Sir Gainsford Bruce was a British politician and judge.

Biography

Bruce was born in 1835 in Newcastle upon Tyne the son of the Reverend Dr. Collingwood Bruce a proprietor of a private school and his wife Charlotte (née Gainsford).

Bruce was educated at Glasgow University and in 1859 he was called to the bar at Middle Temple. In 1883 he was appointed a Queens Counsel

Bruce first stood for the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 at Gateshead in 1880 but was defeated, he failed again in 1883 at Newcastle, 1885 at Tyneside and 1886 at Barrow. He was finally returned to Parliament for Finsbury (Holborn Division)

Holborn (UK Parliament constituency)

Holborn was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Holborn district of Central London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 in 1888. In the 1892 election he was again returned for Holborn division but before Parliament sat he was appointed a Judge and had to resign his seat. He sat as a Judge until he retired in 1904. He was knighted in 1892 and in 1904 was appointed a Privy Councillor.

He specialised in shipping law. He was co-author with R G Williams of the text book "Admiralty Practice".

Bruce died at his home near Bromley, Kent on 24 February 1912 aged 77.

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