Henry Edward Duke, 1st Baron Merrivale (5 November 1855 – 20 May 1939) was a British judge and

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

politician. He served as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

between 1916 and 1918.

Background and education

Duke was the second son of William Edward Duke, a granite merchant of Merrivale, Devon, and his wife Elizabeth Ann (née Lord). From a modest background, he was educated locally and did not attend a public school or university.

Legal career

As a child, Duke worked as a journalist for the local newspaper the ''

Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western ...

'', but at age 25 he came to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to cover the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. While in London he began to study law, and was

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 ...

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 ...

, in 1885. He at first worked on the Western circuit but later established a successful legal practice in London. He was a recorder for Devonport and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

from 1897 to 1900 and for Devonport alone until 1914, and was made a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1899.

Political career

In 1900, Duke was elected to the House of Commons for

as a Unionist, a seat he held until 1906 when he was defeated. He returned to Parliament in the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

as the representative for

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. He lost the seat in the December 1910 general election by four votes, but regained it by a single vote after an

election petition An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

in April 1911 due to closeness of the result, and held it until

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

when he resigned for the appointment of

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

. Duke sat on the front opposition bench during the early years of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1915. In July 1916, he was appointed by Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

to succeed

Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell KC (19 January 1850 – 20 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for ...

, with a seat in the cabinet, after Birrell had resigned due to the consequences of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

. The political situation in Ireland remained strained during Duke's tenure as Chief Secretary, notably over the

Conscription Crisis of 1918 The Conscription Crisis of 1918 stemmed from a move by the British government to impose conscription (military draft) in Ireland in April 1918 during the First World War. Vigorous opposition was led by trade unions, Irish nationalist parties a ...

, and he resigned in May 1918.

Judicial career

After his resignation Duke was knighted and appointed a

. In 1919, he was made President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

, a post he held until 1933. A notable case he decided was '' Balfour v. Balfour''. He also dissented at the Court of Appeal level in the famous case of '' Attorney-General v De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd'',

919 __NOTOC__ Year 919 ( CMXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By Place Byzantine Empire * March 25 – Romanos Lekapenos, admiral (''droungarios'') of the Byzantine navy, seizes the Boukoleon Pal ...

2 Ch. 197, 238–255. On 19 January 1925, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Merrivale, of Walkhampton in the County of Devon.

Family

Lord Merrivale married Sarah, daughter of John Shorland, in 1876. They had one son and a daughter. His wife died in 1914. Merrivale survived her by 25 years and died on 20 May 1939, aged 83. He was succeeded in the barony by his only son, Edward.

Arms

References

Bibliography

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (eds.) ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 ed.) (New York: St Martin's Press, 1990) * Legg, L.G. Wickham (ed.) ''The Dictionary of National Biography: 1931-1940''. Oxford University Press, 1949. * ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'' (106th ed.) (London 2002) * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrivale, Henry Duke, 1st Baron 1855 births 1939 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Duke, Henry Lord justices of appeal Duke, Henry Duke, Henry Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of Gray's Inn Duke, Henry Duke, Henry Duke, Henry UK MPs who were granted peerages Duke, Henry Duke, Henry Knights Bachelor Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Barons created by George V Presidents of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division