Sir Thomas Townsend Bucknill (18 April 1845 – 4 October 1915) 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 ...

judge of the Victorian and

Edwardian era The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victor ...

s, a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

and a Privy Councillor.Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition

Biography

'Tommy' Bucknill was born at

Exminster Exminster is a village situated on the southern edge of the City of Exeter on the western side of the Exeter ship canal and River Exe in the county of Devon, England. It is around south of the centre of Exeter, and has a population of 3,084 (c ...

in 1845, the second son of Sir

John Charles Bucknill Sir John Charles Bucknill (25 December 1817 – 19 July 1897) was an English psychiatrist and mental health reformer. He was the father of judge Sir Thomas Townsend Bucknill QC MP. Biography Bucknill was born in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire ...

, an asylum doctor and psychiatrist who was knighted in 1894 in recognition of his services as one of the founders of the Volunteer Movement. Thomas Bucknill was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and afterwards at

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. He was called to the bar in 1868, became a

Queen'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 o ...

in 1885, 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

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1891. From 1885 to 1899 he was Recorder of Exeter. He edited ''The Cunningham Reports'' and Sir S. Cook's ''Common Pleas Reports'', and was a leading Counsel on the Admiralty Circuit and on the Western Circuit. He sat as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

for

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

from 1892 to 1899, in which year he was raised to the bench, succeeding Sir Henry Hawkins, and was

knight 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed. In 1914 he was appointed a Privy Councillor. Bucknill was a prominent Freemason, having been initiated in 1873 into Lodge of Good Report No.136 and becoming the Provincial Grand Master for Surrey from 1903 to 1915. Among the notable cases tried before Bucknill was that in 1912 of poisoner Frederick Seddon, who, on being found guilty of murder appealed directly to Bucknill as a brother Mason and in the name of ' The Great Architect Of The Universe' to overturn the jury's verdict. According to some sources he gave the First Degree sign, according to others the Sign of Grief and Distress, begging for mercy. Bucknill is reported as having said, with some emotion:

"It is not for me to harrow your feelings – try to make peace with your Maker. We both belong to the same Brotherhood, and though that can have no influence with me this is painful beyond words to have to say what I am saying, but our Brotherhood does not encourage crime, it condemns it."

Bucknill died at Hylands House,

on 4 October 1915. He was the father of Sir Alfred Townsend Bucknill (1880–1963), also a High Court Judge and who became a Privy Councillor in 1945 and

John Alexander Strachey Bucknill Sir John Alexander Strachey Bucknill KC (14 September 1873 – 6 October 1926) was a British lawyer and Judge. He served as Attorney General of Hong Kong, Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements and Puisne Judge in Patna, India. Early life B ...

who served as Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements and Puisne Judge in

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, India.

Arms

Portrayals

* In the 1981 TV series ''Lady Killers''

Christopher Banks Christopher Banks (born Christopher Rainbow in 1977) is a New Zealand journalist, musician, record producer, songwriter and film-maker. Music Deep Obsession Banks was responsible for eight top 30 New Zealand hits (including three #1's) fo ...

played Bucknill in an episode entitled ''Root of All Evil''.''Lady Killers''
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Notes

External links

*
Bucknill
in ''

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'' 16 January 1899 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bucknill, Thomas Townsend 1845 births 1915 deaths Queen's Bench Division judges People educated at Westminster School, London Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Knights Bachelor