Richard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley

The Right Honourable The Lord Alvanley PC KC
File:1stLordAlvanley.jpg
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas
In office 22 May 1801 – 19 March 1804
Monarch	George III
Preceded by	The Lord Eldon
Succeeded by	Sir James Mansfield
Master of the Rolls
In office 1788–1801
Monarch	George III
Preceded by	Sir Lloyd Kenyon
Succeeded by	Sir William Grant
Attorney General
In office 1784–1788
Monarch	George III
Prime Minister	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	Lloyd Kenyon
Succeeded by	Sir Archibald Macdonald
Personal details
Born	(1744-06-20)20 June 1744 Bredbury, England
Died
Nationality	British
Political party	Whig
Spouse(s)	Anne Dorothea Wilbraham-Bootle (m. 1784)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge
Religion	Church of England

Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley PC KC (20 May 1744 – 19 March 1804) was a British barrister and Whig politician, who served as the Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He was a Member of Parliament from 1783 to 1801.

Biography

He was born on 20 May 1744 in Bredbury, the son of John Arden (1709–1787), and Mary Pepper, and baptised on 20 June 1744 in Stockport. Educated at The Manchester Grammar School, he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in November 1761 and received his BA in 1766. Arden was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1769, and received his MA from Trinity the same year.

Invested as a King's Counsel in 1780, he was Solicitor General during the ministry of Shelburne, and again for a year under Pitt. At this time he entered Parliament, as the Whig MP for Newtown from 1783 to 1784. In 1784 he became MP for Aldborough, and was appointed Attorney General and Chief Justice of Chester, posts he would hold until 1788.

On 4 June 1788, he was again advanced to become Master of the Rolls, and was knighted on 18 June 1788. He was also appointed to the Privy Council that year. In 1790, he left Aldborough to become MP for Hastings until 1794, and then for Bath until 1801.

In May 1801, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and on 22 May 1801, was created Baron Alvanley, of Alvanley, in the County of Chester. Alvanley died on 19 March 1804 and was buried a week later in Rolls Chapel, London. His will was probated in April 1804.

Quoting from Cokayne, The Complete Peerage: "He was not a man of great oratorical powers, but possessed the qualities of intelligence, readiness and wit... It would be vain to claim any great distinction for Lord Alvanley. He was a learned lawyer and a successful politician... the few productions that remain from his pen evince refinement, taste and facility of expression."

Family

On 9 September 1784, Arden married Anne Dorothea Wilbraham-Bootle, daughter of Richard Wilbraham-Bootle and Mary Bootle. They had six children:

• Hon. Sarah Arden (b.c.1787)
• William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley (1789–1849), died unmarried.
• Hon. Frances Henrietta Arden (1792–1852), married Sir John Warrender of Lochend, 5th Baronet, son of Sir Patrick Warrender of Lochend.
• Richard Pepper Arden, 3rd Baron Alvanley (1792–1857), married Lady Arabella Vane, daughter of William Henry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland and Lady Catherine Margaret Powlett.
• Hon. Katherine Dorothea Arden (1792–1853)
• Hon. Fanny Emma Arden (1794–1871), married Charles Davenly, son of Major Augustus Davenly and Lady Harriet Belasyse.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 
• Axon, W. E. A., 'Arden, Richard Pepper, Baron Alvanley (1745–1804)', Dictionary of National Biography, 1885
• Lemmings, David, ‘Arden, Richard Pepper, first Baron Alvanley (1744–1804)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 29 December 2008

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by John Barrington Henry Dundas	Member of Parliament for Newtown 1783–1784 With: John Barrington	Succeeded by John Barrington James Worsley
Preceded by Sir Samuel Fludyer, Bt John Gally Knight	Member of Parliament for Aldborough 1784–1790 With: John Gally Knight	Succeeded by John Gally Knight Richard Muilman-Trench-Chiswell
Preceded by John Dawes John Stanley	Member of Parliament for Hastings 1790–1794 With: John Stanley	Succeeded by John Stanley Robert Saunders-Dundas
Preceded by Viscount Bayham Viscount Weymouth	Member of Parliament for Bath 1794–1801 With: Viscount Weymouth	Succeeded by Viscount Weymouth Lord John Thynne
Legal offices
Preceded by John Lee	Solicitor General 1782–1783	Succeeded by John Lee
Preceded by James Mansfield	Solicitor General 1783–1784	Succeeded by Archibald Macdonald
Preceded by Lloyd Kenyon	Attorney General 1784–1788	Succeeded by Sir Archibald Macdonald
Preceded by Sir Lloyd Kenyon	Master of the Rolls 1788–1801	Succeeded by Sir William Grant
Preceded by The Lord Eldon	Chief Justice of the Common Pleas 1801–1804	Succeeded by Sir James Mansfield
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Alvanley 1801–1804	Succeeded by William Arden