Sir Francis Buller, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Life
Buller was born at Downes House in DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, the son of James Buller
James Buller (the younger)
James Buller was a British Tory politician and ancestor of the Viscounts Dilhorne and the Barons Churston.Born at Downes House, near Crediton, he was the oldest son of John Francis Buller and his wife Rebecca Trelawney, daughter of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet...
, Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Cornwall
Cornwall (UK Parliament constituency)
Cornwall is a former county constituency covering the county of Cornwall, in the South West of England. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
, and his wife Lady Jane, daughter of Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst
Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst
Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst PC , known as the Lord Bathurst from 1712 to 1772, was a British politician....
. He was educated at the King's (Grammar) School, Ottery St Mary
King's School Ottery St. Mary
The King's School is an educational institution in Ottery St Mary, Devon, England. It was established as a choir school by the bishop John Grandisson in 1335, but was replaced by a Grammar School by Henry VIII in 1545. It became a comprehensive school in 1982...
, and Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
, 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 1763, at the age of 17, he married Susanna, daughter and heiress of Francis Yarde of Churston Court, Devonshire. In February 1763, he was entered at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
as a pupil of special pleader
Special pleader
A special pleader was a historial legal occupation. The practitioner, or "special pleader" in English law specialised in drafting "pleadings", in modern terminology statements of case.-History:...
William Henry Ashurst, taking out his own certificate as special pleader in 1765. In Easter term 1772, he was called to the bar and rose rapidly through it, becoming King's Counsel on 24 November 1777. On 6 May 1778, at only 32, he was made a puisne
Puisne
Puisne is a legal term of art used mainly in British English meaning "inferior in rank." It is pronounced like the word puny, and the word, so spelled, has become an ordinary adjective meaning weak or undersized.The judges and barons of the common law courts at...
[subordinate] judge of the King's Bench.
His conduct on the bench, however, was often the subject of severe criticism, accused of being hasty and prejudiced. He was caricatured as "Judge Thumb" by James Gillray
James Gillray
James Gillray , was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810.- Early life :He was born in Chelsea...
in 1782, because of an alleged statement made by Buller that a husband could thrash his wife with impunity provided that he used a stick no bigger than his thumb. This so-called "rule of thumb" was widely circulated, although if Buller ever made the comment it never became an accepted part of English common law. He was one of the judges on the Zong Massacre
Zong Massacre
The Zong Massacre was a mass-killing of African slaves that took place on November 29th, 1781, on the Zong, a British slave ship owned by James Gregson and colleagues in a Liverpool slave-trading firm....
case.
Sir Richard Arkwright
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
held by Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
, the cotton manufacturer in 1785. The patent was held by a jury to be invalid because the specification was unclear. Expert evidence showed that Arkwright had claimed inventions made by others. Arkwright had by that time established several cotton spinning
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
mills, and continued to prosper despite losing the patent battle.
Buller was always the second judge in his court, though when Lord Mansfield was absent through illness (e.g., the last two years of Mansfield's life) he took the lead and in effect acted as Lord Chief Justice. However, on Mansfield's death, William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
delayed and then in the end appointed Kenyon not Buller to the role (despite Buller being the superior lawyer), but did make Buller a baronet on 13 January 1790. On 19 June 1794, he resigned from the King's Bench and took his place in the 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...
.
He was a guardian of Anna Eliza Brydges, later the first Duchess of Buckingham, and of Lady Caroline Leigh. He was a trustee to the 1796 settlement between Anna Eliza and Richard Temple
Richard Temple
Richard Barker Cobb Temple was an English opera singer, actor and stage director, best known for his performances in the famous series of Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas....
. He built the original house now occupied by Two Bridges
Two Bridges
Two Bridges is an isolated location in the heart of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. It is situated around north east of Princetown on the old turnpike road which was built across Dartmoor in the late 18th century ....
Hotel on Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
.
His health in the late 1790s was undermined by frequent attacks of gout and by a slight stroke of paralysis. He had arranged to resign in a few days time, when, during a game of piquet
Piquet
Piquet is an early 16th-century trick-taking card game for two players.- History :Piquet has long been regarded as one of the all-time great card games still being played. It was first mentioned on a written reference dating to 1535, in Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais...
at his house in Bedford Square, he was seized with his fatal illness. He died late on the night of the 4th or early on the 5th of June 1800. His eldest surviving son Francis succeeded in the baronetcy. Lady Buller died in 1810.