Name

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke

Biography

Attorney General in 1727, later Lord Chancellor from 1737 to 1756 — the most powerful legal figure in England for nearly two decades. His 1727 ruling confirmed that the Customs Commissioners' authority 'doth not extend to that Island' — no officer could make a seizure there. His second opinion (1729) confirmed that Crown jurisdiction followed the person through prerogative institutions, while Parliamentary jurisdiction was territorial and stopped at the shore. These two opinions mapped the constitutional boundary that the Revestment would violate. Grey Cooper cited Hardwicke at the Bar of the House in 1765. Nobody in Parliament had consulted the ruling before acting. The opinions sat in the files. Nobody looked.

Active Period

1690–1764

Also Known As

Philip Yorke

Lord Hardwicke

Place

London

Westminster

Period

Atholl Lordship

Role / Office

Attorney General

Lord Chancellor

Legal Authority

Book Chapter

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11