Walter George Frank Phillimore, 1st Baron Phillimore (21 November 1845 – 13 March 1929), known as Sir Walter Phillimore, 2nd Baronet, from 1885 to 1918, was a British

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Biography

Phillimore was the son of Sir Robert Phillimore, 1st Baronet, and of Charlotte Phillimore (''née'' Denison). His mother was the sister of

Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington, PC (27 January 1800 – 7 March 1873) was a British statesman who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1857 to 1872. He is the eponym of Speaker Denison's rule. Background and education De ...

and of Edward Denison. He was 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 he held a studentship. At Oxford he took

Firsts First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

in Classics, Law, and Modern History, was Secretary and Treasurer of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

, and was awarded the

Vinerian Scholarship The Vinerian Scholarship is a scholarship given to the University of Oxford student who "gives the best performance in the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law". Currently, £2,500 is given to the winner of the scholarship, with an ...

. He was also elected a fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

. 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 ...

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 1868, and joined the Western Circuit. Phillimore was an eminent

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 ...

, and mostly practiced in front of ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, seldom appearing in front of the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

courts. He was involved in many famous ecclesiastical cases, often related to ritualistic controversies. He also gave the opinion in the 1884 case of the Home Office Baby. In 1872 he was appointed

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leice ...

. In 1883 he was given a

patent of precedence A patent of precedence is a grant to an individual by letters patent of a higher social or professional position than the precedence to which his ordinary rank entitles him. Historical use in the English legal profession The principal instance in ...

(the last ever granted) giving him the same privileges as 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 ...

, though he was never appointed a QC. In 1885, upon his father's death, he succeeded to the Phillimore baronetcy. He was a Judge 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 ...

from 1897 to 1913 and a

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 ...

from 1913 to 1916. In 1902 he represented the United Kingdom at a meeting of an International Maritime Committee in Hamburg, which debated a draft treaty relating to a uniform law concerning collisions and maritime salvage. In 1913, he was admitted to the Privy Council and on 2 July 1918 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Phillimore, of

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 ...

in the

County of Oxford 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 Gloucestershi ...

. In 1918 he chaired the Phillimore Committee, appointed by the British government to report on proposals for a

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. The committee was established in January 1918 after being suggested to

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

by Lord Robert Cecil.George W. Egerton, ''Great Britain and the Creation of the League of Nations'' (The University of North Carolina Press, 1978), pp. 37-38. Lord Phillimore died in

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 ...

in March 1929, aged 83, and was succeeded in his titles by his son

Godfrey Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, an ...

Arms

References

Bibliography

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * . * W. A. B. (1928)
The Right Hon. Baron Phillimore of Shiplake, Baronet, PC, DCL, LLD, JP
, ''Transactions of the Grotius Society'', Vol. 14, Problems of Peace and War, Papers Read before the Society in the Year 1928, ''pp''v-ix.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillimore, Walter George Frank 1845 births 1929 deaths 1 19th-century English judges 20th-century English judges Law lords Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Members of Kensington Metropolitan Borough Council Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Lord justices of appeal Barons created by George V Honorary Fellows of the British Academy Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom