyancer and equity draftsman. He built up an expertise in mining law, which led to him being retained as counsel in a number of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

mining cases. He was also the principal lawyer employed by the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...

company.''Obituary: Vice-Chancellor Leigh-Clare'', The Times, 17 July 1912, p. 11 He was made 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 can ...

in 1900, and became a member of the General Council of the Bar. In 1868 he married Harriet Huson, who died in 1885. He was married for a second time in 1889 to Jane Maria Wigan. In the same year he assumed the additional surname of "Leigh". In 1901 He and his second wife were living in Hindley Cottage, Richmond on Thames with their 5 children and the family were servived by a staff of 5 servants. He stood as Conservative candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Eccles at the 1892 general election, but was unsuccessful. Three years later another

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

was held, and Leigh-Clare was elected to serve as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Eccles. In 1905 he was appointed as Vice Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.''Mr. Leigh-Clare's Appointment'', The Times, 17 August 1905, p. 8 At the ensuing general election in 1906, he did not seek re-election.

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* 1841 births 1912 deaths People educated at Rossall School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1840s-stub