Horridge was the only son of John Horridge, chemist, of
Tonge with Haulgh, and Margaret Barlow of
Bolton,
Lancashire. He was educated in
Barnes,
Surrey before becoming a
solicitor in
Southport in 1879. In 1884, he was
called to the bar at the
Middle Temple, serving in the Northern Circuit. In January 1901, it was announced that Horridge was to be appointed a
queen's counsel. With
Victoria's death, the warrant was issued by her successor,
Edward VII, and he became a
king's counsel. In
1906, he was elected as the Liberal
member of parliament for
Manchester East, spectacularly unseating the former
Conservative Prime Minister,
Arthur Balfour. He particularly campaigned on the "Chinese Slavery" issue: the Conservative government's policy of using indentured Chinese labourers, housed in primitive enclosures, to operate South African gold mines. Horridge stood down at the
next general election in January 1910, and resumed his legal career. He was promptly appointed a judge of the
King's Bench Division, a decision that was criticised as political at the time. He subsequently dealt with cases in the
Divorce and
Bankruptcy Courts, and also took part in the trial for
treason of
Roger Casement. He died at his home in
Hove,
Sussex in 1938, aged 80. Horridge was married twice. In 1901, he married Evelyne Sandys of Lanarth,
Cornwall, who died in 1920. In 1921, he married May Ethel Markham, widow of Alfred Isenberg. There were no children from either marriage. ==References==