Sir Thomas Edward Scrutton (28 August 1856 – 18 August 1934) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

barrister, judge, and legal writer.

Biography

Thomas Edward Scrutton was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of Thomas Urquhart Scrutton, a wealthy shipowner and head of the well-known shipping firm of Scrutton and Co. He was educated at the

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist ...

. From there, he was a student at

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

, and at

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

. At Cambridge he won the Whewell Scholarship and the

Yorke Prize The Yorke Prize is awarded annually by the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge for an essay of between 30,000 and 100,000 words on a legal subject, including the history, analysis, administration and reform of law, "of exceptional qualit ...

four times, the first person to do so. He was also President of the

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. Despite his achievements, he did not obtain a fellowship at Trinity; his former pupil Sir Frank MacKinnon speculated that Scrutton did not attempt to gain fellowship, due to a feeling among some fellows that he lacked "originality". He was called to the bar by 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 ...

in 1882, and developed a busy practice in

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cases. He became a King's Counsel in 1901 and 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 ca ...

of the

in 1908. He was also professor of constitutional law and legal history at

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

. In the 1886 election, he stood unsuccessfully as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate for

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

Judicial career

Thomas Edward Scrutton Vanity Fair 28 June 1911

He was a judge of the

King's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

(1910–16) and of the Court of Appeal (1916–34). He frequently sat in the Court of Appeal with Bankes and Atkin LJJ, a combination which has often been cited as one of the strongest benches ever to sit in commercial cases.E.g. in ''Borealis Ab v. Stargas Limited and Others and Bergesen D.Y. A/S''

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UKHL 17;

2 All ER 193, per Lord Hobhouse at para 20; ''Imageview Management Ltd v. Kelvin Jack''

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EWCA Civ 63 per Jacob LJ at para 20 and per Mummery LJ at para 64. On the criminal side he presided over the celebrated 1915 "Brides-in-the-Bath" trial of

George Joseph Smith George Joseph Smith (11 January 1872 – 13 August 1915) was an English serial killer and bigamist who was convicted and subsequently hanged for the murders of three women in 1915, the case becoming known as the Brides in the Bath Murders. As w ...

, and made a crucial ruling on "similar fact evidence": Smith was charged with murdering only one of his recent brides by drowning her in the bath, but Scrutton ruled that the fact that two of his other brides had died in almost identical circumstances was admissible as evidence of a method or pattern of murder. Despite his great ability, Scrutton had a reputation as a difficult judge to appear before: "he did not suffer fools gladly, and often refused to suffer them at all" was one verdict. His stern appearance and sweeping beard (he is said never to have shaved) intimidated most of those who appeared before him. His intolerance extended even to other judges, particularly the flamboyant and controversial Sir Henry McCardie whom he openly despised, and whom he attacked with increasing bitterness until their mutual antipathy resulted in a public quarrel. McCardie committed suicide soon afterwards, but the cause is generally thought to have been depression, unconnected to the quarrel. His reputation for being difficult may explain his failure to achieve further promotion to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

since he was unquestionably well qualified on merit to be a

Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House o ...

. In his later years, he is said to have mellowed considerably:

Henry Cecil Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil (11 January 1943 – 11 June 2013) was a British flat racing horse trainer. Cecil was very successful, becoming Champion Trainer ten times and training 25 domestic Classic winners. These comprised four winners ...

, the judge and humourist, recalled in his memoir ''Just Within the Law'' that Scrutton, in the only case Cecil argued in front of him, had been perfectly polite, although he could not resist one dry comment that a barrister who feels that he must repeat every point four times cannot have much opinion of the Court's intelligence.

James Atkin, Baron Atkin James Richard Atkin, Baron Atkin, (28 November 1867 – 25 June 1944), commonly known as Dick Atkin, was an Australian-born British judge, who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary from 1928 until his death in 1944. He is especially remembere ...

, his former pupil, always spoke of Scrutton with affection and respect.

Works

Scrutton wrote ''The Contract of Affreightment as Expressed in Charter-parties and Bills of Lading'' (1886), in which he drew on his knowledge of the family business as well as his legal training. Over a century later, it remains a standard text on the topic. Other legal works included one on

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Personal life and family

In private life he had a passion for

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

. He was noted for religious scepticism: at his death, he left instructions that there should be "no empty Christian rituals" at his burial, although his wishes were either ignored or overlooked. His son Tom, in contrast to his father's scepticism, became a clergyman. He married Mary Burton in 1884 and had three sons and one daughter. The youngest son died in the First World War.Sir Frank MacKinnon, D.N.B 1931 - 1940

Mary Midgley Mary Beatrice Midgley (' Scrutton; 13 September 1919 – 10 October 2018) was a British philosopher. A senior lecturer in philosophy at Newcastle University, she was known for her work on science, ethics and animal rights. She wrote her first b ...

, the philosopher, was his granddaughter, and gave a valuable sketch of him in her 2005 autobiography ''An Owl of Minerva''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scrutton, Thomas Edward 1856 births 1934 deaths English King's Counsel Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of University College London Presidents of the Cambridge Union Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Academics of University College London Members of the Middle Temple 20th-century King's Counsel