Sir William Rough (c.1772–1838) was an English lawyer, judge and poet.
Life
The only son of William Rough of London, he was born on 21 August, in 1772 or 1773. He was admitted 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 ...
on 23 January 1786, and became a king's scholar in 1789. At Westminster he is said to have contributed to
Robert Southey
Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...
's school periodical ''The Flagellant''. Having been elected to a scholarship from Westminster at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, in 1792, aged 19, he matriculated on 6 June in that year, and proceeded B.A. 1796, M.A. 1799. In November 1793 he became a member, with
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...
,
Charles Valentine Le Grice, and
Christopher Wordsworth
Christopher Wordsworth (30 October 180720 March 1885) was an English intellectual and a bishop of the Anglican Church.
Life
Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity, who was the youngest b ...
, of a small literary society at Cambridge; and he seems to have been involved in the short-lived ''University Magazine'' of 1795.
While at Trinity, Rough made the acquaintance, as a fellow-sympathiser with
William Frend, of
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...
. He was admitted at
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
on 9 February 1796, and
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 ...
at 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 Wal ...
on 18 June 1801. He went the Midland circuit, and on 30 May 1808 became a
serjeant-at-law
A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...
.
Rough had constant money troubles, and for some years he was hindered by illness. In April 1816 he accepted Earl Bathurst's offer of the post of president of the court of justice for the united colony of
Demerara and Essequibo. He remained there for five years, but on 6 October 1821, after a long disagreement, he was suspended by the acting governor, Lieutenant-general John Murray, for having, as supreme judge, usurped "the privileges and functions of the executive". He returned to England, and appealed to the Privy Council, which in April 1825 gave its decision in his favour.
After 1830, Rough was appointed a
puisne judge
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
in Ceylon. On 13 March 1836 he was promoted to be chief justice of the supreme court. Next year, on 7 August 1837, he was knighted. He died at
Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...
, Ceylon, on 19 May 1838.
Works
Rough wrote:
* ''Lorenzino di Medici'' (a drama), and other poems, 1797; dedicated to
William Roscoe
William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children '' The Butterfly's Ball, and the ...
.
* ''The Conspiracy of Gowrie'', a tragedy (anon.), 1800.
* ''Lines on the Death of Sir Ralph Abercromby'' (anon.), 1800.
These pieces were collected in ''Poems, Miscellaneous and Fugitive, now first collected by the Author, on his preparing to leave England'', 1816. Rough also edited, anonymously, ''Letters from the Year 1774 to the Year 1796, by John Wilkes, esq., addressed to his daughter, the late Miss Wilkes; with a collection of miscellaneous Poems; to which is prefixed a Memoir of the Life of Mr. Wilkes'', London, 4 vols. 1804. He contributed poetry to the ''
Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...
'' and the ''
Monthly Magazine
''The Monthly Magazine'' (1796–1843) of London began publication in February 1796.
Contributors
Richard Phillips was the publisher and a contributor on political issues. The editor for the first ten years was a literary jack-of-all-trades, Dr ...
''.
Family
Rough married, on 26 June 1802, Harriet, aged 23, illegitimate daughter of
John Wilkes
John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fo ...
.
Henry Crabb Robinson
Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University.
Life
Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, third and youngest son of Henry Robinson (17 ...
met them socially in 1810; their circle included
Frances Abington
Frances "Fanny" Abington (1737 – 4 March 1815) was an English actress who was also known for her sense of fashion. Writer and politician Horace Walpole described her as one of the finest actors of their time, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan was s ...
,
Edmund Kean
Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor born in England, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuo ...
, Copley and many other lawyers. They had four children, but Harriet died in Demerara about 1820.
Notes
Attribution
1838 deaths
English barristers
19th-century English judges
English male poets
Year of birth uncertain