John Bruce Williamson
John Bruce Williamson KC[1] (1859–1938) was a British barrister and historical author.
Life
Williamson was born on 28 January 1859.[2] The son of John Williamson of Glasgow, he matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford on 29 January 1881, graduating B.A. in 1885.[3]
In 1887 Williamson was called to the bar at the Middle Temple.[3] He was appointed secretary to the University of Durham Commissioners constituted under the University of Durham Act 1908 by warrant under the royal sign manual dated 27 October 1908.[4] He was elected to serve on the General Council of the Bar in February 1911[5] and again in 1913.[6] He became a bencher of the Middle Temple in 1925.[1]
Williamson died on 7 July 1938.[7] The National Portrait Gallery has a photograph of him taken in 1936 by Olive Edis.[8]
Works
Williamson was the author of:
- The Foreign Commerce of England Under the Tudors: The Stanhope Essay for 1883 (B H Blackwell, Oxford, 1883)[9][10]
- The Law of Licensing in England (1st Ed: 1898,[11] 2nd Ed: 1902,[12] 3rd Ed: 1905, 4th Ed: 1911). Sometimes called Williamson's Law of Licensing. The first three editions were published by William Clowes & Sons Limited, the fourth was published by Stevens & Sons (Limited). The "standard book" of its day on its subject.[13][14]
- The Palatine Court of Durham Act, 1889 (Beavis, Stewart & Co; Newcastle; 1890)[15] Also called Bruce Williamson on Palatine Court.[16]
- Memorials of John Bruce, Schoolmaster in Newcastle upon Tyne and of Mary Bruce, His Wife (Newcastle, 1903) (aka Memorials of John and Mary Bruce; Memorials of John Bruce)
- The History of the Temple, London, from the institution of the order of the Knights of the Temple to the close of the Stuart period (J Murray, London, 1st Ed: 1924, 2nd Ed: 1925; both editions reprinted by Gaunt, Holmes Beach, 1998)[17] Baker calls this book "excellent"[18]
- Roll of Honour (1925)
- Drawings of the Inns of Court and Chancery made probably in the first half of the Eighteenth Century (London Topographical Society, Publication No 59, 1928)
- Middle Temple Hall: Notes upon its History (Printed for Society of the Middle Temple by Chancery Lane Press, London, 1st Ed: 1928, 2nd revised Ed: 1934)[19]
- Catalogue of Silver Plate: The property of the Hon. Society of the Middle Temple (Bonner, London, 1930) Also known as "Silver plate of the Middle Temple", which appears on the cover.[20]
- The Practice of the Law in England (London, 1930)
- Catalogue of the Paintings and Engravings in the Possession of the Hon. Society of the Middle Temple (Society of the Middle Temple, London, 1931)[21]
- Notes on the Middle Temple in the Nineteenth Century, chiefly with reference to the Buildings of the Inn (Bonner & Co, London, 1936)
- Sir Walter Raleigh and His Trial (Pitman, London, 1936)[22] Autumn Reader of the Middle Temple (Lector Autumnalis) for 1935.[23]
- Volume 1 of the Second Edition of "The Middle Temple Bench Book" (1937)[24][25]
Williamson was joint author with Roger William Wallace QC[26] of:
References
- "Obituary" (1938) 186 Law Times 58; see also p 209 Google Books
- "Obituary" (1938) 86 Law Journal 53; see also p 89 Google Books
- "Obituary" (1938) 82 Solicitors Journal 586 Google Books
- "Obituary" (1938) 102 Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review 468 Google Books
- Sir Ivo d'Oyle Elliot. "Williamson, John Bruce". The Balliol College Register. Second Edition. Printed by John Johnson at the University Press. 1934. p 129. Google Books
- Edward Hilliard. "Williamson, John Bruce". The Balliol College Register 1832-1914. Printed for by H Hart at the University Press. Page 371. Google Books
- Joseph Foster. "Williamson, John Bruce". Alumni Oxonieses. Parker and Company. 1891. p 1575. Google Books
- Joseph Foster. "Williamson, John Bruce". Oxford Men and their Colleges. James Parker & Co. London and Oxford. 1893. Page 659
- (1887) 31 Solicitors' Journal and Reporter 206 Google Books (call to the bar)
- Royal Blue Book: Court and Parliamentary Guide. January 1908. Page 1495. Google Books
- Edward Lindsay Carson Mullins. Guide to the Historical and Archaeological Publications of Societies in England and Wales, 1901-1933. Institute of Historical Research, University of London. Athlone Press. 1968. Article 3135 at p 241. Also pp 654 and 848. Google Books
- Art and Architecture Book Guide: 1974. G K Hall & Co. Article 2474 at p 170 and p 353. Google Books
- (1965) 3 Selden Society, Supplementary Series 28 Google Books
- Williamson, John Bruce 1859-. WorldCat Identities.
- Walter Cecil Richardson. A History of the Inns of Court: With Special Reference to the Period of the Renaissance. Claitor's Publishing Division. 1975. p 55 & 56. Google Books
- (1925) 69 Solicitors' Journal and Weekly Reporter 561 (16 May) Google Books
- Sir Ivo d'Oyle Elliot. "Williamson, John Bruce". The Balliol College Register. Second Edition. Printed by John Johnson at the University Press. 1934. p 129. Google Books
- s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Williamson, John Bruce
- (1908) 42 Weekly Notes 317 ; (1908) 126 Law Times 19 (7 November)
- "General Council of the Bar" 46 Law Journal 108 (18 February) ("election held last week")
- "Bar Council Election, 1913" (1913) 57 Solicitors Journal and Weekly Reporter 288 (15 February) ; "Election Result, 1913" in "General Council of the Bar" (1913) 48 Weekly Notes 122, see also "General Council of the Bar" at p 105 . See also (1914) 138 Law Times 173 and 181 (19 December)
- "Obituary" (1938) 102 Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review 468 Google Books
- NPG x16347 John Bruce Williamson. National Portrait Gallery.
- Snippet view from Google Books
- (1883) 13 Oxford University Gazette 567 Google Books
- Digitised copy from Internet Archive. Snippet view from Google Books
- Published in London
- (1968) 132 Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review 233 Google Books
- For reviews of the first edition of this book, see (1898) 33 Law Journal 290 (4 June) ; "Law Library" (1898) 105 Law Times 128 (11 June) ; (1898) 42 Solicitors Journal 551 . For reviews of the second edition of this book, see (1903) 19 Law Quarterly Review 110 ; "Reviews: Licensing" (1903) 47 Solicitors Journal 142 ; "Law Library" (1903) 114 Law Times 151 ; (1903) 37 Law Journal 611 Google Books. For reviews of the third edition of this book, see (1905) 21 Law Quarterly Review 320 ; (1905) 69 Justice of the Peace 102 ; "The Licensing Act" in "Reviews" (1906) 40 Law Journal 64 ; "Licensing Law" (1905) 49 Solicitors Journal and Reporter 235 . For reviews of the fourth edition of this book, see "Reviews" (1911) 55 Solicitors' Journal and Weekly Reporter 343 and also "Books of the Week" in "Reviews" on p 166 ; (1911) 27 Law Quarterly Review 370 . For other commentary on this book, see Jelf, Where to Find Your Law, 3rd Ed, Cox, 1907, p 291 ; [1913] 2 KB 431 (where the book is cited with approval) ; Frethy v O'Driscoll (1902) 4 Gazette Law Reports 303 at 306 ; (1911) 130 Law Times 227
- For reviews of this book, see "The Palatine Court of Durham" (1890) 34 Solicitors Journal and Reporter 543 ; (1890) 88 Law Times 278 ; "Literary Notices" (1890) 9 Durham University Journal 32 (8 March) .
- Halsbury's Statutes, 1st Ed, 1929, vol 4, p 129 Google Books
- For reviews of this book, see 41 Law Quarterly Review 225; "Book Reviews" (1925) 34 Yale Law Journal 566 ; "The Temple" (1924) 59 Law Journal 514 ; "Book Reviews" (1926) 39 Harvard Law Review 136 ; (1925) 3 Literary Digest International Book Review 219 . For other commentary see WSH; Julius J Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection at New York University, New York University Law Library, 1953 p 185; Samuel Schoenbaum, Research Opportunities in Renaissance Drama, Northwestern University Press, 1966, p ii, para 17 ; The New York Times Book Review Index 1896-1930, vol 1 (author index), p 1331 ; The Bookman, 1924, vols 66-67, p 45 ; (1944) 282-283 Quarterly Review 420 .
- John Baker. Collected Papers on English Legal History. CUP. 2013. p 310.
- For reviews of this book, see (1928) 166 Law Times 340 ; Times Literary Supplement, 6 December 1928, p 971, reprinted at (1928) 12 Chicago Bar Association Record 236 . For other commentary see, (1930) 46 Scottish Law Review and Sheriff Court Reports 289 ("admirable")
- For commentary on this book, see (1992) 23 Law Librarian 89 (No 2, June)
- For a review of this book, see (1931) 172 Law Times 99 (1 August)
- Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature, CUP, 1936, vol 27, p 150, para 2501
- For reviews of this book and reading, see "Sir Walter Raleigh and the Middle Temple" (1935) 180 Law Times 371 ; "Sir Walter Raleigh and His Trial" in "General Intelligence" (1936) 182 Law Times 393 ; (1936) 55 Law Notes 94
- The first edition of "The Middle Temple Bench Book" by Arthur Robert Ingpen (biography in A & C Black's Who Was Who) was published in 1912. Volume 2 of the second edition by Harold Willis was published in 1982. The Supplement to the second edition was published in 1958.
- For a review of this volume, see (1938) 54 Scottish Law Review and Sheriff Court Reports 207
- Wallace, Roger William; "Obituary" (1926) 15 Chemical Age 592 ; "Obituary" (1926) 162 Law Times 507 . Men at the Bar. Also has biography in A & C Black's Who Was Who.
- Roger William Wallace, John Bruce Williamson. The Law and Practice Relating to Letters Patent for Inventions. W Clowes and Sons Limited. 1900. Digitised copy from Internet Archive. Google Books.
- For reviews of this book, see "Wallace and Williams on Patents for Inventions" in "Reviews" (1901) 35 Law Journal 490 ; "Reviews" (1901) 26 Law Magazine and Review (Fifth Series) 112 ; (1900) 45 The Electrician 893 ; "Review" (1900) 47 Electrical Review 390, and see also p 510 ; (1900) 2 Athenæum 375 ; "The Law Relating to Patents" (1900) 85 The Spectator 381 (22 September 1900) .