Background
Henry Hawkins was born at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom on the 14th of September 1817; the son of John Hawkins, a solicitor, and Susanna, daughter of Theed Pearse.
Henry Hawkins was born at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom on the 14th of September 1817; the son of John Hawkins, a solicitor, and Susanna, daughter of Theed Pearse.
He received his education at Bedford school. The son of a solicitor, he was early familiarized with legal principles.
Called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1843, Hawkins at once joined the old home circuit, and after enjoying a lucrative practice as a junior, took silk in 1859. His name is identified with many of the famous trials of the reign of Queen Victoria. He was engaged in the Simon Bernard case (of the Orsini plot celebrity), in that of Roupell v. Waite, and in the Overend-Gurney prosecutions. The two causes celebres, however, in which Hawkins attained his highest legal distinction were the Tichborne trials and the great will case of Sugden v. Lord St Leonards. In both of these he was victorious. In the first his masterly cross- examination of the witness Baigent was one of the great features of the trial. He did a lucrative business in references and arbitrations, and acted for the royal commissioners in the purchase of the site for the new law courts. Election petitions also formed another branch of his extensive practice. Hawkins was raised to the bench in 1876, and was assigned to the then exchequer division of the High Court, not as baron (an appellation which was being abolished by the Judicature Act), but with the title of Sir Henry Hawkins. He was a great advocate rather than a great lawyer. His searching voice, his manner, and the variety of his facial expression, gave him an enormous influence with juries, and as a cross-examiner he was seldom, if ever, surpassed. He was an excellent judge in chambers, where he displayed a clear and vigorous grasp of details and questions of fact. His knowledge of the criminal law was extensive and intimate, the reputation he gained as a "hanging" judge making him a terror to evil-doers; and the court for crown cases reserved was never considered complete without his assistance. In 1898 he retired from the bench. He frequently took part in determining House of Lords appeals, and his judgments were distinguished by their lucidity and grasp.
In 1904 he published his Reminiscences. He died in London on the 6th of October 1907, and Lady Brampton in the following year.
In 1898 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1903 he presented, in conjunction with Lady Brampton (his second wife), the chapel of SS. Augustine and Gregory to the Roman Catholic cathedral of Westminster, which was consecrated in that year.
He was a member of the Jockey Club.
Lord Brampton was twice married. He married firstly Hannah T. Casey. After her death in September 1886 he married secondly Jane Louisa, daughter of Henry Francis Reynolds, in 1887.