Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone
Encyclopedia
Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone, GCMG
, QC
(22 December 1842 – 15 December 1915) was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.
and Charterhouse
, and Trinity College, Cambridge
. He was well known as an athlete in his earlier years, having represented his university in the first Inter-Varsity
steeplechase and as a runner, the Cambridge Alverstone Club being named in his honour and the Lord's Prayer being dedicated to him as follows:
Our Lord, who art at Wilberforce,
Alverstone be thy name,
Thy swaps will come,
Thy grass reps will be done,
On earth as they are in Chariots,
Give us this day our daily banter,
And forgive us for our pennying,
As we forgive those who penny against us,
And lead us all into Cindies,
But deliver us from Gardies,
For thine is the club, the tie and the track,
For ever and ever,
Amen.
His interest in cricket
and foot-racing was maintained in later life. He refereed races for the early Amateur Athletic Club and set rules for long jump
and shot put
. He was President of Surrey County Cricket Club
from 1895 until his death, and of the Marylebone Cricket Club
in 1903.
in 1868, and became QC
only ten years afterwards. His practice was chiefly in commercial, railway and patent cases until (June 1885) he was appointed Attorney-General
in the Conservative
Government in the exceptional circumstances of never having been Solicitor-general
, and not at the time occupying a seat in parliament. He was elected for Launceston
in the following month, and in November exchanged this seat for the Isle of Wight
, which he continued to represent until his elevation to the House of Lords
. Except under the brief Gladstone
administration of 1886, and the Gladstone-Rosebery cabinet of 1892–1895, Sir Richard Webster was Attorney-General from 1885 to 1900.
In 1890 he was leading counsel for The Times
in the Parnell inquiry; in 1893 he represented Great Britain in the Bering Sea
arbitration; in 1898 he discharged the same function in the matter of the boundary between British Guiana
and Venezuela
. In 1903 during the Alaska boundary dispute
he was one of the members of the Boundary Commission. Against the wishes of the Canadians it was his swing vote
that settled the matter, roughly splitting the disputed territory.
In the House of Commons
, and outside it, his political career was prominently associated with church
work; and his speeches were distinguished for gravity and earnestness. In 1900 he succeeded Sir Nathaniel Lindley as Master of the Rolls
, being raised to the peerage as Baron Alverstone, of Alverstone in the County of Southampton, and in October of the same year he was elevated to the office of Lord Chief Justice
upon the death of Lord Russell of Killowen
. He presided over some notable trials of the era including Hawley Harvey Crippen
. Alverstone retired in 1913, and was created Viscount Alverstone, of Alverstone in the County of Southampton.
. The Arthur Webster Hospital, opened in 1905, was presented to the town of Shanklin
, Isle of Wight by Lord Alverstone in memory of his son. The building is still in use as the Arthur Webster Clinic. Lord Alverstone died at Cranleigh
, Surrey, in December 1915, aged 72. He was buried at West Norwood Cemetery
under a Celtic cross
. His peerages became extinct on his death.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, QC
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...
(22 December 1842 – 15 December 1915) was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.
Background and education
Webster was the second son of Thomas Webster QC. He was educated at King's College SchoolKing's College School
King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
and Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
, and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He was well known as an athlete in his earlier years, having represented his university in the first Inter-Varsity
Varsity match
A varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
steeplechase and as a runner, the Cambridge Alverstone Club being named in his honour and the Lord's Prayer being dedicated to him as follows:
Our Lord, who art at Wilberforce,
Alverstone be thy name,
Thy swaps will come,
Thy grass reps will be done,
On earth as they are in Chariots,
Give us this day our daily banter,
And forgive us for our pennying,
As we forgive those who penny against us,
And lead us all into Cindies,
But deliver us from Gardies,
For thine is the club, the tie and the track,
For ever and ever,
Amen.
His interest in cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and foot-racing was maintained in later life. He refereed races for the early Amateur Athletic Club and set rules for long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
and shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
. He was President of Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
from 1895 until his death, and of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
in 1903.
Legal, judicial and political career
Webster was 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 1868, and became QC
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...
only ten years afterwards. His practice was chiefly in commercial, railway and patent cases until (June 1885) he was appointed Attorney-General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
in the 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...
Government in the exceptional circumstances of never having been 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...
, and not at the time occupying a seat in parliament. He was elected for Launceston
Launceston (UK Parliament constituency)
Launceston, also known at some periods as Dunheved, was a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the British House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and one member from 1832 until 1918...
in the following month, and in November exchanged this seat for the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight (UK Parliament constituency)
Isle of Wight is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created by the Great Reform Act for the 1832 general election, it covers the whole of the Isle of Wight and elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.-...
, which he continued to represent until his elevation to 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....
. Except under the brief Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
administration of 1886, and the Gladstone-Rosebery cabinet of 1892–1895, Sir Richard Webster was Attorney-General from 1885 to 1900.
In 1890 he was leading counsel for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in the Parnell inquiry; in 1893 he represented Great Britain in the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
arbitration; in 1898 he discharged the same function in the matter of the boundary between British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. In 1903 during the Alaska boundary dispute
Alaska Boundary Dispute
The Alaska boundary dispute was a territorial dispute between the United States and Canada . It was resolved by arbitration in 1903. The dispute had been going on between the Russian and British Empires since 1821, and was inherited by the United States as a consequence of the Alaska Purchase in...
he was one of the members of the Boundary Commission. Against the wishes of the Canadians it was his swing vote
Swing vote
Swing vote is a term used to describe a vote that may go to any of a number of candidates in an election, or, in a two-party system, may go to either of the two dominant political parties...
that settled the matter, roughly splitting the disputed territory.
In 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...
, and outside it, his political career was prominently associated with church
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
work; and his speeches were distinguished for gravity and earnestness. In 1900 he succeeded Sir Nathaniel Lindley 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...
, being raised to the peerage as Baron Alverstone, of Alverstone in the County of Southampton, and in October of the same year he was elevated to the office of Lord Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
upon the death of Lord Russell of Killowen
Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen
Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, GCMG, PC, was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.-Early life:...
. He presided over some notable trials of the era including Hawley Harvey Crippen
Hawley Harvey Crippen
Hawley Harvey Crippen , usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopathic physician hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, on November 23, 1910, for the murder of his wife, Cora Henrietta Crippen...
. Alverstone retired in 1913, and was created Viscount Alverstone, of Alverstone in the County of Southampton.
Family
Lord Alverstone married Louisa Mary, daughter of William Charles Calthrop, in 1872. They had one son and one daughter. She died in March 1877. Their only son, the Honourable Arthur died childless in August 1902, aged 28, after an operation for appendicitisAppendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. The Arthur Webster Hospital, opened in 1905, was presented to the town of Shanklin
Shanklin
Shanklin is a popular seaside resort and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on the east coast's Sandown Bay. The sandy beach, its Old Village and a wooded ravine, Shanklin Chine, are its main attractions. The esplanade along the beach is occupied by hotels and restaurants for the...
, Isle of Wight by Lord Alverstone in memory of his son. The building is still in use as the Arthur Webster Clinic. Lord Alverstone died at Cranleigh
Cranleigh
Cranleigh is a large village, self-proclaimed the largest in England, and is situated 8 miles south east of Godalming in Surrey. It lies to the east of the A281 which links Guildford with Horsham; neighbouring villages include: Ewhurst, Alfold and Hascombe....
, Surrey, in December 1915, aged 72. He was buried at West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
under a Celtic cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
. His peerages became extinct on his death.