John Duke Coleridge notes compiled and used in preparing the Defence's closing argument in the first Tichborne trial, Tichborne v Lushington

MLMSS 11768/Box 1X

fonds

1871-1872

1001663

0.37 metres of textual material (1 outsize box) - manuscript volume with original green cloth covers, 77 leaves

John Duke Coleridge was an eminent barrister, judge and Liberal politician who eventually became Lord Chief Justice of England.

The Tichborne case or the case of the missing heir became one of the most celebrated and widely-publicised legal cases of the 19th century. Roger Tichborne, heir to his family's baronetcy and fortune, was presumed to have died in a shipwreck in 1854 off the coast of South America. His mother, Lady Tichborne, refused to believe that he was dead and after hearing rumours that he had made his way to Australia, advertised in Australian newspapers, offering a reward for information. In 1866, Thomas Castro, a butcher from Wagga Wagga came forward claiming to be Roger Tichborne. Although he bore only a moderate resemblance to Tichborne he was accepted by Lady Tichborne as her son. However, following Lady Tichborne's death in 1868, investigations by other family members revealed that Castro (generally referred to as ‘The Claimant’) was probably Arthur Orton, a butcher's son from Wapping, who had gone to sea as a boy and had last been heard of in Australia. In 1871 the matter was listed for trial in the Court of Common Pleas as Tichborne v Lushington, an action for the ejectment of Colonel Lushington, the tenant of Tichborne Park. The real purpose, however, was to establish the Claimant’s identity as Sir Roger Tichborne and consequently his rights to the family's estates. In January 1872, John Duke Coleridge, acting for the defence, sought to prove that the Claimant was in fact Arthur Orton. Coleridge began the case for the defence with a speech during which he categorised the Claimant as comparable with ‘the great impostors of history’. After 102 days the court rejected the Claimant’s suit and he was charged with perjury. In 1874, after another marathon trial, a criminal court jury decided that he was an imposter and he was sentenced to 14 years hard labour.

Reference:
Library acquisition file

Purchased by Douglas Stewart from a local ephemera dealer at the London Ephemera Fair in 2015. The dealer had acquired it from a local estate sale.

Manuscript in ink on thick, ruled paper comprising selected excerpts from the trial transcripts of Tichborne v Lushington, arranged by subject and indexed, written in a clerical hand, with commentaries and annotations in another hand, presumably that of John Duke Coleridge, the principal lawyer for the defence.

Out of copyright:
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