Horace Rumpole

As you all know, the Bears love their television and there is nothing they like more than watching a series from years ago. They believe in the old adage that they “don’t make ‘em like they used to”. So every so often, an old television series is repeated on one of the oldies channels and I get the chance to introduce the Bears to it for the first time.

Last weekend I was looking online at some of the DVD box sets available, when I happened upon Rumpole of The Bailey – The Complete Series. I used to watch the programme back in the 1970s when I was young and the Bears had never seen him. I could not resist the temptation to buy it so the Bears could watch Rumpole and enjoy it just the way I used to.

Many of you may not have heard of Rumpole but he was a London barrister who would never prosecute but preferred to defend every villain and scoundrel at the Old Bailey Law Courts.

Horace Rumpole loved being in court. Despite his friends and family trying to get him to move on to a more respectable position for his age, Rumpole only ever enjoys the simple pleasure of defending his legal aid clients at The Old Bailey. He sees nothing but honour in being an “Old Bailey Hack” and has no desire to retire or become a judge despite his age and experience. He often quotes Wordsworth and occasionally Shakespeare and refers to his wife Hilda as “She Who Must Be Obeyed”.

His skills at defending his clients are legendary among the criminal classes. The Timson clan of minor villains regularly rely on Rumpole to get them out of their latest bit of trouble with the law. Rumpole is proud of his successful handling of the Penge Bungalow Murders “alone and without a leader” early in his career and of his extensive knowledge of bloodstains and typewriters. Cross-examination is one of his favourite activities, and he disdains barristers who lack either the skill or courage to ask the right questions. His courtroom zeal gets him into trouble from time to time. More than once, his investigations reveal more than his client wants him to know. Rumpole’s most dubious encounters stem from arguing with judges, particularly those who seem to believe that being on trial implies guilt or that the police are infallible.

Every day he visits Pommeroy’s Wine Bar, located on Fleet Street and within easy walking distance of both the Old Bailey and his law office at Equity Court. He jokingly refers to the wine he drinks there as “Cooking Claret”, “Pommeroy’s Plonk”, “Pommeroy’s Very Ordinary”, “Chateau Thames Embankment”, or “Chateau Fleet Street”. His cigar smoking is often the subject of debate within his chambers. His peers sometimes criticise his attire, in particular his old hat, imperfectly aligned clothes, cigar ash trailing down his waistcoat and faded barrister’s wig, “bought second hand from a former Chief Justice of Tonga”.

Despite his affection for the criminal classes, Rumpole’s character is ruled by a firm set of ethics. He is a staunch believer in the presumption of innocence, the “Golden Thread of British Justice”. Accordingly, Rumpole believes that you should never plead guilty, although he has qualified that principle by stating on several occasions that he is morally bound to enter a guilty plea if he knows that the defendant is actually guilty.

Although we have only watched two series and a Christmas Special so far, it has reminded me of how much fun the series used to be but also made fans of a whole new generation – albeit of Bears.

All we have to do now is make sure Granny does not hear Razzi calling her “She Who Must Be Obeyed”.