Sir John Nicholl (16 March 1759 – 26 August 1838) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 judge. As a judge he was noted "for inflexible impartiality and great strength and soundness of judgement".

Early history

Nicholl was born in 1759, the second son of John Nicholl of

Llan-maes Llanmaes ( cy, Llanfaes) is a small village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan near the market town of Llantwit Major. The population in 2011 was 403. Amenities Llanmaes has a long history, with remains of a Roman fort in fields next to ...

, a small village near Llantwit Major in Wales. He was educated at Cowbridge and Bristol Grammar Schools, before gaining entry to St John's College, Oxford, in 1775. He graduated as

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cam ...

in 1780 and as

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

in 1785. He was called to the bar of the

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

in 1785.

Professional career

Nicholl built an extensive practice and on 6 November 1798 he succeeded Sir William Scott as King's Advocate and was knighted as was custom for the position. Within this role, Nicholl would often brief the Privy Council and Secretary of State on international law. In 1802, Nicholl was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

holding the seat of Penryn in Cornwall. After a brief period as Member of Parliament of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

from 1806 to 1807, he was elected to the seat of

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...

, and remained the member of the constituency until the

Reform Act of 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

, upon which time he retired. Nicholl was a staunch Tory throughout his political career and steadily opposed parliamentary reform and Roman Catholic emancipation. In 1809 he was appointed

Dean of the Arches The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary tribun ...

, was admitted to the Privy Council and became a judge of the

Prerogative Court In law, a prerogative is an exclusive right bestowed by a government or state and invested in an individual or group, the content of which is separate from the body of rights enjoyed under the general law. It was a common facet of feudal law. The ...

of Canterbury. In this capacity, he decided the much quoted case of

White v Driver ''White v Driver'' was a case decided in 1809 concerning a challenge to a will on the grounds of insanity. It laid down that if there was a previous history of insanity, the burden of proof lies in proving the sanity of the testator when making t ...

. In 1833 Nicholl was appointed as

Judge of the High Court of Admiralty The Judge of the High Court of Admiralty was established in 1483 he was the chief law officer of the High Court of Admiralty. The office holder was supported by various officials and existed until 1875. History The High Court of Admiralty was ...

and held the post until his death in 1838; though he resigned his offices as Dean of Arches and in the Prerogative Court after he was made

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

to the Archbishop of Canterbury's court in 1834. For his work during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, as a member of the volunteer movement, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Nicholl was a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and of the Society of Antiquaries. A monument to John Nicholl son of Sir John Nicholl is to be seen in the Dyfrig chapel of Llandaff Cathedral.

Personal life

Despite spending much of his time in London, linked to his parliamentary and judicial duties, and the fact that Nicholl held all his political seats in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he continued to foster and support links with his home country of Wales. In 1787 he married Judy Birt, the youngest daughter of

Peter Birt Peter Birt ( – June 1791) was a businessman from Airmyn, Yorkshire, England, who made his fortune from the Aire and Calder Navigation and used part of his wealth to build the mansion named Wenvoe Castle. He became High Sheriff of Glamorgan. Bu ...

Wenvoe Castle Wenvoe Castle was a castle and country estate between Barry and Wenvoe, in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. Today the former estate forms the Wenvoe Castle Golf Club. Goldsland lies on its western boundary. History In the later medieval periods ...

, and spent his time during his political career split between his London town house and Tondu House in South Wales. Nicholl and Judy had one son and three daughters. Nicholl's only son, also John Nicholl, would later follow his father's political career, becoming a Member of Parliament for Cardiff.

Merthyr Mawr House

Nicholl had amassed several estates throughout his lifetime, mainly through inheritance. He had gained an interest in property in Llantwit Major from his godfather, the Rev John Nicholl in 1770 and when Edward Powell died in 1771, he too left estates to Nicholl in five local parishes, including Tondu House. But despite these holdings, when Nicholl came to building his own family home, he chose the area of

Merthyr Mawr Merthyr Mawr is a village and community in Bridgend, Wales. The village is about 2½ miles from the centre of Bridgend town. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 267. The community occupies the area west of the Ewenny River, be ...

. When Charles Bowen died in 1797, Nicholl was a trustee appointed to effect the will. Bowen owned large estates within Merthyr Mawr, but they were heavily mortgaged and there were additional debts and legacies to be honoured. Nicholl took this opportunity to purchase of the estate, eventually agreed at £18,000. Nicholl initiated plans to construct a country house on the estate in 1806, demolishing the old residence, a 16th/17th century hall of the Stradling family, and hiring architect Henry Wood to build Merthyr Mawr House. Wood and Nicholl parted company in 1808, but Nicholl pushed through with his plans and moved into the incomplete building in 1809. When the mansion was completed it was notable for its library, which was reported as holding 30,000 articles. Maerthyr Mawr house is a five bay, two-storey classical mansion faced in white local

carboniferous limestone Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian epoch (geology), Epoch of the Carboniferous period (geology), Period. T ...

, with a

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

and a sash windows, and central single-storey porch with Tuscan columns in the north front.012 - Merthyr Mawr
Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust The mansion and its outlying stables are presently classed as Grade II* listed buildings.

Early history

Professional career

Personal life

Merthyr Mawr House

References

Further reading