George Bankes

Not to be confused withGeorge BankorGeorge Banks.

Sir George Bankes KB
Personal details
Born	(1787-12-01)1 December 1787
Died	5 July 1856(1856-07-05)(aged 68) Old Palace Yard, Westminster
Nationality	British
Spouse	Georgina Charlotte Nugent
Children	Edmund George Bankes
Parents	Henry Bankes(father) Frances Woodley(mother)
Residence(s)	Old Palace Yard Kingston Lacey
Education	Westminster Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Occupation	judge
Profession	barrister-at-law

George Bankes(1 December 1787 – 5 July 1856) was the last of the CursitorBarons of the Exchequer,the office being abolished by Conservative ministry of the Earl of Derby in 1852. Without any legal experience at the bar, he was the last barrister to be appointed to the post considered to be a medieval anachronism.

Early life

Bankes was the third son ofHenry BankesMPof Kingston Hall,Dorsetshire,who representedCorfe Castlefor nearly fifty years, and of Frances, daughter of William Woodley, governor of theLeeward Islands.Bankes was a lineal descendant ofSir John Bankes,Chief Justice of the Common Pleasin the reign ofCharles I.He was educated atWestminster SchoolandTrinity Hall, Cambridge.

Career

Bankes studied law first atLincoln's Inn,and afterward at theInner Temple,and was called to thebarby the latter society in 1815. In the following year, he enteredParliamentas his father's colleague for the family borough ofCorfe Castle,which he represented in every succeeding Parliament until 1823. He was again returned for Corfe Castle in 1826, and sat until 1832, when the family borough was united with that ofWareham.

Kingston Lacy House – the Bankes family seat

He does not appear to have achieved any remarkable professional success, but owing, presumably, to his family influence, he was appointed one of the bankruptcy commissioners in 1822, and Cursitor Baron in 1824. In 1829, under theWellington administration,he became chief secretary of theBoard of Control,and in the next year aJunior Lord of the Treasury,and one of the commissioners for the affairs of India.

Bankes was returned unopposed for Corfe Castle at the general election of 1826 and occupied the seat until 1832.In 1831, while returning to Purbeck in an open carriage from the declaration at the Dorset county election in the company ofLord Encombe,he was stoned at Wareham by a mob of a hundred men. Although there were no injuries, it was stated that Encombe might have died had not an umbrella deflected one of the stones from his head.At the general election in 1841 Bankes again entered Parliament, being returned by thecounty of Dorset,for which he continued to sit until his death. ATory,he strenuously opposedRobert Peel's commercial reforms. Duringthe short administrationof theEarl of Derbyin 1852, Bankes held the office ofJudge Advocate General,and was sworn aPrivy Councillor.

On the death of his elder brother,William John BankesMP,in 1855, he succeeded to the family estate at Kingston Lacy, but died himself the following year at his residence inOld Palace Yard,Westminster. He left three sons and five daughters by his wife Georgina Charlotte, only child ofAdmiral Sir Charles NugentGCBKingston Lacy passed to his eldest son, Edmund George Bankes.

Writing

Bankes was the author ofThe Story of Corfe Castle and of many who have lived there,and ofBrave Dame Mary,a work of fiction inspired by the life ofMary Bankes.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:"Bankes, George".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

External links

• Hansard1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by George Bankes(Corfe Castle)
• Hansard1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by George Bankes(Dorset)