Sir Francis George Newbolt | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1863-11-22)22 November 1863 |
| Died | 7 December 1940(1940-12-07) (aged 77) |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Frank Newbolt, Bradnock Hall |
| Occupation(s) | Barrister Judge |
| Known for | Law, etching |
Sir Francis George NewboltKCFCS (21 November 1863 – 5 December 1940)[1][2] was a Britishbarrister,judge, etcher and writer. He was theRecorder ofDoncaster between 1916 and 1920, and the Official Referee for theSupreme Court between 1920 and 1936, as well as beingChancellor of the Diocese ofExeter andBradford and Chairman of the DevonQuarter Session.[3][4] He was the first honorary Professor of Law at theRoyal Academy of Arts.[1]
Newbolt was born inBilston,Wolverhampton, son of the vicar of St Mary's Church, the Rev. Henry Francis Newbolt (1824–1866), and his second wife, Emily née Stubbs (1838–1921). He was the younger brother to poet SirHenry Newbolt.[5][6] He was educated atClifton College,[7] and later atBalliol College, Oxford where he read Natural Science (Chemistry) obtaining honours in 1887.
Newbolt went on to read law withSir Thomas Chitty, 1st Baronet, his brother-in-law.[5][8] He was invited to join the Bar atInner Temple in 1890 beforetaking silk in 1914. One of his first cases was representing the plaintiff, John William Phillips, landlord of Hoy and Helmet,South Benfleet against theMarquis of Queensberry in theHigh Court.[9] During theFirst World War he was an honorary legal advisor to the British government.[10] In 1916 he was appointed theRecorder ofDoncaster, a position he held until 1920.[11] In 1919 he was elected Chairman of the DevonQuarter Session.[12] In 1920 he was made the Official Referee for theSupreme Court by theLord ChancellorF. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead.[13] In 1923, Newbolt recommended that medical evidence should be used in paternity cases due to the issue of perjury.[14] He stated that a defendant[15]
rarely shows any hesitation about committing perjury
and that
a doctor's report, if not in his favour, might deter him from swearing to the contrary
His recommendations were not taken forward at the time due to the limitations in medical science. However, Newbolt's innovation in micro caseflow management, now called Newbolt's Scheme, was at first rejected by the Lord Chancellor Birkenhead, before being seen more favourably by Lord Birkenhead's successor and continued by Newbolt's successors as Official Referee.[16] Newbolt described the system,[17]
The true fashion of the courts is ... not to conciliate or exhort the parties, much less to hurry them ... but to use the available machinery of litigation to enable them to settle their disputes according to law without grievous waste and unnecessary delay
Newbolt retired from the post in 1936.[18] In 1939, Newbolt representedJacob Epstein at a military tribune as part ofT. E. Hulme's campaign to stop him being called up.[19]
Newbolt was a talented engraver. He was a regular exhibitor at theRoyal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, which he was an associate member and the society's historian,[20][21] and various major art exhibitions.[22][23][24][25] Newbolt regularly displayed his etchings at theRoyal Academy of Art.[26] His work exhibited includedThe Funeral in 1921,Barton Broad in 1923,Taormina in 1929 andTreworan Bridge in 1930. Newbolt was elected as a member of theArt Workers' Guild in 1907.[27] TheBritish Museum hold 36 of Newbolt's etchings.[28]
Newbolt was the first editor of the journal of the Land Agent's Society.[29] Newbolt started writing under a pseudonym Bradnock Hall, with a novelRough Mischance in 1896 andFish Tales and Some True Ones in 1897.[30][31]
Newbolt first book under his own name was released in 1897.The Sale of Goods Act 1893 was a review of the act and its use in law.[32][33][34] He released the bookClifton College Twenty-Five Years Ago: The Diary of a Fag in 1904 andClifton College Forty Years Ago in 1927 under the pseudonym Diary of a Praepostor.[35][36][31] His next books were essays on the history of etchings, withEtchings of Van Dyck released in 1906,[37]Etchings of William Strang, A.R.A. in 1907[38] andCatalogue Dressé in 1908, a catalogue ofFrank Brangwyn's engraved work.[39] He would go onto provide articles for publications on etchers, includingThe Etchings of E.M. Synge A.R.E. for the in 1914 andEtchings of Fred V.Burridge in 1908 for The Studio.[40][41] Under Bradnock Hall he released the 1910 bookNorwegian and Other Fish-Tales which included his own illustrations.[42] His bookSummary Procedure in the High Court was released in 1914.[43] In 1915, he worked with his brother SirHenry John Newbolt on the bookThe King's Highway.[44]
In 1925 he wroteOut of Court where he attackedAnthony Trollope and his novelOrley Farm for his inaccuracies in the procedure of law.[45] The book had come out of his lecture in 1923 at Grays Inn.[46][47] His writings were challenged by American lawyerHenry Drinker, but he did not respond.[48] Newbolt contributed articles to the Art Journal,[49] to the Law Quarterly Review,[50] and The Listener.[51] In 1926 he released a book of his poetry along with a collection of his etchings calledThe Enchanted Wood.[52][53][54] In 1930 he releasedThe History of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers & Engravers, 1880-1940, the official history at the time.[55][56][21]
In 1910 Newbolt stood for theLiberal Party in the parliamentary constituency ofChertsey.[57] Newbolt continued his love of science, delivering over 1000 lectures to school children.[4] Newbolt wasChancellor of the Diocese ofExeter andBradford.[4] In 1921,The Church Times criticised Newbolt's decision on a crucifix case.[58]
Newbolt was elected as a fellow of theChemical Society in 1895.[59][60] In 1919, Newbolt was made an honorary member of the Land Agent's Society,[29] and was made aKnight of the Realm for his voluntary work as a legal advisor during theFirst World War.[61] He was the president of theNorwegian Society from 1920 to 1926.[4] Newbolt was elected as the Master of theArt Workers' Guild in 1927.[2] TheRoyal Academy of Arts made Newbolt the first Honorary Professor of Law in 1928.[62][1] In 1932 he was made the Master of theWorshipful Company of Clockmakers, where he had previously been deputy master.[63][64]
Newbolt was a keen salmon and trout fisherman.[65] He married Alice Clara Franck Bright, daughter ofJames Franck Bright, in 1889;[2][66] and they had four daughters.[67] They lived inAylesbeare inDevon.[12] Lady Newbolt died in 1934 at the age of 67 leaving Newbolt a widower.[68] Newbolt himself died on 7 December 1940.[2]
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