LORD CHIEF BARON SMITH. John Smith, Esq. of Gray's Inn, fourth son of Roger Smith, Esq. of Frolesworth in Leicestershire, was called to the degree of Serjeant at law, Oct. 1, 1700; made a Baron of the Exchequer June 18, 1702; appointed one of the Barons of the Exchequer in Scotland, on the first institution of that Court, May 1, 1708; and Lord Chief Baron, April 7, 1709; which high station he filled with great credit till June 20, 1726, when he died, at Frolesworth, of a dropsy, at the age of 70. gra "He supported the character of a Judge with vity, and great prudence, uprightness, and integrity; and had every thing that could be wished for, or desired, to render him great, beloved, and esteemed; and, having sat here ever since the commencement of the Union, admired by all for his great abilities and Judgelike qualities, he is now universally lamented in this country. He was in all respects an excellent person, and of a most unblemished reputation; and seemed to tread exactly in the footsteps of the late famous *The houses of the two brothers still remain nearly in their original state, and are occupied by farmers. That in which Roger Smith, the eldest son, lived, bears marks of great antiquity. He was succeeded by a son of the same name, rector of Husbands Bosworth, where he resided; and he by his son Edward Smith, Esq. LL. D.; who, on the death of his cousin Sir Edward Smith, of Edmundthorpe, Bart. in 1720, without issue had succeeded to the family property at Edmundthorpe ; and died in 1762, aged 57, after having thirty years represented the County of Leicester in Parliament. His property at Frolesworth he settled, after marriage, on his wife Margaret, daughter of Edward Horsman, Esq. of Stretton, co. Rutland. This lady (who was also one of the coheirs of Gilbert Horsman, Esq. an eminent conveyancer) died in 1780, aged 72; and her property at Frolesworth is now enjoyed by William Collins, Esq. and Captain Goodwin Colquitt, of the Royal Navy, in right of his wife Catharine, sister of Mr. Collins; Mrs. Margaret Smith having devised the estate to them after the death of her sister Mrs. Horsman, which happened in January 1795. Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England. He has endowed the Chapel, which he erected in this City at his own expence, for the use of those of the Communion of the Church of England who are well affected to his present Majesty and the Royal Family; and left many other monuments besides, which will perpetuate his memory in this Nation." ap This gentleman was much attached to his native village; but the house he lived in has nothing remarkable about it, except its plain and humble pearance, which would bespeak it to have been always the residence of a farmer. Amongst many other acts, however, of charity and beneficence, he has raised in Frolesworth a monument to his fame, more durable than brass, and which will transmit his name to the remotest posterity, with the godlike character of having" caused the widow's heart to sing for joy."-By his last will, dated May 29, 1723, he directed his body to be buried in the most private manner wherever he might die; and gave his real estates, in trust, to his much esteemed friends, William Boothby, Esq. of Marston; and Edward Wigley, Esq. of Ullesthorpe, for the use of his grand-nephew Edward Smith, Esq. for life; and to his heirs male; in default, to other relations. He gave also annuities to several of his servants; and his personal estate in trust, to secure 1200l. to his nephew George Duke and Mary his wife, and their children; the residue among the children of his nephews Dowdswell and Colquitt, the daughters of his nephew Roger Smith, and others. *Inscription in the Episcopal Chapel, at the foot of Blackfriars Wynd, Edinburgh : — "This Chapel was erected in the year of our Lord 1722, at the sole expence of the Right Hon. John Smith, Lord Chief Baron of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer, for the performance of divine service according to the usage of the Church of England; who also endowed the same with the clear sum of Forty-pounds per annum for ever."-And in Maitland's History of Edinburgh, p. 168, is a copy of the deed of foundation of that Chapel, July 25, 1722. + Extracted from a Letter written at Edinburgh in 1728. By By a codicil, dated July 3, 1725, the Chief Baron confirms the will; and appoints his kinsman Thomas Boothby, of Marston, Esq. to be executor in the room of his father, then deceased. He secures also the 12007. to George and Mary Duke, and their children, out of his personal estate; "but so as to be in full discharge of what they or any of them may any ways claim, by way of trust or otherwise, out of any part of my estate; I having, in kindness to them, made good the losses which they must have sustained by the subscription of their Long Annuities into the South Sea Stock; and giving them this to make the 1200l. which was to be secured to them and their issue by their said marriage settlement." He directs also that, out of his personal estate, a sufficient fund shall be provided, for paying for ever to the minister officiating in his Chapel at Edinburgh 40l. yearly, clear of all taxes and reprizes, which, with that he had already provided for them, would be always sufficient maintenance for them." And my will and meaning also further is, that provision shall be made, out of my said personal estate, for the maintenance of four poor widows of the communion of the Church of England, who are constantly to attend on divine service at the Parish Church of Frolesworth, and who are the most proper objects of such a charity, by a yearly payment of 51. apiece for them; for whom I design forthwith to build some houses of brick, and to be tiled, with a brew-house in common for them, each house to have a ground-room and a chamber over it; and the said houses are to be built upon that homestead at the towns-end at Frolesworth next the street, and now in the possession of Patience Heath, which I give for ever to that charity use. If it please God to determine my life before this is done, my will is, that my trustees and executors should see it done. The said widows are to be appointed by those who shall succeed me in my real estate, according to my will." Then, after several several bequests to individuals, he adds, "What overplus there is, shall be applied in augmentation of my said charities to the said four poor women, or increasing their number, according as the amount thereof shall happen to be and allow *." In 1795, when the estate devolved to the present owners, finding that there was still a considerable accumulation of the moneys of the charity unappropriated, they instantly suggested a plan for its farther improvement and extension; which, meeting with the approbation of the Trustees, and being sanctioned by the Court of Chancery, four more houses have been added (there being now 18); the site of the place encompassed with a wall; and the allowance to each widow increased from 12l. to 20l. a year. I cannot refrain from expressing the satisfaction I experienced, on a view of the Hospital in 1805, in observing the very neat manner in which the apartments are fitted up, and the apparent happiness of the aged widows; and it affords me a very high, gratification to record, that the will of the Chief Baron has been treated with proper regard, and that the funds intended for benevolent purposes have been admirably well applied. The passenger's eye is attracted by the following couplet, which is inserted upon the wall of one of the houses: "Who built this Alms-house neat, but void of state, Chief Baron of the Exchequer of Scotland, of England, ordered it by his will; and endowed it † A view of this comfortable receptacle is given in the History of Leicestershire, vol. IV. p. 186, Plate XXVII. MEMOIRS |