Sir Frederick Adair Roe, 1st Baronet (19 March 1789 – 20 April 1866) was a British barrister and magistrate who was the Chief Metropolitan Police Magistrate from 1832 to 1839.

Early life and background

He was the youngest son of William Roe, sometime chairman of the Board of Customs, and his wife Susannah Margaret Thomas, daughter of Sir George Thomas, 2nd Baronet of Yapton. His mother's sister Lydia Thomas married in 1783 the army contractor Alexander Adair, who died in 1834 at age 95 leaving a large fortune, some of which came to Roe and real property in which was left in trust, to Roe's putative children.

Career

Roe was educated at Westminster School. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1806, where he graduated BA in 1810 and MA in 1812. Roe 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 ...

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 ...

in 1816. He was appointed a police magistrate at Marlborough Street in 1822, and chief magistrate at Bow Street in 1832, retiring on a pension in 1839. He 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 ...

in 1832 and created a Baronet, of

Brundish Brundish is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. The village is south-east of Stradbroke and north of Dennington in the Mid Suffolk district. The B1118 road runs through the village, which had a population at the 2001 c ...

, in the county of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, in 1836.

Retirement

With a reported £100,000 from the personal property of the Adair estate, Roe retired from his work as chief magistrate. William Ballantine, who knew him as a family friend, wrote:

He was a tall, handsome, gentlemanly man, who had the reputation of having enjoyed life in many phases. He succeeded to a large fortune, and retired from the bench.

His father, William Ballantine the elder (1778/9–1852), was a magistrate of the River Thames police, and commanded the river police force. He congratulated Roe on his "accession to wealth". Roe replied with a sign "Ah! ..it has come too late."

Death and legacy

The baronetcy became extinct on Roe's death. His wife Lady Roe survived to 1884. He left property including

Dale Park Dale Park was an English country house in Madehurst, West Sussex. History In 1780, Sir George Thomas, 3rd Baronet created Dale Park near Madehurst by buying up separate pieces of land and joining them together into a estate. He married Sophia M ...

, Beach House, Worthing and a London house at 27

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

. The major legatee was

Sir William Thomas, 5th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, who commanded the royal yacht HMY ''Victoria and Albert''. Paintings and other works of art from Roe's collection were put up for auction in 1867.

Family

Roe married in 1831 Mary Ann Knowles, daughter of George Knowles of Emsal (

South Elmsall South Elmsall ( ) is a town and civil parish in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. South Elmsall lies to the east of Hemsworth The town had a population in 2001 of 6,107, increasing to 6,519 at the 2011 Census. History The town ...

), Yorkshire. They had no children, and on Roe's death the baronetcy became extinct.

References

{{reflist Knights Bachelor 1866 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn English barristers Stipendiary magistrates (England and Wales) Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom