Sir Samuel Shepherd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Solicitor General for England | |
| In office December 1813 – 1817 | |
| Attorney General for England | |
| In office 1817 – June 1819 | |
| Lord Chief Baron of the Scottish Court of Exchequer | |
| In office June 1819 – February 1830 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 April 1760 |
| Died | 3 November 1840(1840-11-03) (aged 80) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Merchant Taylors' School |
| Profession | Barrister, judge, politician |
Sir Samuel ShepherdKSPCFRSE (6 April 1760 – 3 November 1840) was a British barrister, judge and politician who served asAttorney General for England andLord Chief Baron of the Scottish Court of Exchequer.
Shepherd was born on 6 April 1760 to Henry Shepherd, a London jeweller.[1] From 1773 to 1774 he was educated atMerchant Taylors' School and then at a different school inChiswick, entering theInner Temple in July 1776. After apupillage underCharles Runnington he wascalled to the Bar on 23 November 1781. He soon joined thehome circuit, a place where, along with theCourt of Common Pleas, he had great success. From 1790 onwards he gradually became deaf, rejecting the honour of being made aKing's Counsel in 1793 but accepting a promotion toSerjeant-at-Law in 1796, becoming a King's Serjeant the next year and, after the death of Serjeant Cockell, King's Ancient Serjeant. In 1812 he becameSolicitor-General of the Duchy of Cornwall.[2]
He came to fame in 1810 in his defence ofFrancis Burdett in his dispute with theHouse of Commons.[3]
In December 1813, Shepherd was madeSolicitor General for England, and returned to Parliament forDorchester on 11 April 1814. He received a knighthood from the Prince Regent on 11 May 1814, and becameAttorney General for England in 1817. Shepherd was an excellent and popular lawyer, who would have become far more successful if it was not for his deafness; he refused the offices of both Lord Chief Justice of theCourt of King's Bench andChief Justice of the Common Pleas, partly due to his deafness and partly because he refused to hold a judicial office that involved the trial of prisoners. In London his address was 38Bloomsbury Square.[3]
In June 1819 he accepted the position ofLord Chief Baron of the Scottish Court of Exchequer, becoming a member of thePrivy Council on 23 July, and as Lord Chief Baron advised Scottish judges on the application of English treason law to the participants of theRadical War. He moved to Edinburgh living at Newington House.[4]
In 1820 he was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were SirWilliam Adam of Blair Adam,Henry Mackenzie andThomas Charles Hope. He served as the sciety's vice president from 1823 to 1830.[5]
In February 1830 Shepherd was forced to retire due to ill health. He became totally blind in 1837. He died in a cottage atStreatley, Berkshire on 3 November 1840.[2]
Newington House stood on what is now Blacket Avenue and was demolished in 1966.[6]
On 1 January 1783, Shepherd married Miss Elizabeth White (d. 1833), daughter of John White of Hicks Hall inSt Sepulchre in outer London, sister ofJohn White the Attorney General of Canada.[3] Their son, Henry John Shepherd KC (d. 1866), was a legal author.[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDorchester 1814–1819 With:Robert Williams | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Solicitor-General of the Duchy of Cornwall 1812–1813 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Solicitor General 1813–1817 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General 1817–1819 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
