Henry Cotton (judge)

{{Infobox judge

| name = Sir Henry Cotton

| office = Lord Justice of Appeal

| honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable

| image = Henry Cotton, Vanity Fair, 1888-05-19.jpg

| education = Eton College
Christ Church, Oxford

| term_start = 28 June 1877

| term_end = 6 November 1890

| predecessor = Sir George Mellish

| successor = Sir Edward Kay

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1821|5|20}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1892|2|22|1821|5|20}}

| birth_place = Walwood House, Leytonstone, Essex

| death_place = Forest Mere, near Liphook, Hampshire

}}

{{Short description|British judge (1821–1892)}}

{{About|the appeals court judge|his first cousin once removed|Henry John Stedman Cotton}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}

File:Sir Henry Cotton Escutcheon.png

Sir Henry Cotton (20 May 1821 – 22 February 1892) was a British judge. He was a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1877, when he was made a Privy Counsellor, until his retirement in 1890.

Early life

He was born in Leytonstone.

His father William Cotton later became Governor of the Bank of England.

His brother William Charles Cotton was a clergyman and beekeeper.

His sister Sarah married Sir Henry Acland, who founded Acland Hospital in her memory.{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Acland, Sir Henry Wentworth, Bart. |volume = 1 |last= |first= |author-link= |page= 149 |short=1}}

He attended Eton College, and later Christ Church, Oxford, where he was a student until 1852. He graduated B.A. in 1843.{{sfn|Cotton|1901}}

Career

He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1843 and was called to the bar in 1846.

He quickly acquired a large practice in the equity courts, and through the influence of his father was appointed standing counsel to the Bank of England.

In 1866, he took silk and attached himself to the court of Vice-chancellor (Sir) Richard Malins, where he shared the leadership with Mr. W. B. Glasse.

Among the important cases in which he was engaged were the liquidation of Overend, Gurney, & Co.; the King of Hanover v. the Bank of England; Rubery v. Grant; Dr.Hayman v. the Governors of Rugby School; and the Republic of Costa Rica v. Erlanger. In 1872 he was appointed standing counsel to the university of Oxford, and shortly afterwards only went into court on a special retainer.{{sfn|Cotton|1901}}

He became Lord Justice of Appeal in 1877 upon the death of Sir George Mellish. He became a member of the privy council, and was knighted.{{sfn|Cotton|1901}}

=Judgments=

Judgments of Cotton include:

Family life

File:Cotton HB Vanity Fair 1894-03-15.jpg published in Vanity Fair in 1894.]]

He was an avid sportsman, having been an oarsman at Eton, and in later life a skater.

On 16 August 1853 he married Clemence Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Streatfeild.

His father's Wallwood estate was sold off posthumously in 1874, but Henry Cotton set aside and donated a plot of land upon which St. Andrew's Church in Leytonstone was built.{{cite web|url=http://www.standrewsleytonstone.org/history.html|title=Brief History|work=St. Andrew's Church website|accessdate=19 February 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311005928/http://www.standrewsleytonstone.org/history.html|archivedate=11 March 2011|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|url=http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/leytonstone-conservation-area-consultation.pdf |title=Conservation area appraisal: Leytonstone Conservation Area |work=Waltham Forest Council website |accessdate=19 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928034036/http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/leytonstone-conservation-area-consultation.pdf |archivedate=28 September 2011 |df=dmy-all }}

His youngest son Hugh Benjamin Cotton (1871–1895) was featured in a Vanity Fair caricature on 15 March 1894 as president of the Oxford University Boat Club, but died of lung illness the following year in Davos Platz, Switzerland.{{cite web|url=http://www.halhed.com/t4r/getperson.php?personID=I7548&tree=tree1 |title=Hugh Benjamin Cotton 1871 – 1895 |work=Halhed genealogy & family trees |accessdate=19 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007180519/http://www.halhed.com/t4r/getperson.php?personID=I7548&tree=tree1 |archivedate=7 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web|url=http://thames.me.uk/s00231f.htm|title=Boat Race 1890–1899|work=Thames.me.uk|accessdate=21 February 2011}}

Through his grandfather Joseph Cotton (1746–1825), Henry Cotton was a cousin of the African explorer William Cotton Oswell and a first cousin once removed of Henry John Stedman Cotton.{{cite web|url=http://www.halhed.com/t4r/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I7564&secondpersonID=I2171&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=0&generations=15&tree=tree1&primarypersonID=I7564 |title=Relationship Calculator: Henry Cotton relationship to William Cotton Oswell |work=Halhed genealogy & family trees |accessdate=19 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007180732/http://www.halhed.com/t4r/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I7564&secondpersonID=I2171&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=0&generations=15&tree=tree1&primarypersonID=I7564 |archivedate=7 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web|url=http://www.halhed.com/t4r/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I7564&savedpersonID=I3072&secondpersonID=I3072&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=0&generations=15&tree=tree1&primarypersonID=I7564 |title=Relationship Calculator: Henry Cotton relationship to Henry John Stedman Cotton |work=Halhed genealogy & family trees |accessdate=19 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007180655/http://www.halhed.com/t4r/relationship.php?altprimarypersonID=I7564&savedpersonID=I3072&secondpersonID=I3072&maxrels=1&disallowspouses=0&generations=15&tree=tree1&primarypersonID=I7564 |archivedate=7 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}

Notes

{{Reflist}}

-------------------------

;Attribution

{{DNBSupp |wstitle= Cotton, Henry (1821-1892) |volume= 2 |page= 67 | first= James Sutherland |last= Cotton |author-link= James Sutherland Cotton |year=1901|short= }}

Sources

  • {{cite ODNB

| url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6414?docPos=4

| title=Cotton, Sir Henry (1821–1892)

| last=Cotton | first=J. S.

| author2=(rev.) Mark Curthoys

| year=2004 | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/6414

| accessdate=19 February 2011

}}