Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore, 1st Baronet (5 November 1810 – 4 February 1885), was an English judge and politician. He was the last

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 ...

from 1867 to 1875 bringing an end to an office that had lasted nearly 400 years.

Life

Born in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, he was the third son of

Joseph Phillimore Joseph Phillimore (1775–1855) was an English civil lawyer and politician, Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford from 1809. Life The eldest son of Joseph Phillimore, vicar of Orton on the Hill, Leicestershire, by Mary, daughter of John Mach ...

, a well-known

ecclesiastical lawyer Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. Canon law includes the ...

. Educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where a lifelong friendship with

W. E. Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...

began, his first appointment was to a clerkship in the board of control, where he remained from 1832 to 1835. Admitted as an advocate at

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

in 1839, he was called to the bar at 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 1841, and rose very rapidly in his profession. He was engaged as counsel in almost every case of importance that came before the admiralty, probate or divorce courts, and became successively master of faculties, commissary of the deans and chapters of

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

and

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

, official of the arch deaconries of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and London, and chancellor of the dioceses of

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

and

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

. In 1853, he entered 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 ...

as Member of Parliament for

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards (N ...

. A moderate in politics, his energies were devoted to non-party measures, and in 1854 he introduced the bill for allowing ''

viva voce ''Viva voce'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice" but most often translated as "by word of mouth." It may refer to: *Word of mouth *A voice vote in a deliberative assembly *An oral exam ** Thesis defence, in academia *Spoken ev ...

'' evidence in the ecclesiastical courts. He sat for Tavistock until 1857, when he offered himself as a candidate for

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, but was defeated. He was appointed judge of the

Cinque Ports The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

in 1855,

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 1858, and advocate general in admiralty in 1862. In 1867, he was sworn a member of the Privy Council and took his place as a member of the Judicial Committee. As a member of the Judicial Committee, one of his notable decisions was in the

Guibord case ''Brown v Les Curé et Marguilliers de l'Œuvre et Fabrique de Notre Dame de Montréal'', better known as the ''Guibord case'', was a decision in 1874 by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in an early Canadian legal dispute over the rela ...

, concerning church–state relations in Canada. In 1875, in accordance with the

Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 ( 37 & 38 Vict. c. 85) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait, to limit what he perceived as the growing ri ...

, he resigned, and was succeeded by

Lord Penzance James Plaisted Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance, (12 July 1816 – 9 December 1899) was a noted British judge and rose breeder who was also a proponent of the Baconian theory that the works usually attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact writte ...

. When the

Judicature Act Judicature Act is a term which was used in the United Kingdom for legislation which related to the Supreme Court of Judicature. List United Kingdom :The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 ( 36 & 37 Vict. c. 66) :The Supreme Court of Judicature ...

came into force the powers of the admiralty court were transferred to the High Court of Justice, and Sir Robert Phillimore was therefore the last judge of the historic court of the Lord High Admiral of England. He continued to sit as judge for the new admiralty, probate and divorce division until 1883, when he resigned. He wrote ''Ecclesiastical Law of the Church of England'', ''Commentaries on International Law'', and a translation of

Lessing Lessing is a German surname of Slavic origin. The original Sorbian form, ''Lěsnik'', means either "forest dweller" or "woodman", ''lěs'' meaning "wood forest". People with the surname Lessing include a German family of writers, artists, musicians ...

's '' Laokoon''. He married, in 1844, Charlotte Anne, daughter of John Denison of Ossington Hall, Newark. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1862, and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1881. He died at

Shiplake Shiplake consists of three settlements: Shiplake, Shiplake Cross and Lower Shiplake. Together these villages form a Civil parishes in England, civil parish situated beside the River Thames south of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The r ...

, near

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

, on 4 February 1885. His eldest son,

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, also distinguished as an authority on ecclesiastical and admiralty law, became a judge of the high court in 1897 and was elevated to the peerage as

Baron Phillimore Baron Phillimore, of Shiplake in the Oxfordshire, County of Oxford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for the former Judge of the High Court of Justice and Lord Justice of Appeal, Walter Phillimore, 1st Baron ...

in 1918.

Arms

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillimore, Robert 1810 births 1885 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Anglican theology and doctrine Phillimore, Robert, 1st Baronet

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

English legal scholars English legal writers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tavistock People educated at Westminster School, London People from Westminster UK MPs 1852–1857 Knights Bachelor Members of Doctors' Commons People from Shiplake 19th-century Anglican theologians Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges