Richard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley

Who was Richard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley?

Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley PC, KC was a British barrister and politician.

He was born on 20 May 1744 in Bredbury, the son of John Arden, and Mary Pepper, and baptised on 20 June 1744 in Stockport. Educated at The Manchester Grammar School, he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in November 1761 and received his B.A. in 1766. Arden was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1769, and received his M.A. from Trinity the same year.

Invested as a King's Counsel in 1780, he was Solicitor General during the ministry of Shelburne, and again for a year under Pitt. At this time he entered Parliament, as MP for Newtown from 1783 to 1784. In 1784 he became MP for Aldborough, and was appointed Attorney General and Chief Justice of Chester, posts he would hold until 1788. On 9 September 1784, Arden married Anne Dorothea Wilbraham-Bootle, daughter of Richard Wilbraham-Bootle and Mary Bootle. They had two sons and two daughters:

⁕William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley

⁕Richard Pepper Arden, 3rd Baron Alvanley

⁕Katherine Arden,

⁕Fanny Arden.

On 4 June 1788, he was again advanced to become Master of the Rolls, and was knighted on 18 June 1788. He was also appointed to the Privy Council that year. In 1790, he left Aldborough to become MP for Hastings until 1794, and then for Bath until 1801.