Henry Fielding Dickens
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, KC (16 January 1849 – 21 December 1933) was the eighth of ten children born to British
author Charles Dickens
and his wife Catherine
. The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a barrister
, a KC
and Common Serjeant of London
, a senior legal
office which he held for over 15 years.
on April 21, 1849, Henry Fielding Dickens was named after Henry Fielding
, one of his father's favourite authors. His father had originally thought to name him after Oliver Goldsmith
, but thinking that his son would constantly be teased as "Oliver
asking for more", he changed his mind. His family nicknames were 'H', 'Mr Harry', and 'Mr H'. While a boy living at Gads Hill Place
, his father's country home, he, with his brother Edward
, started the 'Gad's Hill Gazette', a family newspaper printed on a small printing press given to him by Mr Wills, the sub-editor of All the Year Round
. His father, Charles Dickens
, and H F Chorley
were contributors. Dickens was educated at Wimbledon School and at a private boarding school in Boulogne-sur-Mer
along with his brothers Alfred
and Sydney
.
from 1868, graduating BA in Mathematics
(29th Wrangler) in 1872 before studying Law
at the university. Of that period at Cambridge, Dickens later wrote:
In 1873 he was called to the Bar
, and in 1892 he was appointed Queen's Counsel
. In 1899 he became a Bencher of the Inner Temple
. Sir Henry's best recalled case was his defence of Kitty Byron for the murder of her lover in 1902. Although she was convicted, Dickens's defence was so spirited that she was given a reduced prison sentence due to public petition.
For some years he was the Recorder for Deal
and Maidstone
in Kent
. His interests included fencing, and he was the first President of the Chatham Yachting Club. He was appointed Common Serjeant of London
in November 1917, in which capacity he judged criminal trials at the Old Bailey
for over 15 years, retiring on October 18, 1932. He was succeeded by Cecil Whiteley
KC
.
On one occasion Dickens was judging a case when the male prisoner interrupted him by saying "You ain't a patch on your father." "I quite agree with you. What do you know of my father?" Dickens replied. The prisoner, who had spent most of his life in prison, answered "Well, I have read some in prison." "Have you?", Dickens replied, "that's capital; for you will now have eighteen months in which to resume your studies." He repeatedly refused nominations for election to Parliament, believing it would adversely affect his legal practice.
during his reading tours. He had listened to his father many times, and older members of his audience said Henry Dickens's performances were amazingly like those given by his father. To celebrate his eightieth birthday in 1929 he went through the whole of A Christmas Carol
without a hitch, his false teeth loosening at the melodramtic sections: 'I know him - Marley's ghosht!'.
From October 1914 he performed the recitals of his father's works in support of the Red Cross Society
. These included excerpts from David Copperfield
, A Christmas Carol
, The Chimes
, and The Cricket on the Hearth
. Through his efforts he raised £1,200 for the Society. He was a Life President of the Dickens Fellowship
.
Henry 'Harry' Dickens married Marie Roche (1852 – 1940), the daughter of Monsieur Antonin Roche, on 25 October 1876 in Portman Square
in London
, they having four sons and three daughters together. Within the Dickens Family
the couple were known as 'The Guvnor' and 'The Mater'. Their son Philip Charles Dickens is buried beside them in Putney Vale Cemetery
in London, while a second son, Henry Charles Dickens, was the father of the author Monica Dickens
. A third son, Cedric 'Ceddy' Dickens, was killed on September 9, 1916 during the battle of Ginchy
during World War I
.
Dickens was also the father of Admiral Sir Gerald Charles Dickens
, the grandfather of Cedric Charles Dickens
, an author and the steward of Charles Dickens's literary legacy, and Monica Dickens
, the author. He is the great grandfather of actor and performer Gerald Dickens
and the great great grandfather of biographer
and writer Lucinda Hawksley
.
Henry Fielding Dickens was appointed a Knight Bachelor
in 1922, and retired in August 1932. He died in 1933 two weeks after being hit by a motorcycle while crossing Chelsea Embankment
at his usual place and by his usual method of warning motorists by holding up his walking stick
and stepping out into the road. He was the last surviving child of Charles Dickens.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
and his wife Catherine
Catherine Dickens
Catherine 'Kate' Thomson Dickens was the wife of English novelist Charles Dickens, with whom he fathered 10 children.-Marriage:...
. The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a barrister
Barristers in England and Wales
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. -Origin of the profession:The work of senior legal professionals in England and Wales...
, a KC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
and Common Serjeant of London
Common Serjeant of London
The Common Serjeant of London is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1317, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of London, acting as deputy to that office, and sitting as a judge in the trial of criminal offences.The Common...
, a senior legal
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
office which he held for over 15 years.
Early life
Baptised in the church of St. Mary Marylebone in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on April 21, 1849, Henry Fielding Dickens was named after Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....
, one of his father's favourite authors. His father had originally thought to name him after Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
, but thinking that his son would constantly be teased as "Oliver
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
asking for more", he changed his mind. His family nicknames were 'H', 'Mr Harry', and 'Mr H'. While a boy living at Gads Hill Place
Gads Hill Place
Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent, sometimes spelt Gadshill Place and Gad's Hill Place, was the country home of Charles Dickens, the most successful British author of the Victorian era....
, his father's country home, he, with his brother Edward
Edward Dickens
Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens was the youngest son of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine and was an Australian politician....
, started the 'Gad's Hill Gazette', a family newspaper printed on a small printing press given to him by Mr Wills, the sub-editor of All the Year Round
All the Year Round
All the Year Round was a Victorian periodical, being a British weekly literary magazine founded and owned by Charles Dickens, published between 1859 and 1895 throughout the United Kingdom. Edited by Dickens, it was the direct successor to his previous publication Household Words, abandoned due to...
. His father, Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, and H F Chorley
Henry Fothergill Chorley
Henry Fothergill Chorley was an English literary, art and music critic and editor. He was also an author of novels, drama, poetry and lyrics....
were contributors. Dickens was educated at Wimbledon School and at a private boarding school in Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
along with his brothers Alfred
Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens
Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens was the sixth child and fourth son of British novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine...
and Sydney
Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens
Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens was a Royal Navy officer; the fifth son and seventh child of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine.-Biography:...
.
Legal career
He attended Trinity Hall, CambridgeTrinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
from 1868, graduating BA in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
(29th Wrangler) in 1872 before studying Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the university. Of that period at Cambridge, Dickens later wrote:
"Looking back now upon the years that are gone, I find that there are one or two scenes or incidents which arise with astonishing vividness to my mind that may be worth recording...I hope it will not be thought that I tell this story vaingloriously, as it was but a small matter so far as I was concerned. Nothing is farther from my thoughts. I do so because it is typical of a strange reticence on [my father's] part, an intense dislike of 'letting himself go' in private life or of using language which might be deemed strained or over-effusive; though, as will be seen later, when he was deeply moved he was at no pains to hide the depth of his emotion. Thus it came about that, though his children knew he was devotedly attached to them, there was still a kind of reserve on his part which seemed occasionally to come as a cloud between us and which I never quite understood."
"In the year 1869, after I had been at college about a year, I was fortunate enough to gain one of the principal scholarships at Trinity Hall, Cambridge -- not a great thing, only 50 pounds a year; but I knew that this success, slight as it was, would give him intense pleasure, so I went to meet him at Higham Station upon his arrival from London to tell him of it. As he got out of the train I told him the news. He said, 'Capital! capital!' -- nothing more. Disappointed to find that he received the news apparently so lightly, I took my seat beside him in the pony carriage he was driving. Nothing more happened until we had got half-way to Gad's Hill, when he broke down completely. Turning towards me with tears in his eyes and giving me a warm grip of the hand, he said, 'God bless you, my boy; God bless you!' That pressure of the hand I can feel now as distinctly as I felt it then, and it will remain as strong and real until the day of my death."
In 1873 he was called to the Bar
Barristers in England and Wales
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. -Origin of the profession:The work of senior legal professionals in England and Wales...
, and in 1892 he was appointed Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
. In 1899 he became a Bencher of the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
. Sir Henry's best recalled case was his defence of Kitty Byron for the murder of her lover in 1902. Although she was convicted, Dickens's defence was so spirited that she was given a reduced prison sentence due to public petition.
For some years he was the Recorder for Deal
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
and Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. His interests included fencing, and he was the first President of the Chatham Yachting Club. He was appointed Common Serjeant of London
Common Serjeant of London
The Common Serjeant of London is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1317, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of London, acting as deputy to that office, and sitting as a judge in the trial of criminal offences.The Common...
in November 1917, in which capacity he judged criminal trials at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
for over 15 years, retiring on October 18, 1932. He was succeeded by Cecil Whiteley
Cecil Whiteley
Judge George Cecil Whiteley KC MA DL JP , was Common Serjeant of London from 1933 to 1942 and a Judge at the Mayor's and City of London Court....
KC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
.
On one occasion Dickens was judging a case when the male prisoner interrupted him by saying "You ain't a patch on your father." "I quite agree with you. What do you know of my father?" Dickens replied. The prisoner, who had spent most of his life in prison, answered "Well, I have read some in prison." "Have you?", Dickens replied, "that's capital; for you will now have eighteen months in which to resume your studies." He repeatedly refused nominations for election to Parliament, believing it would adversely affect his legal practice.
Later years
At family Christmas gatherings at his home in Mulberry Walk in London he performed imitations of his father giving his famous "Readings", during which he would wear a geranium, his father's favourite flower, and lean on the same velvet-covered reading stand used by Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
during his reading tours. He had listened to his father many times, and older members of his audience said Henry Dickens's performances were amazingly like those given by his father. To celebrate his eightieth birthday in 1929 he went through the whole of A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
without a hitch, his false teeth loosening at the melodramtic sections: 'I know him - Marley's ghosht!'.
From October 1914 he performed the recitals of his father's works in support of the Red Cross Society
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
. These included excerpts from David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
, A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, The Chimes
The Chimes
The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In, a short novel by Charles Dickens, was written and published in 1844, one year after A Christmas Carol and one year before The Cricket on the Hearth...
, and The Cricket on the Hearth
The Cricket on the Hearth
The Cricket on the Hearth. A Fairy Tale of Home is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845 with illustrations by Daniel Maclise, John Leech, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield and Edwin Henry Landseer. Dickens began writing the book around...
. Through his efforts he raised £1,200 for the Society. He was a Life President of the Dickens Fellowship
Dickens Fellowship
The Dickens Fellowship was founded in 1902, and is an international association of people from all walks of life who share an interest in the life and works of Victorian era novelist Charles Dickens....
.
Personal life
Portman Square
Portman Square is a square in London, part of the Portman Estate. It is located at the western end of Wigmore Street, which connects it to Cavendish Square to its east. It is served by London bus route 274...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, they having four sons and three daughters together. Within the Dickens Family
Dickens family
The Dickens family are the descendants of John Dickens, the father of the English novelist Charles Dickens. The descendants of Charles Dickens include the novelist Monica Dickens, the writer Lucinda Dickens Hawksley and the actors Harry Lloyd and Brian Forster....
the couple were known as 'The Guvnor' and 'The Mater'. Their son Philip Charles Dickens is buried beside them in Putney Vale Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in London is surrounded by Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park, and is located within forty-seven acres of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938...
in London, while a second son, Henry Charles Dickens, was the father of the author Monica Dickens
Monica Dickens
Monica Enid Dickens, MBE was an English writer, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens.-Biography:...
. A third son, Cedric 'Ceddy' Dickens, was killed on September 9, 1916 during the battle of Ginchy
Ginchy
Ginchy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ginchy is situated on the D20 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Dickens was also the father of Admiral Sir Gerald Charles Dickens
Gerald Charles Dickens
Admiral Sir Gerald Louis Charles Dickens, KCVO, CB, CMG, RN, was a senior Royal Navy officer and the grandson of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens.-Early career:...
, the grandfather of Cedric Charles Dickens
Cedric Charles Dickens
Cedric David Charles Dickens , author and businessman, was the last surviving great-grandson of British author Charles Dickens and steward of his literary legacy.-Biography:...
, an author and the steward of Charles Dickens's literary legacy, and Monica Dickens
Monica Dickens
Monica Enid Dickens, MBE was an English writer, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens.-Biography:...
, the author. He is the great grandfather of actor and performer Gerald Dickens
Gerald Charles Dickens (actor)
Gerald Rhoderick Charles Dickens is a British actor and performer known in the United Kingdom and the United States for his one man shows based on the novels of his great great grandfather, Charles Dickens...
and the great great grandfather of biographer
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
and writer Lucinda Hawksley
Lucinda Hawksley
Lucinda Anne Dickens Hawksley is a British biographer, author and lecturer.The daughter of Henry Dickens Hawksley and Susan Jane , and the great-great-great-granddaughter of Victorian novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine, Hawksley is an award-winning travel writer.Originally Hawksley...
.
Henry Fielding Dickens was appointed a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1922, and retired in August 1932. He died in 1933 two weeks after being hit by a motorcycle while crossing Chelsea Embankment
Chelsea Embankment
Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England.The western end of Chelsea Embankment, including a stretch of Cheyne Walk, is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; the eastern end, including...
at his usual place and by his usual method of warning motorists by holding up his walking stick
Walking stick
A walking stick is a device used by many people to facilitate balancing while walking.Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a crutch...
and stepping out into the road. He was the last surviving child of Charles Dickens.
Publications
- 'Memories of My Father' Gollancz, London (1928)
- 'The Recollections of Sir Henry Dickens, K.C.' William Heinemann Ltd (1934).
External links
- Excerpt from 'Memories of My Father'
- Brief obituary in Time Magazine
- http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital_dev/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=569670&imageID=1223045&total=2&num=0&word=Dickens%2C%20Henry%20F%2E%20%28Henry%20Fielding%29%2C%20Sir%2C%201849%2D1933&s=3¬word=&d=&c=&f=2&k=0&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&imgs=20&pos=1&e=wPhotographs of Dickens in the New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
Digital Gallery] - Portraits of Dickens in the National Portrait Gallery