Sir Richard Allibond or Allibone (1636–1688) was an English judge and justice of the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...

Biography

He was a son of Job Allibond, and grandson of Peter Allibond, D.D., the rector of

Chenies Chenies is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with Hertfordshire, east of Amersham and north of Chorleywood. History Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead. There were two ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. Job, having become a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, was disinherited, but he obtained a considerable place in the

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, which afforded him a comfortable subsistence and enabled him to give his children a liberal education. Richard, born in 1636, was entered as a student at the

English College, Douai The English College (''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppressed in 1793. ...

, on 24 March 1652. On returning to England he began his legal education at

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 1663. He was listed as a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

there in 1670. In 1686 he was selected by King

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

to be one of his counsel, and was knighted. On 28 April 1687 he was made a

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 ...

, and then appointed to fill the place of a puisne judge in the King's Bench, vacated by the discharge of

Francis Wythens Sir Francis Wythens SL KC (c. 1635 – 9 May 1704) of Eltham, Kent was a British judge and politician. Life Born to William Wythens and his wife Frances King, Wythens matriculated at St John's College, Oxford on 13 November 1650 before joining ...

. The appointment was very unpopular in consequence of Allibond being a Catholic, and

Lord Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

asserts that he was even more ignorant of the law than Sir Robert Wright, who had been appointed

Lord Chief Justice of England Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

. At the famous Trial of the Seven Bishops in Trinity Term, 1688, Sir Richard Allibond laid down the most arbitrary doctrines, and exerted himself to the utmost to procure their conviction. Lord Macaulay says 'he showed such gross ignorance of law and history as brought on him the contempt of all who heard him.' On going to the home circuit in July, immediately after the trial, he had the indecency, in his charge to the

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

jury, to speak against the verdict of acquittal in the case of the bishops, and to stigmatise their petition to the King as a libel that tended to sedition. His death, which occurred in the following month on 22 August 1688 at his house in Brownlow Street,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, saved him from the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

with which he would probably have been visited if he had lived until after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

. He was buried on 4 September 1688 near the grave of his mother at

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, where a sumptuous monument was erected to his memory. His wife was Barbara Blakiston, of the family of Sir Francis Blakiston of

Gibside Gibside is an estate in the Derwent Valley in North East England. It is between Rowlands Gill, in Tyne and Wear, and Burnopfield, in County Durham, and a few miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Gibside was previously owned by the Bowes-Lyon family. ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, of the

Blakiston baronets There have been three baronetcies created for members of the Blakiston family of Blakiston, County Durham, two in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. One creation is extant as of 2008. The Blakiston Baronetcy ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allibond, Richard Justices of the King's Bench 1636 births 1688 deaths