Some Cheshire lawyers have achieved fame. In the spacious days of Queen
Elizabeth, at Nantwich in 1588 was born Randolph Crewe, who came of the
distinguished family of the Crewes of Crewe Hall, though his father
was in poor circumstances at the time of his birth. He and his brother
Thomas were fired with the idea of regaining the family estates. The
good schools of Cheshire enabled them to go to Oxford; they became
students at Lincoln’s Inn, Serjeants-at-Law, and successively Speakers
of the House of Commons. Randolph rose rapidly in his profession, and
in 1624 became Lord Chief Justice of England. In the discharge of his
high office he showed a perfectly honest and independent spirit, much
learning and ability, strict honour and integrity, therein differing
from many of the venal judges of his age. He refused to bow to the
King’s will in respect of the imposition of illegal taxes, and in
consequence was deprived of his rank. He retired to his beloved
Cheshire, purchased the old family estates, and built for himself a
new manor house. Fuller tells in his quaint way that Sir Randolph
“first brought the model of excellent building into these remote parts;
yea, brought London into Cheshire, in the loftiness, sightliness, and
pleasantness of their structures.” His letter to the Duke of Buckingham
is a model of straightforward honesty, stating his reasons for his
decision in the matter of the taxation, and asking for his Grace’s
intercession with the King. While the war was raging between King and
Parliament he quietly passed away in his Hall at Crewe, and lies at
rest in the Crewe Chapel at Barthomley.
Another eminent lawyer was Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, Thomas, Viscount
Brackley, the natural son of Sir Richard Egerton of Ridley, born in
1540. Queen Elizabeth on one occasion heard him pleading with his usual
shrewdness against a Crown case, and exclaimed, “In my troth, he shall
never plead against me again,” and from that day his rise was rapid.
He became Attorney-General in 1592, was knighted, Master of the Rolls
in 1594, and two years later Lord Keeper and Member of Privy Council.
On the death of the Queen he was called upon to conduct the affairs of
the nation until the arrival of King James of Scotland, who constituted
him Lord Chancellor and Baron Ellesmere. For twelve years he held the
reins of office, conducted many important trials, helped to unite the
kingdoms of England and Scotland, and at length, full of years and
honours, with much pathos resigned his high office, being succeeded by
Sir Francis Bacon. His body rests in Dodleston Church.
The name of Sir Edward Fitton, Lord President of Connaught and Thomond,
and Treasurer of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth, must not be
forgotten or omitted from our list of Cheshire worthies. He was born at
Gawsworth, and a memorial to the knight may be seen in St. Patrick’s
Cathedral in Dublin.
Sir Humphrey Davenport was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in the
reign of Charles I., and had a distinguished legal career. He was the
fourth son of William Davenport of Bramhall, near Stockport. Sir Peter
Warburton of Grafton, one of the Judges of the King’s Bench about the
same period, was also a Cheshire man. Another great lawyer was Richard
Peter Arden, Lord Alvanley, born at Bredbury in 1745. In 1780 he became
King’s Counsel, M.P. for Newton in the Isle of Wight, Master of the
Rolls, and, in 1801, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, when he was
created Lord Alvanley, taking his title from a manor in the parish
of Frodsham which had been held by his ancestors. He was a somewhat
outspoken, hasty, and flippant judge, and amusing stories are told of
his sayings in court and of his disputes with Lord Chancellor Thurlow.
Chief Justice Williams was the son of a rector of Bunbury, where he was
born in 1777, and had a brilliant legal career. His reputation was made
at the trial of Queen Caroline, whose junior counsel he was, with Mr.
Brougham, afterwards Lord Brougham, as his senior. His able advocacy
was the chief cause of the vindication of the unfortunate Queen. He was
returned to Parliament for Lincoln in 1823, became Attorney-General in
1830, and Puisne Judge of the King’s Bench four years later, when he
was made a knight. A volume of Greek epigrams testifies to his devotion
to classical studies.
The last Cheshire lawyer on our list is Lord Kenyon. Though not
actually born in the county, his native place being Greddington, just
over the border in Flintshire, he had a Cheshire lady for his mother,
and began his career at an attorney’s office in Nantwich. He might have
spent his life there, having been offered a partnership; but he soared
higher, went to London, and was called to the Bar in 1756. He was M.P.
for Hindon and Chief Justice of Chester in 1780, and was engaged in the
defence of Lord George Gordon in that memorable trial of the Gordon
rioters. After being Attorney-General and Master of the Rolls, he was
created a baronet, raised to the peerage, and appointed Chief Justice
in 1788. He was noted for his parsimonious ways, relics of his early
poverty; but his biographers assert that few lawyers so able, and none
more honest, ever entered Westminster Hall.