Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone, (22 December 1842 – 15 December 1915) was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.

Background and education

Webster was the second son of Thomas Webster QC. He was educated at King's College School and Charterhouse, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was well known as an athlete in his earlier years, having represented his university in the first Inter- Varsity steeplechase and as a runner. As such, the Cambridge University Alverstone Club is named in his honour, and makes a pilgrimage to Alverstone, Isle of Wight, every 4 years. His interest in

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and foot-racing was maintained in later life. He refereed races for the early Amateur Athletic Club and set rules for long jump and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. He was President of

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South London ...

from 1895 until his death, and of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1903.

Legal, judicial and political career

Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone

Webster was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1868, and became QC only ten years afterwards. His practice was chiefly in commercial, railway and patent cases until (June 1885) he was appointed Attorney-General in the Conservative Government in the exceptional circumstances of never having been Solicitor-general, and not at the time occupying a seat in parliament. As Attorney General Webster was prosecuting in the Eliza Armstrong case, in the autumn of 1885, a major scandal widely reported in the press, involving a child supposedly bought for prostitution for the purpose of exposing the evils of white slavery. It led to the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885. He was elected for Launceston in the following month, and in November exchanged this seat for the Isle of Wight, which he continued to represent until his elevation to the House of Lords. Except under the brief

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

administration of 1886, and the Gladstone- Rosebery cabinet of 1892–1895, Sir Richard Webster was Attorney-General from 1885 to 1900. In 1890 he was leading counsel for '' The Times'' in the Parnell inquiry; in 1893 he represented Great Britain in the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

arbitration; in 1898 he discharged the same function in the matter of the boundary between

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

and Venezuela. In the House of Commons, and outside it, his political career was prominently associated with church work; and his speeches were distinguished for gravity and earnestness. In July 1885, he was made a Knight Bachelor. In December 1893, he was appointed to the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

as a Knight Grand Cross. In January 1900 he was created a Baronet, but in May the same year succeeded Sir Nathaniel Lindley as Master of the Rolls, being raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as Baron Alverstone, of Alverstone in the County of Southampton and sworn of 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 ...

, and in October of the same year he was elevated to the office of Lord Chief Justice upon the death of Lord Russell of Killowen. He presided over some notable trials of the era including Hawley Harvey Crippen. Although popular, he was not considered an outstanding judge; one colleague wrote after his death that "the reports will be searched in vain for judgments of his that are valuable". He received the honorary degree Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Edinburgh in April 1902, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society later the same year. In late 1902 he was in South Africa as part of a commission looking into the use of martial law sentences during the Second Boer War. In 1903 during the Alaska boundary dispute he was one of the members of the Boundary Commission. Against the wishes of the Canadians it was his

swing vote A swing vote is a vote that is seen as potentially going to any of a number of candidates in an election, or, in a two-party system, may go to either of the two dominant political parties. Such votes are usually sought after in election campaign ...

that settled the matter, roughly splitting the disputed territory. As a result, he became extremely unpopular in Canada. He retired in 1913, and was created Viscount Alverstone, of Alverstone, Isle of Wight in the County of Southampton.

Personal life

Lord Alverstone Vanity Fair 15 January 1913

Webster married in 1872 Louisa Mary Calthrop, daughter of William Charles Calthrop. She died in March 1877. They had one son and one daughter. Their only son, the Honourable Arthur Harold Webster (1874–1902) died childless in August 1902, aged 28, after an operation for appendicitis. The Arthur Webster Hospital, opened in 1905, was presented to the town of Shanklin, Isle of Wight by Lord Alverstone in memory of his son. The building is still in use as the Arthur Webster Clinic. He commissioned the architect Edward Blakeway I'Anson to build Winterfold House near Cranleigh in the Surrey Hills in 1886, in a classic late Victorian style, and laid out grounds with flowering trees and shrubs. Lord Alverstone died at Cranleigh, Surrey, in December 1915, aged 72 and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery under a

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

. His peerages became extinct on his death.

Arms

References

* *'' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 1916 edition: obituary.

External links

* *
Vanity Fair caricature 1913
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alverstone, Richard Webster, 1st Viscount 1842 births 1915 deaths People educated at King's College School, London 19th-century English judges English King's Counsel Lord chief justices of England and Wales Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Webster, Richard Everard Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Attorneys General for England and Wales Webster, Richard Everard Webster, Richard Everard Webster, Richard Everard Webster, Richard Everard Webster, Richard Everard UK MPs who were granted peerages Webster, Richard Everard Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Presidents of Surrey County Cricket Club Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Masters of the Rolls Webster, Richard Fellows of the Royal Society Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Viscounts created by George V 20th-century English judges