Secretariat

Peter John Schofield, BA, MA, LLB

Mr Peter Schofield, former Senior Lecturer in the Department of Law, died on 4 February 2012.

Peter Schofield, who was born in 1928, first came to the University as a student to read Modern Languages (French and Spanish).  He graduated in 1948 and, after National Service, went up to Christ’s College, Cambridge, to read Law; he was a scholar of his college.  Having obtained his degree in 1953, he was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in the following year.  He successfully completed the Cambridge LLB as an external student in 1955 and subsequently took up appointment as a Resident Magistrate in Nigeria (Northern Region).  He joined the Department of Law in 1959. 

In his teaching, Peter Schofield specialised in commercial and family law and was renowned for the time and care he invested in the preparation of his courses.  He was a regular contributor to the Journal of Business Law and became Editor of the journal’s Sale of Goods section.  His many articles and notes on this topic were widely regarded as both thoughtful and imaginative.  Facilitated by his excellent linguistic skills, comparative law was another of his interests.  The broad base of his legal knowledge meant that Peter Schofield had the ability to relate his specialist areas of expertise to a wider context in a way that his students found illuminating, if occasionally challenging.  Nevertheless, his kindly approach to students and tales of his service in Nigeria made him a very interesting and highly respected lecturer.

Peter Schofield was a widely known and liked colleague.  Assiduous in his involvement in departmental affairs, he also took a lively interest in wider University matters, serving as an active member of the Senate, the Academic Advisory Committee and a number of other committees.  Between 1962 and 1966 he was the Warden of Barbier House at Bodington Hall.  In addition he was for a time Secretary of the local branch of the Association of University Teachers (AUT).   He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1971 and held a visiting appointment at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, USA, during the academic session 1975-76.  He opted to take early retirement from his University post in 1983, but maintained an association with the Department for a further year as Senior Fellow.  A keen cyclist, this was his preferred mode of transport for travelling to the University from the family home in Haworth.

Peter Schofield is survived by his wife, Mary, daughters, Ruth, Rebecca and Peita, and son Michael.

The funeral has taken place.