William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher
Encyclopedia
William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher PC, QC
(13 August 1817 – 24 May 1899), known as Sir William Brett between 1868 and 1883, was a British lawyer, judge and Conservative
politician. He was briefly Solicitor-General under Benjamin Disraeli and then served as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas
between 1868 and 1876, as a Lord Justice of Appeal
between 1876 and 1883 and as Master of the Rolls
. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Esher in 1885 and further honoured when he was made Viscount Esher on his retirement in 1897.
, by Dorothy, daughter of George Best
, of Chilston Park, Boughton Malherbe
, Kent
. He was educated at Westminster School
, King's College London
and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
. Brett rowed for Cambridge University Boat Club
against Leander Club
in 1837 and 1838, then in the victorious Cambridge crew against Oxford University
in the 1839 Boat Race
.
in 1840, Brett went to the northern circuit, and became a Queen's Counsel
in 1861. On the death of Richard Cobden
in 1865 he unsuccessfully contested Rochdale
as a Conservative
, but in 1866 was returned for Helston
in unique circumstances. He and his opponent polled exactly the same number of votes, whereupon the mayor, as returning officer, gave his casting vote for the Liberal
candidate. As this vote was given after four o'clock, however, an appeal was lodged, and the House of Commons
allowed both members to take their seats.
Brett rapidly made his mark in the House, and in early 1868 he was knighted
and appointed Solicitor General
under Benjamin Disraeli. On behalf of the crown he prosecuted the Fenian
s charged with having caused the Clerkenwell explosion
. In parliament he took a leading part in the promotion of bills connected with the administration of law and justice. In August 1868 he was appointed a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas
. Some of his sentences in this capacity excited much criticism, notably so in the case of the gas stokers' strike, when he sentenced the defendants to imprisonment for twelve months, with hard labour, which was afterwards reduced by the Home Secretary
to four months.
On the reconstitution of the Court of Appeal
in 1876, Brett was elevated to the rank of a Lord Justice of Appeal
. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time. After holding this position for seven years, he succeeded Sir George Jessel
as Master of the Rolls
in 1883. In 1885 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey. He opposed the bill proposing that an accused person or his wife might give evidence in their own case, and supported the bill
which empowered Lords of Appeal to sit and vote after their retirement. The Solicitors Act 1888, which increased the powers of the Incorporated Law Society
, owed much to his influence. In 1880 he delivered a speech in the House of Lords
, deprecating the delay and expense of trials, which he regarded as having been increased by the 1873 Judicature Act. He retired from the bench at the close of 1897, and was created Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, a dignity never given to any judge, Lord Chancellor
s excepted, for mere legal conduct since the time of Lord Coke
.
and Fanny Meyer, though other sources suggest that her father was one Louis Mayer. They had two sons, Reginald
, and Eugène, and a daughter Violet, wife of William Humble Dudley Ward and mother of William Dudley Ward
. Lord Esher died in London
in May 1899, aged 81, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Reginald.
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(13 August 1817 – 24 May 1899), known as Sir William Brett between 1868 and 1883, was a British lawyer, judge and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. He was briefly Solicitor-General under Benjamin Disraeli and then served as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas
Court of Common Pleas (England)
The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...
between 1868 and 1876, as a Lord Justice of Appeal
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...
between 1876 and 1883 and as Master of the Rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Esher in 1885 and further honoured when he was made Viscount Esher on his retirement in 1897.
Background and education
Brett was a son of the Reverend Joseph George Brett, of Chelsea, LondonChelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, by Dorothy, daughter of George Best
George Best (MP)
George Best DL, JP was a British politician.Best was the son of James Best, of Park House, Boxley, Kent, High Sheriff of Kent in 1751, by Frances, daughter of Richard Shelley, of Michaelgrove, Sussex. He sat as Member of Parliament for Rochester from 1790 to 1796...
, of Chilston Park, Boughton Malherbe
Boughton Malherbe
For other "Boughtons" in Kent see Boughton under Blean; Boughton Malherbe; and Boughton MonchelseaBoughton Malherbe is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone district of Kent, England, situated between Maidstone and Ashford...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
. Brett rowed for Cambridge University Boat Club
Cambridge University Boat Club
The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
against Leander Club
Leander Club
Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world. It is based in Remenham in the English county of Berkshire, adjoining Henley-on-Thames...
in 1837 and 1838, then in the victorious Cambridge crew against Oxford University
Oxford University Boat Club
The Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
in the 1839 Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
.
Legal, judicial and political career
Called to the BarCall 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 a "call to the bar"...
in 1840, Brett went to the northern circuit, and became a Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1861. On the death of Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty...
in 1865 he unsuccessfully contested Rochdale
Rochdale (UK Parliament constituency)
Rochdale is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
as a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, but in 1866 was returned for Helston
Helston (UK Parliament constituency)
Helston, sometimes known as Helleston, was a parliamentary borough centred on the small town of Helston in Cornwall.Using the bloc vote system of election, it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and...
in unique circumstances. He and his opponent polled exactly the same number of votes, whereupon the mayor, as returning officer, gave his casting vote for the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
candidate. As this vote was given after four o'clock, however, an appeal was lodged, and the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
allowed both members to take their seats.
Brett rapidly made his mark in the House, and in early 1868 he was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
and appointed Solicitor General
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
under Benjamin Disraeli. On behalf of the crown he prosecuted the Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
s charged with having caused the Clerkenwell explosion
Fenian Rising
The Fenian Rising of 1867 was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood .After the suppression of the Irish People newspaper, disaffection among Irish radical nationalists had continued to smoulder, and during the later part of 1866 IRB leader James...
. In parliament he took a leading part in the promotion of bills connected with the administration of law and justice. In August 1868 he was appointed a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas
Court of Common Pleas (England)
The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...
. Some of his sentences in this capacity excited much criticism, notably so in the case of the gas stokers' strike, when he sentenced the defendants to imprisonment for twelve months, with hard labour, which was afterwards reduced by the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
to four months.
On the reconstitution of the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
in 1876, Brett was elevated to the rank of a Lord Justice of Appeal
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...
. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time. After holding this position for seven years, he succeeded Sir George Jessel
George Jessel (jurist)
Sir George Jessel , a British judge, was born in London. He was one of the most influential commercial law and equity judges of his time, and served as the Master of the Rolls.-Early life and education:...
as Master of the Rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
in 1883. In 1885 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey. He opposed the bill proposing that an accused person or his wife might give evidence in their own case, and supported the bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
which empowered Lords of Appeal to sit and vote after their retirement. The Solicitors Act 1888, which increased the powers of the Incorporated Law Society
Law society
A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions was historically an association of solicitors with a regulatory role that included the right to supervise the training, qualifications and conduct of lawyers/solicitors...
, owed much to his influence. In 1880 he delivered a speech in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, deprecating the delay and expense of trials, which he regarded as having been increased by the 1873 Judicature Act. He retired from the bench at the close of 1897, and was created Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, a dignity never given to any judge, Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
s excepted, for mere legal conduct since the time of Lord Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
.
Important judgments
- Heaven v. PenderHeaven v. PenderHeaven v Pender 11 QBD 503, Court of Appeal) was an English tort law case, which foreshadowed the birth of the modern law of negligence.-Facts:...
(1883) - In the obiter dicta in his judgement of the Court of Appeal, Brett MR sought to establish a general "duty of careDuty of careIn tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action in negligence. The claimant...
" between parties that would have led to a tortTortA tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
of negligenceNegligenceNegligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
. Such a principle was only finally accepted by English courts in 1932. - Filburn v. People's Palace and Aquarium, Ltd.Filburn v. People's Palace and Aquarium, Ltd.Filburn v. People's Palace and Aquarium, Ltd., 25 Q.B. Div. 258 , was an English case before the Queen's Bench that imposed strict liability upon owners of wild animals for harm caused by them.-Decision:...
(1890) was a case that imposed strict liabilityStrict liabilityIn law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...
upon owners of wild animals for harm caused by them.
Family
Lord Esher married Eugénie Mayer (1814–1904) in 1850. Eugénie was possibly the illegitimate daughter of Napoleon BonaparteNapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and Fanny Meyer, though other sources suggest that her father was one Louis Mayer. They had two sons, Reginald
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher
Reginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher, GCVO, KCB, PC, DL was a historian and Liberal politician in the United Kingdom.Brett was the son of William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher and Eugénie Mayer...
, and Eugène, and a daughter Violet, wife of William Humble Dudley Ward and mother of William Dudley Ward
William Dudley Ward
William Dudley Ward PC , was a British sportsman and Liberal politician.-Early life:Dudley Ward was born in London, the son of William Humble Dudley Ward and the great-grandson of William Humble Ward, 10th Baron Ward His mother was the Honourable Eugenie Violet Adele Brett,...
. Lord Esher died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in May 1899, aged 81, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Reginald.