Horace Davey, Baron Davey

Horace Davey, Baron Davey, PC, FRS, FBA (30 August 1833 – 20 February 1907) was an English judge and Liberal politician.

Davey was the son of Peter Davey, of Horton, Buckinghamshire and Caroline Emma Pace, and was born in Camberwell, Surrey. He was educated at Rugby and University College, Oxford, where he matriculated on 20 March 1852. He took a double first-class in Classics and Mathematics (Moderations and Finals), was senior mathematical scholar and Eldon law scholar (1859), and was elected a Fellow of his college (1856–67).

Having achieved a BA (1856), and an MA (1859) Davey decided on a career in the law. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn on 19 Jan 1857. On 26 January 1861, he was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn.

Almost as soon as he started work as a law reporter, he married the following summer, on 5 Aug 1862. He was employed on young titles such as New Reports, when he joined in marriage Louisa Hawes Donkin at St George's, Camberwell. She was the daughter of John Donkin of Ormond House, Old Kent Road, a civil engineer.

Davey's success at law reporting allowed him to read in the chambers of John Wickens, 8 New Square, Lincoln's Inn. As an Equity pleader and early pupillage, he became a junior counsel at the Treasury, devilling in Chancery. When John Wickens was promoted as Vice-Chancellor to Chancery division, he went with his old master, as his secretary. He continued in the post (1873-4) when Vice-Chancellor Hall gained office.

On the basis of this experience he was recommended for silk on 23 June 1875. He selected to join Sir George Jessel's court, often appearing before the redoubtable Joseph Chitty. Quickly moved to the House of Lords, Davey had rapidly developed a reputation for argumentation at the bar. Viscount Alverstone called him "the most brilliant barrister." As counsel his well-known cases included: Speight v. Gaunt (1883), Learoyd v. Whiteley (1887), Derry v. Peek (1889). Lord Haldane, himself, the greatest intellectual philosopher-politician of his generation described Davey as "the finest advocate on pure points of law..." Lord MacNaughten believed that there was no one better at "arguing a point of practice."

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