Chief Justice of the Leeward Islands

The chief justice of the Leeward Islands headed the Supreme Court of the Leeward Islands.

The British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisted of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Dominica (to 1940). Prior to 1871, when the Supreme Court was established, the individual islands had their own courts.

In 1939 the Windward and Leeward Islands Supreme Court and the Windward and Leeward Islands Court of Appeal were established, which was replaced in 1967 by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which provides both functions.^[1]

List of chief justices

Antigua

• 1706– Samuel Watkins^[2]
•  ?–1716 John Gamble^[3]
• 1716–c.1742 Samuel Watkins^[3]
•  ?–1750 William Lavington^[4]
• 1750– William Blizard^[4]
•  ?–1759 Richard Wilson^[5]
• 1759–1762 Ralph Payne^[5]
• c.1776 Thomas Jarvis^[6]
• c.1792–1814 Rowland Burton^[7]
• 1814–1822 James Athill^[8]
• 1823–c.1833 Paul Daxon Horsford^[8]
• c.1844–1847 Richard Weston Nanton^[9]
• 1847–1856 Robert Marsh Horsford^[10]
• 1856–>1863 Sir William Snagg^[11][12] (Antigua and Montserrat) (afterwards Chief Justice of British Guiana, 1868)
• 1863–1864 Richard Weston Mara (acting)^[10]

Dominica

• 1767–1773 Thomas Atwood (afterwards Chief Justice of the Bahamas)
• 1773 James Ashley Hall (died in office)^[13]
• 1773–1779 Thomas Wilson^[14][15]
• 1789–1805 John Matson^[16][17]
• 1806 John Burrows
• 1812–c.1825 Archibald Gloster^[18]
• 1827–1828 John O'Driscoll
• 1828–1833 Robert Sympson Jameson
• c.1844 Henry John Glanville^[9]
• 1849–? Henry Isles Woodcock^[19]
• 1856–1861 Alan Ker^[20]
• 1861– Shalto Thomas Pemberton^[10]

Montserrat

• 1804– M. Dyett^[8]
• c.1822–c.1825 Thomas Hill^[18]
• c.1833 Dudley Semper
• c.1842 John P. Trott^[21]
• c.1844 Samuel Lee Frith^[9]
• 1844–1847 John Shiell
• 1847–1856 Sir Robert Marsh Horsford^[22]
• 1856– William Snagg^[11] (afterwards Chief Justice of British Guiana, 1868)

Nevis

• 1731–1751 John Dasent
• 1754– Joseph Herbert (died 1768)
• 1781–1787 John Dasent
• 1787– John Ward
• George Webb Daniell
• 1810– James Weekes^[23]
• c.1822–1833 William Lawrence
• c.1844 George Webb^[9]
• 1854–1856 Alan Ker^[20]
• 1856 Aston Devoren^[24]

St Kitts

• c.1717 Clement Crooke
•  ?–1727 John Greatheed^[25]
• 1727–c.1730 Jeremiah Browne^[26]
• c.1730 William Pym Burt (died 1750)^[27]
• Jeremiah Browne^[26] (reinstated)
• 1735– James Gordon^[25]
•  ?–1759 Richard Wilson
• 1759– Ralph Payne (died 1763)^[28]
• 1766– Craister Greatheed (died 1780)
• 1780–1800 William Payne Georges^{[citation needed]}
• 1804– William Woodley^[8]
• 1808–1819 J. Garnett^[8]
• 1820–1833 Robert Williams Pickwoad (Pickwood) (died 8 Feb 1834)
• c.1844 Joseph King Wattley, Snr^[9]
• 1849–? Henry John Glanville^[19]
•  ?–1856 Aston Devoren^[29] (afterwards Chief Justice of Nevis)
• 1856 Archibald Paul Burt (temp)^[29]
• 1857–1867 Henry James Ross^[30]
• 1873–1874 Robert French Sheriff (acting)^[31]

British Leeward Islands

• 1874–1875 Sir Julian Pauncefote^[32]
• 1875–1877 Sir William Henry Doyle^[33]
• 1878–1879 Sir George Campbell Anderson^[34]
• 1879–1882 Sir Henry James Burford-Hancock^[35]
• 1881–1883 Sir John Tankerville Goldney (acting)
• 1883–1886 Sir John Gorrie (afterwards Chief Justice of Trinidad, 1886)
• 1886–1891 Sir Henry Ludlow^[36]
• 1891–1900 Sir Henry Wrenfordsley^[37]
• 1900–1911 John Symonds Udal
• 1912–1919 Sir Frederic Mackenzie Maxwell^[38]
• 1919–1921 Sir Charles James Griffin^[39]
• 1921–1922 Sir Alfred Karney Young^[40]
• 1923–1924 Sir George Campbell Deane^[41]
• 1925–1931 Sir Herbert Cecil Stronge^[42]
• 1931–1937 Sir James Stanley Rae^[43]
• 1937–1939 Sir Wilfred Murray Wigley^[44]

Windward and Leeward Islands

• 1940–1943 James Henry Jarrett^[45]
• 1943–1950 Sir Clement Malone^[44][46]
• 1950–1957 Sir Donald Edward Jackson^[47]
• 1958–1963 Sir Cyril George Xavier Henriques^[48][49][50]
• 1963–?1967 Frank E. Field^[51]

References

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7. Oliver, Langford. The history of the island of Antigua. p. 139.
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20. A Catalogue of Notable Middle Templars:
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28. Oliver, Vere Langford (21 June 1894). "The history of the island of Antigua, one of the Leeward Caribbees in the West Indies, from the first settlement in 1635 to the present time". London, Mitchell and Hughes. Retrieved 21 June 2019 – via Internet Archive.
29. Sir Archibald Burt: First Chief Justice of Western Australia, 1861-1879
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32. Eyffinger, Arthur. The 1899 Hague Peace Conference: The Parliament of Man, the Federation of the World. p. 153.
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38. "The County Families of the United Kingdom, ed. 59, Page 945 | Document Viewer". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
39. "Downing Street, 15th January 1919" (PDF). The Edinburgh Gazette. 21 January 1919. p. 410. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
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44. "Basseterre past and present". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
45. "Named Chief Justice. London, Feb. 5". The Ottawa Journal. Ottawa, Canada. 6 February 1940. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. The Colonial Office tonight announced appointment of J. H. Jarrett, now Colonial Secretary of the Bahamas, as chief justice of the Windward and Leeward islands.
46. "THE LONDON GAZETTE" (PDF). www.thegazette.co.uk. 15 June 1943. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
47. "No. 39904". The London Gazette. 3 July 1953. p. 3677.
48. Chief Secretary's Office (5 February 1959). "Ref. No. P.F. 770". The Antigua, Montserrat and Virgin Islands Gazette. Vol. 4, no. 8. by Authority. p. 1. Mr. Henrique's appointment became effective on 24th December, 1958.
49. "No. 41534". The London Gazette. 28 October 1958. p. 6590. The Queen has been pleased to give directions for the appointment of Cyril George Xavier Henriques, Esq., (Commissioner for Law Revision, British Honduras) to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Windward and Leeward Islands.
50. "No. 42870". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1963. p. 2.
51. Government House (23 January 1964). "Appointment of Chief Justice of the Windward and Leeward Islands". The Antigua, Montserrat and Virgin Islands Gazette. Vol. 9, no. 5. by Authority. p. 21. The Secretary of State for the Colonies ... has appointed Mr. Justice Frank E. Field to the office of Chief Justice of the Windward and Leeward Islands with effect from 2nd December, 1963.