Arthur Duke Coleridge (baptised, 1 February 1830 – 29 October 1913) was a nineteenth-century English lawyer who, as an amateur musician with influential connections, was the founder of The Bach Choir and the man who introduced the Mass in B minor by Johann Sebastian Bach to the English concert repertoire. He was also a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University in 1850. He was born at Ottery St Mary, Devon and died at South Kensington, London.
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Background and education
Arthur Coleridge was the son of Francis Coleridge and the great-nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was educated at Eton College where he played in the cricket team, hitting the winning runs in the 1847 Eton v Harrow match at Lord's. Matriculating at King's College, Cambridge in February 1849, Coleridge played a single first-class cricket match at Cambridge, scoring 1 and 17 when opening the batting against Marylebone Cricket Club. It is not known if he batted right- or left-handed.
Legal career
Coleridge became a Fellow at King's College before becoming a lawyer, being called to the bar in 1860. He went into the administrative side of the English legal system and served as Clerk of Assize for the Midland Circuit for 37 years up to his death: he was taken ill while officiating at Lincoln Assizes and returned immediately to London just two days before his death. It was reported that he did not miss a single assizes session over his 37 years in post.