- William Drinkwater
Sir William Drinkwater (28 March 1812 - 22 May 1909) was a
First Deemster of theIsle of Man .Drinkwater came from an old
Liverpool family and was born on the 28th March, 1812. His Great-Grandfather wasMayor of Liverpool in 1810 and married a Miss Leece, of Ballamona,Braddan . The long European peace, which followed theBattle of Waterloo resulted in many English children being sent to France for education and among these was William Leece Drinkwater, who attendedAngoulëme College and became fluent in French. He then attended theRoyal Institution School in Liverpool and thenSt John's College ,Cambridge . He graduated with a BA degree in 1834 and later took an MA degree. He was called to the English Bar (Inner Temple ) in 1837 and subsequently practised in the Northern circuit acting as a reporting barrister in the Common Pleas Division.Ten years later Drinkwater was appointed
Second Deemster of theIsle of Man , and eight years laterFirst Deemster . As a judge his record was one of which any man would have had good reason to be proud. His profound knowledge of both English and Manx law, his common sense and his impectable impartiality made him almost the perfect judge.His position as Deemster entitled him to a seat in the Legislative Council and his record as a member of the Legislature was as distinguished as that of his career as a judge. In politics he was a
conservative . He was also very independent and this independence often brought him into conflict with Sir Henry Loch, who was very autocratic in his methods and ruled Legislative Council with a rod of iron. Drinkwater was the only member of the Council willing to put up a fight and seldom came off second best. Despite their frequent bickerings in the Council andTynwald Court, Loch and Drinkwater were friends in private life.In 1877 on the recommendation of Lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Loch he was knighted. In the autumn of 1897 he resigned his Deemstership and retired from public life. After retiring from the bench and Legislature, Drinkwater continued to take a great interest in the
Isle of Man Hospital being Chairman of the Committee. He died on 22 May 1909 and his funeral was a private affair with only 7 family members present.Offices of State
*
First Deemster , 1855 - 1897
*Second Deemster , 1847 - 1855
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