Thomas Bouchier

Thomas Bouchier , also Bourchier, (* 1633 ; † May 9, 1723 ) was Regius Professor of Civil Law from 1672 to 1712.

Life

Thomas Bouchier was the older son of James Bouchier († 1641) from Long Hanborough near Woodstock in Oxfordshire . He attended Winchester College and was then enrolled at Magdalen Hall as Thomas Boucher on November 19, 1650.

Bouchier was a Fellow of All Souls College and received a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) on July 31, 1658. Later that year he was admitted to the Court of Arches and on October 25, 1664 became a member of Doctors' Commons . But he opened neither a law firm for one of the ecclesiastical courts or the Admiralty Courts , yet he remained an active member of the Doctors' Commons . The only judicial position he ever held was that of Commissioner for the Diocese of Canterbury.

He married Frances Astell and spent most of his time in Long Hanborough, where he made substantial additions to his father's inherited fortune. He also bought a farm in Kidlington, where he built another large estate in 1697.

Bouchier spent practically his entire career in Oxford. He was the deputy of Sir Giles Sweit , the Regius Professor of Civil Law (1661–1672), while Sweit was active in London as Dean of Arches . After Sweit's death in 1662, Bouchier followed him as Regius Professor. His term of office does not show any professional highlights. Although knowledgeable in civil law and occasionally providing legal opinions as a fellow of All Souls College, he made no discernible contributions to law .

In 1712 he was awarded the Doctor of Civil Law (DCL). In the same year he downright damaged the faculty by installing his son James (1683-1736) against the opposition within the university as his successor in the office of Regius Professor. The younger Bouchier, in Thomas Hearne's opinion the "proudest, vain, cocky, insolent and ignorant dude" was only moderately familiar with civil law and considered by many to be utterly unsuitable for the position. When he was named Assessor to the Oxford Vice Chancellor's Court, it was claimed that he was performing all of his duties at his father's behest. From 1678 to 1723 Thomas Bouchier was also director of St. Alban Hall. Under his leadership and that of his son, who also succeeded him in this capacity, the hall lost its status. Twenty members of the hall retired after Bouchier accused some of them of fathering an illegitimate child attributable to his son.

Thomas' son Richard (1691-1725) obtained a Bachelor of Divinity from Oxford in 1725 , while his son William (* 1694) received his doctorate in medicine in 1727 .

Thomas Bouchier died on May 9, 1723 and was buried in the Hanbourough cemetery in a mausoleum he built . In his diary, Thomas Hearne described Bouchier as "the most vile and repulsive guy who would do anything for money."

His son William (aka Butcher by Wood) erected a memorial to his parents and other family members in Hanbourough Church in 1780.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} The Clergy Database Record Thomas Bouchier ; accessed on July 15, 2014.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u} Brian P. Levack, 'Bouchier, Thomas (1633–1723)' , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008. doi : 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 66889
3. ↑ Thomas Hearne Remarks and Collections of Thomas Hearne , Volume 10; The Oxford University Press;
4. ↑ Thomas Hearne, Remarks and Collections of Thomas Hearne VOL. VIII SEPT. 23, 1722 AUG. 9, 1725 ; Volume 8; The Oxford University Press.