John Meir Astbury

Sir John Meir Astbury (14 June 1860 – 21 August 1939) was a British judge and politician.

Early life and career Astbury was born at Grove House, Broughton, Salford, Lancashire, the son of Frederick James Astbury and Margaret née Munn. He moved to London, where he was attached to the courts of Sir Edmund Widdrington Byrne and Sir Henry Buckley successively. He held the post for sixteen years, in what was generally considered an undistinguished manner.

He resigned his seat on the bench in October 1929 and was made a Privy Councillor the same year. Astbury had been made an honorary fellow of Trinity College in 1923 and on his retirement donated a large collection of legal textbooks and judgements to his alma mater.

Family Astbury was twice married. In 1888 he wed Evelyn Susmann, daughter of a Manchester merchant. Following her death in 1923, he married Harriet, widow of Captain Morrell Andrew Girdlestone and daughter of George Holmes of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). He had one child, a daughter from his first marriage, who died in a motor accident.

Death The last ten years of Astbury's life saw him struggling with blindness and the loss of his only child. He died at a hotel in Sandwich, Kent in August 1939 aged 79.