In his youth he demonstrated exceptional ability in mathematics, becoming Senior Wrangler at Cambridge in 1860, regarded at the time as "the highest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain".

[1] He was a High Court judge in the Chancery Division from 1886 to 1900,[2] and a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1900, when he was made a Privy Counsellor, until his retirement in 1906.

He entered Trinity College at Cambridge University in 1856, was awarded the Sheepshanks exhibition in 1859, and became Senior Wrangler and first Smith's prizeman in 1860.

[4] Elizabeth was 9 years younger than Stirling,[10] and they had three children: James Irvine (1869–1951), Agnes Renton (born 1871) and John Gordon (1874–1902).

The family were known to be living in Shalford in 1891, although they had leased Finchcocks, a Georgian manor house in Goudhurst, Kent from 1890, where Stirling spent most of his time after retirement.