John Hobhouse, Baron Hobhouse of Woodborough

John Stewart Hobhouse, Baron Hobhouse of Woodborough, PC (31 January 1932 – 15 March 2004) was a British barrister and judge who served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1998 to 2004.

For other people named John Hobhouse, see John Hobhouse (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable
The Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough
PC
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
In office
1998–2004
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office
1993–1998
Personal details
Born
John Stewart Hobhouse

31 January 1932
Mossley Hill, Liverpool
Died15 March 2004
NationalityBritish
SpouseSusannah Roskill
Children3
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
OccupationJudge
ProfessionBarrister

Biography

Hobhouse was born in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, the son of the shipowner Sir John Richard Hobhouse, and grandson of Henry Hobhouse, the MP.[1] He was educated at Eton College. After working abroad in Australia and New Zealand on a sheep farm, Hobhouse returned to Christ Church, Oxford in 1951, where he read Jurisprudence. He was called to the bar by Inner Temple in 1955, of which he later became a bencher.

Following a pupillage with Michael Kerr, Hobhouse became a tenant at 7 King's Bench Walk, the chambers of Henry Brandon, and joined the Northern Circuit. At the bar he specialised in admiralty law. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1973.

Hobhouse was made a High Court judge in 1982, receiving the customary knighthood, and was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. He was made a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1993, when he was also sworn of the Privy Council. On 1 October 1998 he was appointed as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, becoming a life peer as Baron Hobhouse of Woodborough, of Woodborough in the County of Wiltshire.[2]

Family

Lord Hobhouse was married to Susannah Roskill, the daughter of Sir Ashton Roskill QC. They had two sons and one daughter.

His grandfather Henry was the nephew and ward of Arthur Hobhouse, 1st Baron Hobhouse.[3]

Reputation

Lord Justice Bean has criticised Lord Hobhouse for his perceived lack of human empathy. He said, "Hobhouse was a desiccated calculating machine, unsuited to trying cases involving human beings."[4]

Notable cases

Notable judicial decisions in which Lord Hobhouse participated included:

References
  1. "Hobhouse, Sir John Richard". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33905. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. House of Lords (7 October 1998). "Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords". minutes of proceedings. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  3. "Hobhouse, Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33904. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. "Speech by Lord Justice Bean – Personal Injuries Bar Association". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.


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