Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley (20 May 1744 – 19 March 1804) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 Whig politician, who served as the

Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...

. He was a Member of Parliament from 1783 to 1801.

Biography

He was born on 20 May 1744 in

Bredbury Bredbury is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south-west of Hyde. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 16,721. It is on the lower southern ...

, the son of John Arden (1709–1787), and Mary Pepper, and baptised on 20 June 1744 in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

. Educated at

The Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a free grammar school next to Manchester Parish Church, it moved in 1931 to its present site at ...

, he matriculated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

in November 1761 and received his BA in 1766. Arden was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1769, and received his MA from Trinity the same year, being made a Fellow of the college shortly after. He took chambers in

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

and became a close friend of William Pitt, with whom he would maintain a political alliance throughout his career. In 1776 he was made judge on the South Wales circuit. Invested as a

King'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 or ...

in 1780, he was Solicitor General during the ministry of Shelburne, and again for a year under Pitt the Younger. At this time he entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as the Whig MP for Newtown, representing the seat from 1783 to 1784. In 1784 he became MP for Aldborough, and was appointed

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 ...

and

Chief Justice of Chester The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the county palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine (w ...

, posts he would hold until 1788. On 4 June 1788, he was again advanced to become

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

, and 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 ...

on 18 June 1788. He was also appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

that year. In 1790, he left Aldborough to become MP for

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

until 1794, and then for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

until 1801. In May 1801, he was appointed

, and on 22 May 1801, was created Baron Alvanley, of

Alvanley Alvanley is a small rural village and civil parish near Helsby, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is on the B5393 road and near junction 14 of the M56 motorway. ...

, in the

County of Chester Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town ...

. Alvanley died on 19 March 1804 and was buried a week later in

Rolls Chapel The Maughan Library () is the main university research library of King's College London, forming part of the Strand Campus. A 19th-century neo-Gothic building located on Chancery Lane in the City of London, it was formerly the home to the headqu ...

, London. His will was probated in April 1804. Quoting from Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'': "He was not a man of great oratorical powers, but possessed the qualities of intelligence, readiness and wit... It would be vain to claim any great distinction for Lord Alvanley. He was a learned lawyer and a successful politician... the few productions that remain from his pen evince refinement, taste and facility of expression."

Family

On 9 September 1784, Arden married Anne Dorothea Wilbraham-Bootle (1757-1825), daughter of Richard Wilbraham-Bootle and Mary Bootle. Their children were: *John Arden (1786–1787) *Sarah Arden (d. 1787) *

William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley (8 January 1789 – 16 November 1849) was a British Army officer, peer and socialite, who was a friend of Beau Brummell and one of a close circle of young men surrounding the Prince Regent. Early life and militar ...

(1789–1849), died unmarried. *Marianne Arden (d. 1791) *Frances Henrietta Arden (1792–1852), married on 25 June 1831 to Sir John Warrender of Lochend, 5th Baronet, son of Sir Patrick Warrender of Lochend. * Richard Pepper Arden, 3rd Baron Alvanley (1792–1857), married Lady Arabella Vane, daughter of

William Henry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland William Henry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland, Order of the Garter, KG (27 July 1766 – 29 January 1842), styled Viscount Barnard until 1792 and known as The Earl of Darlington between 1792 and 1827 and as The Marquess of Cleveland between 1827 an ...

and Lady Catherine Margaret Powlett. *Catherine Emma Arden (1794–1875)The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Darlington, W. H. D. Longstaffe, J. Henry Parker (London), 1854, p. 389

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvanley, Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron 1744 births 1804 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1

British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Chief Justices of the Common Pleas Alvanley, Richard Arden, 1st Baron Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Masters of the Rolls Alvanley, Richard Arden, 1st Baron Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People educated at Manchester Grammar School People from Bredbury Politics of Bath, Somerset UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs who were granted peerages Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor 19th-century English judges