Stanley Owen Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster, (9 January 1861 – 5 December 1934) was a British lawyer and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for most of the years from 1906 to 1915, when he was elevated to the peerage and served as

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

under

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 ...

from 1915 to 1916.

Background and education

Buckmaster was born on 9 January 1861 to John Charles Buckmaster, of Ashleigh,

Hampton Wick Hampton Wick is a Thamesside area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, contiguous with Teddington, Kingston upon Thames and Bushy Park. Market gardening continued until well into the twentieth century. With its road and rail ...

, by his wife Emily Anne Goodliffe. His father began life as a young agricultural labourer, and rose to teach chemistry at the Imperial College of Science and Technology. He was educated at

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ag ...

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 he took second class honours in mathematics. He 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 ...

in 1884 at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Beginning with a general practice on the Midland circuit, he eventually came to acquire a large Chancery practice. He was appointed

King'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 April 1902. The same year he joined

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 ...

Political career

At the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

, Buckmaster was elected as MP for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, winning the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of less than 4%. At 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 ...

, he lost the seat to the Conservative Almeric Paget on a 5% swing. He contested Cambridge again at the December 1910 election, but made only a small dent in the Conservative majority. Buckmaster returned to the Commons the following year, when he was elected at a by-election in October 1911 for the safe Liberal seat of

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

in Yorkshire. 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 1913 on his appointment as Solicitor general, when he was comfortably re-elected in the

ministerial by-election From 1708 to 1926, Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament (MPs) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of Great Britain (and later the United Kingdom) automatically vacated their seats when made Mi ...

. He was a Member of the Council of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

and served under

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

from 1913 to 1915. Buckmaster was also Counsel to 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 ...

from 1911 to 1913, Director of The Press Bureau, 1914 to 1915, and a member of The Interallied Conference on Finance and Supplies.

Lord Chancellor

In 1915, Asquith was forced to form a

Coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

. The Conservatives insisted on the removal of

Lord Haldane Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, (; 30 July 1856 – 19 August 1928) was a Scottish-born English lawyer, philosopher, an influential British Liberal and later Labour politician and statesman. He was Secretary of State for War ...

, and after

Sir John Simon John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954) was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of three people to ...

refused the post Buckmaster was appointed instead. He was sworn of the Privy Council and raised to the peerage as Baron Buckmaster, of Cheddington in the County of

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

. Buckmaster was Lord Chancellor for only eighteen months, resigning alongside Asquith in December 1916. His tenure was largely overshadowed by the war. He only appointed two High Court judges— Peterson and McCardie—and no new

, on the grounds that junior barrister engaged in war service would be disadvantaged. Sitting judicially, he gave the decision in '' Cook v Deeks'', a notable company law case. As a member of the Cabinet, he also took part in decision concerning war strategy.

Lord of Appeal

After stepping down from the

woolsack The Woolsack is the seat of the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords, the Upper House of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Before 2006, it was the seat of the Lord Chancellor, who presided as the presiding officer of the House. The Woolsack� ...

, Buckmaster continued to sit judicially as a Lord of Appeal, except for a time when he left his judicial work to go into the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

. In ''Bowman v. Secular Society'' he held that a company formed for the purpose of challenging Christianity was not illegal. In ''

Donoghue v Stevenson ''Donoghue v Stevenson''

932 Year 932 (Roman numerals, CMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Alberic II of Spoleto, Alberic II leads an uprising at Rome against his stepfather Hugh of Italy, Hu ...

AC 562 was a Lists of landmark court decisions, landmark court decision in Scots delict law and English tort law by the House of Lords. It laid the foundation of the modern law of negligence in common law jurisdic ...

'' he gave a dissenting opinion against the extension of the

duty of care In Tort, tort law, a duty of care is a legal Law of obligations, obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of care, standard of Reasonable person, reasonable care to avoid careless acts that could foreseeab ...

. He was highly regarded as a judge by his colleagues: Lord Birkenhead described him as "a consummate judge" and Lord Dunedin regarded him as the greatest colleague he had on the bench. He later served as Chairman of the Governing Body of Imperial College of Science and Technology and as Chairman of the Political Honours Review Committee between 1924 and 1929. He was appointed GCVO in 1930 and was made Viscount Buckmaster, of Cheddington in the County of Buckingham, in 1933.

Marriage and children

Buckmaster married Edith Augusta Lewin, daughter of Spencer Robert Lewin, on 29 December 1889. They had three children:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 579 * Owen Stanley Buckmaster, 2nd Viscount Buckmaster (24 September 1890 - 25 September 1974) * Hon Margaret Anna Buckmaster (8 March 1893 - 4 June 1929), author, social reformer and Labour Party activist, married Dighton Nicolas Pollock. * Hon Barbara Buckmaster (21 October 1903 - Sep 1966), married Lt Cdr John Miller, mother of

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 Sir Hal Miller. His niece, Hilda Buckmaster was also active in politics, three times standing as a parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party.

Death

Lord Buckmaster died in London in December 1934 at the age of 73 and was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

. He was succeeded in the viscountcy and barony by his only son, Owen. Lady Buckmaster died in October 1935.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckmaster, Stanley Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Lord chancellors of Great Britain Solicitors general for England and Wales Buckmaster, Stanley Buckmaster, Stanley Buckmaster, Stanley UK MPs who were granted peerages Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Aldenham School People associated with Imperial College London 1 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order 1861 births 1934 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Law lords Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Knights Bachelor Members of Lincoln's Inn English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel English barristers Barons created by George V Viscounts created by George V

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...