Sir George Bowyer, 7th and 3rd Baronet (8 October 1811 – 7 June 1883), was a British

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

-at-Law and Liberal politician.

Life

Born in Radley Hall in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

(now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

), he was the son of Sir George Bowyer, 6th Baronet, and Anne Hammond Douglas. Bowyer was a cadet at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and was then

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 ...

by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1836. He received an honorary

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1839 and an honorary

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) 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 doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

s in 1844. One year later, he changed to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. In 1860, he succeeded to both baronetcies held by his father. Having contested

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in the 1849 Reading by-election, Bowyer became a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

from 1852 to 1868 and for

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

from 1874 to 1880. The

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church of St John of Jerusalem in Great Ormond Street in London and Our Lady and St Edmund's Church, Abingdon, were built at his own cost. He was made a Knight of Justice of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

, a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and a Grand Collar of the Constantian Order of St George of Naples. Bowyer served as chamberlain to

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

, who appointed him a Knight of the Great Ribbon of the Order of Pius IX. He was further a deputy lieutenant of

. He was a member of the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows, at one time he led a procession under a banner named Loyal Bowyer Union Lodge of Odd Fellows. Bowyer died in King's Bench Walk in London, aged 71 and unmarried. He was found dead in his bed and was buried in Radley in

on 7 June 1883. He was succeeded in both baronetcies by his younger brother William.

Works

*''Commentaries on Modern Civil Law'' (1848) *''Introduction to the Study and Use of the Civil Law'' (1874)

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowyer, Sir George, 7th Baronet 1811 births 1883 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain George Deputy lieutenants of Berkshire Knights of Malta Knights of the Order of Pope Pius IX Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Middle Temple People from Radley UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1874–1880 Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich English Roman Catholics Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Louth constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Wexford constituencies (1801–1922)