William Draper Best, 1st Baron Wynford, PC (13 December 1767 – 3 March 1845), was a British politician and judge. He served as

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the common pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench, which was the second-highest common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body ...

from 1824 to 1829.

Background and education

Best was the third son of Thomas Best of

Haselbury Plucknett Haselbury Plucknett is a village and civil parish on the River Parrett in Somerset, England, situated south west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 744. It is the final resting place of 'Blessed' Wulfric, who was never formally canon ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He was educated at

Crewkerne Grammar School Crewkerne Grammar School was a grammar school in the town of Crewkerne in the English county of Somerset. History The school was founded in 1499 by John de Combe, a precentor of Exeter Cathedral and former vicar of Crewkerne, who had been bor ...

and became a student at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

at the age of 15, but left at 17 without a degree. Originally destined for a career in the Church, he instead chose to study law, and entered 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 ...

on 9 October 1784.

Legal career

Best 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 ...

on 6 November 1789, and established a successful legal practice. In 1802, he was elected to parliament for

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

as a Whig, a seat he held until 1806. After joining the

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

, he sat for

Bridport Bridport is a market town and civil parish in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the River Asker, Asker. Its origins are Anglo-Saxons, Saxon and it has a long history as a ...

from 1812 to 1817 and then represented

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

from 1818 to 1819. In 1813, Best was appointed Solicitor-General to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, where he remained until 1816. He was then Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales from 1816 to 1818 and

Chief Justice of Chester The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the county palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine ( ...

in 1818. The following year he was made a Judge of the Common Pleas and

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 ...

. Best was admitted to the Privy Council in 1824 and appointed

, a position he held until 1829. In the latter year Best was raised to the peerage of Baron Wynford, of Wynford Eagle in the County of Dorset. Lord Wynford later served as a Deputy Speaker of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Despite his earlier affiliation with the Whigs, he became known as an ardent

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

, and vigorously opposed the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45). Lord Wynford suffered from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

for many years, and was carried into the

in an arm-chair, in which he was also allowed to address the rest of the house. However, he was later forced to retire from public life due to his illness.

Family

In 1794, Lord Wynford married Mary Anne, daughter of Jerome Knapp Jr. of Chilton 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 ...

), Clerk of the

Haberdashers' Company The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient guild, merchant guild of City of London, London associated with the silk and velvet trades. History and functions The Haberdashers' Company ...

, by his second wife, Sarah, daughter and eventual heiress of George Noyes of Southcote,

, and

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the River Test, Test, and lies alongside the major A303 road, A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, ...

. They lived at Wynford House at

Wynford Eagle Wynford Eagle is a hamlet and small parish in Dorset, England, situated approximately southwest of Maiden Newton and northwest of Dorchester. In the 2021 Census the parish population was recorded as 193. Toponymy The village was recorded as ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

where they raised ten children. He died in March 1845, aged 77, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son, William Samuel Best. Lord Wynford's daughter, Grace Anne Best, married Philip Lake Godsal, the grandfather of Philip Thomas Godsal.

Arms

References

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynford, William Best, 1st Baron 1767 births 1845 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV Chief justices of the common pleas Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bridport UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs who were granted peerages Justices of the King's Bench Politicians from Dorset Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor