Putney Vale Cemetery 20200112 103851 (49372592853)

Sir Charles Willie Mathews, 1st Baronet, (16 October 1850 – 6 June 1920), familiarly known as Willie Mathews, was a British

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 ...

. He was born Charles Willie West in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of actress Elizabeth Jackson (stage name Lizzie Weston; d.1899) and her first husband William West.Lentin, A. (2004)
"Mathews , Sir Charles Willie, baronet (1850–1920)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Accessed 15 July 2008. (Subscription required) Lizzie Weston married, as her third husband, the actor

Charles James Mathews Charles James Mathews (26 December 1803 – 24 June 1878) was a British actor. He was one of the few British actors to be successful in French-speaking roles in France. A son of the actor Charles Mathews, he achieved a greater reputation than ...

in 1857, one day after divorcing her second husband, A. H. Davenport (1831–1873). Charles Willie assumed his stepfather's surname by deed poll. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and after spending three years in Europe he joined the chambers of

Montagu Williams Montagu Stephen Williams Q.C. (30 September 1835 – 23 December 1892) was an English teacher, British Army officer, actor, playwright, barrister and magistrate. Williams was educated at Eton College and started his career as a schoolmaster at ...

as a pupil aged about twenty-one. In 1886, Williams retired as junior counsel to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

. The post was split into two and Mathews was appointed to one of the vacant offices. Two years later he was promoted to Senior Treasury Counsel, and in the same year he married Lucy Sloper but they had no children. Mathews appeared in several infamous cases, including '' R. v. Dudley and Stephens'',

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's suit for libel against

John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry (20 July 184431 January 1900), was a British nobleman, remembered for his atheism, his outspoken views, his brutish manner, for lending his name to the " Queensberry Rules" that form the basis of ...

and

Lord Colin Campbell Lord Colin Campbell (9 March 1853 – 18 June 1895) was a Scottish Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1878 to 1885. Campbell was the fifth son of George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Georgiana, ...

's divorce proceedings. He prosecuted the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched Raid (military), raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the emplo ...

ers,

Arthur Alfred Lynch Arthur Alfred Lynch (16 October 1861 – 25 March 1934) was an Irish Australian civil engineer, physician, journalist, author, soldier, anti-imperialist and polymath. He served as MP in the UK House of Commons as member of the Irish Parliame ...

, and Louise Masset, who murdered her own son at

Dalston Junction railway station Dalston Junction (pronounced ) is an inter-modal rail and bus transport interchange in Dalston, London. It is located at the crossroads of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road. The station served by London Overground East London l ...

. He successfully prosecuted

Kitty Byron Emma 'Kitty' Byron (1878 – after 1908) was a British murderer found guilty in 1902 of stabbing to death her lover Arthur Reginald Baker, for which crime she received the death sentence. This was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment. ...

for the murder of her lover Arthur Reginald Baker in 1902. Mathews was famous for his courtroom flair and aggressive advocacy. A court reporter who often saw him in action was journalist Bernard Falk (1882-1960). Mathews was very sociable; he was a member of the

Turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

Garrick Garrick may refer to: * Garrick (name), for the name's origin and people with either the surname or given name, the most famous being: ** David Garrick (1717–1779), English actor * Garrick Club, a London gentlemen's club named in honour of David ...

, and Beefsteak Clubs, and was a friend of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

and

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. In the

1892 United Kingdom general election The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury again win the greatest number of seats, but no longer a majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won 80 more seats ...

, he was 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

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, but was not returned. The following year, he was appointed recorder of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. He was knighted in 1907, and was the first independent Director of Public Prosecutions from 1908 until his death, despite ill health. He was created a baronet in 1917. He was buried in

Putney Vale Cemetery Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in southwest London is located in Putney Vale, surrounded by Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. It is located within of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Charles Willie 1850 births 1920 deaths People educated at Eton College Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Lawyers awarded knighthoods Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery American emigrants to the United Kingdom Directors of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales) Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates English barristers