Edward Abbott Parry

Sir Edward Abbott Parry (2 October 1863 – 1 December 1943) was a British judge and dramatist.[1]

Sir Edward Abbott Parry (portrayed in 1927 in a bookplate designed for him)

Parry was born in London into a prominent Welsh family, the second son of barrister John Humffreys Parry[2][3] and grandson of antiquary John Humffreys Parry, a leader of the Welsh literature movement in the early 19th century. His great-uncle Thomas Parry was bishop of Barbados and his great-grandfather Edward Parry was Rector of Llanferres, Denbighshire.[1]

Parry himself studied at the Middle Temple and was called to the Bar in 1885. He was Judge of Manchester County Court 1894-1911[4] and became Judge of Lambeth County Court in 1911. He wrote several plays and books for children.[5] He was appointed to sit on a Pensions Appeal Tribunal in the summer of 1917, which dealt with appeals against governmental decisions on military pensions, and later published a book on War Pensions: Past and Present, co-authored with Sir Alfred Codrington, another member of the Tribunal.[6]

He died in Sevenoaks, Kent, aged 80.[1]

Beyond the stark details of this curriculum vitae, much can be learnt about Parry as a man from his autobiography.[7] To cite one anecdote, he took a summer holiday, probably in 1895 or 1896, in the tiny village of Rhoscolyn on Anglesey and became a great friend of the Revd. John Hopkins, the Rector. When Hopkins died in 1901, Parry was instrumental (with others) in erecting a fine copper memorial tablet in the church. He also published an appreciation in the Cornhill Magazine.[8] The obvious mutual empathy and warmth of the friendship between two men of such different backgrounds is a credit to both: the London-educated judge, son of a barrister and the iron miner (before his ordination) and son of a Merthyr publican[9], fined for selling beer during the time of divine service.[10]

Works
  • 1888: (ed.) The Love Letters of Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple, 1652-54. London: Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh
  • 1895: Katawampus, its Treatment and Cure. London: David Nutt (many later editions)
    • Katawampus, its treatment and cure, and the First Book of Krab. Illustrated by Archie Macgregor, coloured by Cynthia Moon. Manchester: Sherratt & Hughes, 1921
  • 1897: The First Book of Krab: Christmas stories for young and old; with illustrations by Archie MacGregor. London: David Nutt
  • 1900: Don Quixote of the Mancha. Re-told by Judge Parry. Illustrated by Walter Crane. London: David Nutt
  • 1914: The Law and The Poor. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  • 1923: The Seven Lamps of Advocacy. London: T. Fisher Unwin

References
  1. "Obituary: Edward Parry – Judge and Author". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 3 December 1943. p. 7.
  2.  Foster, Joseph (1885). "Parry, Edward Abbott" . Men-at-the-Bar  (second ed.). London: Hazell, Watson, and Viney. p. 353.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-03-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Resident of Burlington Road, Withington--Lejeune, C. A. (1964) Thank You for Having Me. London: Hutchinson; p. 36
  5. The Green Room Book, and Who's Who on the Stage. 1907
  6. Parry, Edward Abbott; Codrington, Alfred Edward. "War pensions, past and present". London, Nisbet – via Internet Archive.
  7. Parry, Edward (1932). My Own Way, An Autobiography. Cassell.
  8. Parry, Edward (1905). "A Welsh Rector of the Last Century". The Cornhill Magazine. XVIII: 32–43.
  9. Census of England and Wales. 1851.
  10. The Welshman. 24 December 1841. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  • The seven lamps of advocacy. Published 1968 by Books for Libraries Press in Freeport, N.Y .
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