Frank Lockwood

Sir Frank Lockwood, (15 July 1846 – 18 December 1897) was an English lawyer and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons as MP for City of York from 1885 to 1897.

Life

Lockwood was born in Doncaster, the son of Charles Day Lockwood. His great-grandfather Joseph Lockwood (c. 1758–1837) was twice mayor of Doncaster, and his grandfather was for many years judge on the racecourse. Lockwood was educated at a private school, at Manchester Grammar School, and Caius College, Cambridge.

Lockwood was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1872, and joined the old midland circuit, afterwards going to the north-eastern, making in his first year 120 guineas and in the next 265 guineas. From that time he had a career of uninterrupted success, a high-profile brief being the defence of the murderer Charles Peace in 1879. In 1880 he was a member of a Royal Commission to enquire into Corrupt Practices at Chester. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1882 and in 1884 he was made recorder of Sheffield.

Lockwood made two unsuccessful attempts to enter parliament, the one at King's Lynn at the 1880 general election, the other at York at by-election in 1883. He was elected Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for York at the 1885 general election and held the seat until his death in 1897. In 1894 he became solicitor-general in Lord Rosebery's ministry, and was knighted. He was solicitor-general for less than a year. During this period he prosecuted the murderer James Canham Read.

In May 1895 Lockwood was lead counsel for the prosecution in Regina v. Oscar Wilde. The Liberal government seemed determined to secure a successful prosecution. Edward Carson, who had successfully defended the Marquess of Queensberry against Wilde's misguided criminal libel, approached Frank Lockwood and asked "Can we not let up on the fellow now?". Lockwood answered that he would like to do so, but feared that the case had become too politicised to be dropped.