Sir Elliot Bovill, Illustrated London News (6 May 1893)

Sir Elliot Charles Bovill (23 April 1848 – 24 March 1893) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as

Chief Justice of Cyprus The Chief Justice of Cyprus was the head of the Supreme Court of Cyprus until 1961. The administration of Cyprus was taken over by the British government, following the Russo-Turkish War, under the Convention of 4 June 1878. Charles Alfred Cook ...

and the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...

in the late 19th century.

Early life

Bovill was born in

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

, at that time in Surrey, the fourth son of William Bovill, often confused with William John Bovill QC of

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.) Lincol ...

, and his wife, Lavinia Ann I'Anson, daughter of architect

Edward I'Anson Edward I'Anson (25 July 1812 – 30 January 1888) was an English architect who was president of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Surveyors' Institution. He was a leading designer of commercial buildings in the City of Londo ...

. He 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

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 uniq ...

, graduating from the latter with honours in 1871. He was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1873. He married Anna White, the daughter of John Tahourdin White on 27 July 1876 at

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

Legal appointments

Bovill was appointed assistant Judicial Commissioner in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

in 1875 soon after its cessation from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. He was legal adviser to the government (the predecessor position to

King's Advocate The King's Advocate (or Queen's Advocate when the monarch was female) was one of the Law Officers of the Crown. He represented the Crown in the ecclesiastical courts of the Church of England, where cases were argued not by barristers but by ad ...

) from 1877 to 1881. He was appointed Judicial Commissioner in 1881 and Chief Justice in 1883 on creation of that position. He was knighted the following year, in 1884.''The West Australian'', 10 February 1890, p. 3. In 1890, it was reported that he was to be appointed Chief Justice of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. He declined the appointment. Instead, in 1892, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements on the departure of

Edward Loughlin O'Malley Sir Edward Loughlin O'Malley (17 February 1842 – 16 August 1932) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as Attorney General and Chief Justice of a number of British colonies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His last position befor ...

. He first sat as Chief Justice in October 1892. His family made up of his wife and two boys and a daughter remained in Cyprus, planning to join him in Singapore later.

Death

Bovill died at the age of 45 of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

on 24 March 1893 at his residence in

Paterson Road Paterson may refer to: People * Paterson (surname) * Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales *Paterson River, New South Wales *Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales *Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...

, Singapore, after returning from a trip to

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...

. He was buried at the Bukit Timah Cemetery. His gravestone was moved to Fort Canning Green when the Bukit Timah Cemetery was closed. There is a commemorative plaque placed by Bovill's widow in St Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bovill, Elliot 1848 births 1893 deaths People from Clapham People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Chief Justices of the Straits Settlements Deaths from cholera English barristers Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods British Cyprus judges 19th-century English lawyers