Archbold, John Frederick (1785–1870), legal author, was second son of John Archbold of Boldbrook and Turvey, Co. Dublin. He entered Lincoln's Inn (1809) and became a barrister (1814). Unmarried, with no known interests other than the law, he became a prolific writer of treatises and digests, contributing significantly to change in many branches of the law. He produced an annotated edition of Blackstone's Commentaries (1811) and The practice of the court of the king's bench in personal actions and ejectments (1819), for which he was best known. His name became synonymous with the Summary of the law relative to pleading and evidence in criminal cases. Begun in 1812 with the study of all authorities on criminal law dating from Henry de Bracton (c.1210–68), and extensively revised under varying titles, it remains a standard work: the forty-third edition was published in 1989. His writings are clear, comprehensive, and concentrated on the needs of the practitioner. He died in London 28 November 1870.
Sources
DNB supp.; W. S. Holdsworth, History of English law, xiii, xv (1952); Raymond Cocks, Foundation of the modern bar (1983); A. W. B. Simpson (ed.), Biographical dictionary of the common law (1984); Nicholas Triffin (comp.), Law books in print (1990); A. B. Schofield, ‘Who was Archbold?’, Ir. Law Times, viii, no. 7 (July 1990), 174