Sir William Searle Holdsworth (7 May 1871 – 2 January 1944) was an English
legal historian
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has Sociocultural evolution, evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. C ...
and
Vinerian Professor of English Law
The Vinerian Professorship of English Law, formerly Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was established by Charles Viner who by his will, dated 29 December 1755, left about £12,000 to the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of O ...
at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, amongst whose works is the 17-volume ''History of English Law''.
Biography
Holdsworth was born in
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
, Kent in 1871, the son of a well-known London solicitor, Charles Joseph Holdsworth and his wife Ellen Caroline (née Searle). He was educated at
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
and in 1890 went on to win a History Exhibition from Dulwich College to
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
. He took first-class honours both in History and in Law, and second class honours in the
BCL. He was called to the bar at
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 1896.
Holdsworth's main work, with a first edition of the first book in 1903, was ''A History of English Law'', gradually expanded to cover everything from Ancient Britain to 1875 over his career. Holdsworth became Professor of Constitutional Law at
University College
In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
, London (1903 to 1908). In 1922 he became the
Vinerian Professor of English Law
The Vinerian Professorship of English Law, formerly Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was established by Charles Viner who by his will, dated 29 December 1755, left about £12,000 to the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of O ...
at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
[''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition. Copyright 2007 Columbia University Press] In ''Charles Dickens as a Legal Historian'' (1928, repr. 1972), a book version of Holdsworth's Storrs Lectures at Yale Law School, he argued that historians should pay closer attention to the novels of Charles Dickens as source material about the workings of English law and legal institutions; it contains a thoughtful and sensitive analysis of Dickens's novel ''Bleak House'' as an illuminating examination of the Chancery system.
In ''Some Makers of English Law'' (Cambridge University Press, 1938), reprinting the Tagore Lectures delivered in 1937–1938 at Calcutta University, Holdsworth offered an overview of the history of English law through biographical studies of key figures in that history. Holdsworth was knighted in 1929 for his work with the colonial Indian States Enquiry Committee, and was appointed as a member of the
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...
in 1943. He died in 1944. There are portraits of Sir William Holdsworth by
Bassano in the
National Portrait Gallery, and his portrait in pastels by E. Plachter can be seen in the Holdsworth Room of
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
.
''A History of English Law''
''A History of English Law'', Holdsworth's greatest literary academic achievement, and eventually comprising 17 volumes, was published between 1903 and 1966, although Holdsworth himself only completed volumes 1 to 12 during his lifetime. Volumes 13 to 16 were posthumously edited by A. L. Goodhart and H. G. Hanbury, and volume 17, the index, was completed by John Burke. The work begins with Anglo-Saxon times, and it is an account of legal procedure and court organisation down to the
Judicature Acts
In the history of the courts of England and Wales, the Judicature Acts were a series of Acts of Parliament, beginning in the 1870s, which aimed to fuse the hitherto split system of courts of England and Wales. The first two Acts were the Supre ...
of 1875 and of the important phases of substantive law through the 18th century. The introductory volume 1 was frequently used as a textbook, and went through seven editions to 1956.
Holdsworth's history has been criticised as involving lapses from fully modern scholarly standards, and is consequently treated with some caution by some current legal historians.
Societies
Holdsworth Club
The Holdsworth Club is the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
Law School's student law society. The Holdsworth Club was founded in 1927 and named after Sir William Holdsworth, by Professor C.E. Smalley-Baker who served as the first Dean of the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
's Faculty of Law between 1928 and 1949. Sir William Holdsworth was Smalley-Baker's mentor and had been an External Examiner at the University for several years.
After giving his name to the Law Faculty's Student Club (the names of Bacon, Coke and Blackstone having been considered and rejected); Sir William Holdsworth became its active Patron. In this role he attended and spoke at the Club's annual dinner, and he gave an annual presidential address. The establishment of the presidency of the Holdsworth Club as an annual office, involving the sole obligations of attending a dinner and giving a lecture, led to the Faculty gaining a distinguished line of visiting speakers, (which by 1948 already included two
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
s and two
Masters of the Rolls
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
* Grandmaster (chess), National Maste ...
).
Sir William Holdsworth remained patron of the club until his death in 1944 (after which there have been two more patrons: Dean Smalley-Baker 1949–72; and Professor
Owen Hood Phillips
Owen Hood Phillips, QC (30 September 1907 – 25 May 1986) was a British jurist. He was Lady Barber Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Birmingham and Dean of the Faculty of Law, Vice-Principal and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of that universit ...
1974–86). The list of distinguished presidents includes lord chancellors, such as
Hailsham
Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Dat ...
,
father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
and
son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
,
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...
,
Denning (three times);
Donaldson;
Bingham;
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
, the majority of the great
law lords
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 of ...
of the 20th century and academic lawyers such as the international lawyer Sir
Arnold McNair
Arnold Duncan McNair, 1st Baron McNair (4 March 1885 – 22 May 1975) was a British jurist and judge of the International Court of Justice and later the first president of the European Court of Human Rights.
Early life and education
McNair was b ...
and the American jurist
Dean Roscoe Pound to whom the Golden Medal of the American Bar Association was awarded for "conspicuous service to the cause of American jurisprudence" was presented in 1940. This medal is still worn by Holdsworth presidents when delivering their address. The vice-president of the club is Mr George Applebey, lecturer at law.
[John Bosworth , (1987), ''History of the Birmingham Law Faculty, the First Sixty Years'']
Holdsworth Society
The Holdsworth Society is the College Law Society of
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
. The Committee consists of the President (the previous year's Secretary), the Secretary and the Librarian. The Holdsworth Society attracts a high calibre of guest speaker, and also hosts termly black tie dinners. The social highlight of the Society's year is undoubtedly the Alumni Dinner, which is held in Hall at the end of Hilary Term.
The St John's College Law Library is named The Holdsworth Library after Sir William Searle Holdsworth, Fellow of St. John's 1897–1922 and Vinerian Professor of Law, and later Honorary Fellow. His portrait in pastels by E. Plachter can be seen there.
[ St John’s College Oxford](_blank)
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All initiates to the Holdsworth Society must take a solemn Sacramentum in order to be admitted to the Final Honour Schools programme, a peculiarity of St John's College's requirements for enrolment. The taking of the Holdsworth Sacramentum represents an important moment in an undergraduate's life, for until it is completed they cannot officially progress beyond Moderations (first year examinations) and be considered for the BA Jurisprudence.
Publications
*''A history of English law''
**Book I, The Judicial System, vol 1 (first published 1903 ; 2nd ed. 1914 ; 3rd ed. rewritten 1922 ; 4th ed. revised 1937 ; 5th ed. 1927 ; 6th ed. revised 1938 ; 7th ed. revised 1956).
**Book II, Anglo-Saxon Antiquities (449–1066) vol 2 (first published 1903 ; 2nd ed. 1914 ; 3rd ed. rewritten 1923.)
**Book III, The Mediaeval Common Law (1066–1485) vols 2 and 3 (first published 1903 ; 2nd ed. 1914 ; 3rd ed. rewritten 1923.)
**Book IV, The Common Law and its Rivals (1485–1700) vols 4 to 5 (1924); 6 to 9
**Book V, The Centuries of Settlement and Reform (1701–1875) vols 10 to 12 (1938); 13 to 16 (edited by A.L. Goodhart and H.G. Hanbury).
**General Index, vol 17 (edited by John Burke).
*''The Historians of Anglo-American Law'' (1928, repr. 1966)
See also
*Vinerian Professor
The Vinerian Professorship of English Law, formerly Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was established by Charles Viner who by his will, dated 29 December 1755, left about £12,000 to the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of O ...
*Leading historians of English legal history:
** F. W. Maitland
**Sir John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to:
Military figures
*John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named
*John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal
...
**David Ibbetson
David John Ibbetson is a British legal academic. He has been Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Cambridge since 2000, and President of Clare Hall from 2013 to 2020. From 2009 until 2012 he served as the chairman of the Facul ...
** S. F. C. Milsom
Notes
References
*Goodhart, A.L., (1954), ''Sir William Searle Holdsworth, O.M., 1871–1944, A Memorial Address'', (Bernard Quaritch, for the Selden Society
The Selden Society is a learned society and registered charity concerned with the study of English legal history. It functions primarily as a text publication society, but also undertakes other activities to promote scholarship within its spher ...
, London)
*John Bosworth, (1987), ''History of the Birmingham Law Faculty, the First Sixty Years''
External links
*
*
The Holdsworth Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holdsworth, William Searle
1871 births
1944 deaths
Academics of University College London
People educated at Dulwich College
Members of the Order of Merit
Legal historians
English legal scholars
Vinerian Professors of English Law
Alumni of New College, Oxford
20th-century King's Counsel
People associated with the University of Birmingham
Fellows of the British Academy
Knights Bachelor
English King's Counsel