Henry Gwillim

Sir Henry Gwillim (c. 1760 - 22 September 1837, Staplefield, Sussex[1]) was a British judge who served for some time in the Supreme Court at Madras as a puisne judge. He came to be called the "irascible Welshman" and was recalled after a case involving the Governor Lord William Bentinck.

Gwillim was the eldest son of John Gwillim of Hereford in a family with Welsh origins. He studied law and was called to the Middle Temple on 9 February 1787.[2] Gwillim was knighted in 1801 and moved to India along with his wife Elizabeth and her sister. His wife recorded life in Madras in her letters and made paintings of the landscapes and the birds of the region. Gwillim was sworn in at Madras on 4 September 1801 along with Sir Benjamin Sullivan as a Puisne Justice[3] and was considered an upright magistrate but was embroiled in a controversy when he, being in charge due to the absence of the chief justice Sir Thomas Andrew Strange, made allegations against the conduct and character of Lord William Bentinck. This was related to the Vellore mutiny and the appointment of Captain James Grant, his body guard, as head of the police. Gwillim saw the new police force as an instrument of oppression and abused. Gwillim suggested that Bentinck could not have the blood of Cavendishes who had fought for liberty and suggested that he was a spurious offspring of the family. The advocate-general, who disliked Gwillim, sent a formal complaint to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, leading to an order for his recall being issued on 12 November 1807. Gwillim acknowledged receipt of the order on 29 June 1808 and set sail in October. An enquiry was set up and a letter was issued on 11 April 1810 which confirmed his removal from the Supreme Court with a reduction in his pension.[4][5][6]

Gwillim published a few books and compilations on laws including A New Abridgment of the Law (1860) running into several volumes and editions and a four-volume A Collection of Acts and Records of Parliament, with Reports of Cases argued and determined in the courts of Law and Equity respecting Tithes (1801).[7]

References
  1. "[Newspaper clip]" (PDF).
  2. Register of Admissions to the Middle Temple (PDF). p. 389.
  3. Shaw, John (1882). "The Predecessors of the High Court in Madras". The Madras Journal of Literature and Science: 158–204.
  4. "The Bar in India, No. III". The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australasia. London: Parbury, Allen, and Co. 16: 34–35. 1835.
  5. Auber, Peter (1846). Rise and Progress of the British Power in India. History of the Rise and Progress of British Power in India. Volume II (2 ed.). W.H. Allen and Company. pp. 445–449.
  6. Cardew, Sir Alexander (1929). The White Mutiny. London: Constable and Co. pp. 153–164.
  7. "Review". The British Critic. 20: 13–15. 1802.


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