Sir Edward Herbert (c. 1591–1658) of

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

in Montgomeryshire, was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

at various times between 1621 and 1641. He was

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

under King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Origins

Herbert was the son of Charles Herbert of Aston, Montgomeryshire and was a first cousin of

Edward Herbert, Baron Herbert of Cherbury Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury (or Chirbury) KB (3 March 1583 – 5 August 1648) was an English soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher of the Kingdom of England. Life Early life Edward Herbert was the ...

. His grandfather was Sir Edward Herbert (d.1593) (great-nephew of

William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1423–1469) William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke KG (c. 142327 July 1469), known as "Black William", was a Welsh nobleman, soldier, politician, and courtier. Life He was the son of William ap Thomas, founder of Raglan Castle, and Gwladys ferch Dafydd Ga ...

), Constable of Aberystwith Castle (16 March 1543–4),

High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire The office of High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire was established in 1541 since then a High Sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Powys as part of the creation of Powys from the amalgama ...

in 1557 and 1568, a member of parliament for Montgomeryshire in 1553 and 1556-7 and an Esquire of the Body to Queen Elizabeth I.

Career

He was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in November 1609 and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1618. In 1621 he was elected a member of parliament for Montgomery. He was elected MP for

Downton, Wiltshire Downton is a village and civil parish on the River Avon in southern Wiltshire, England, about southeast of the city of Salisbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Hampshire and is close to the New Forest; it includes the villages of Wi ...

in 1624 for the

Happy Parliament The 4th Parliament of King James I was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England, summoned on 30 December 1623, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 29 May 1624, and thereafter kept out of session with repeated pror ...

and was re-elected in 1626 and 1629. In April 1640 Herbert was elected MP for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and for

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...

and chose to sit for Old Sarum in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

. He was re-elected MP for Old Sarum in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

. Having been appointed

he was instructed by King Charles I to take legal proceedings against various members of parliament who had been concerned in the passing of the

Grand Remonstrance The Grand Remonstrance was a list of grievances presented to King Charles I of England by the English Parliament on 1 December 1641, but passed by the House of Commons on 22 November 1641, during the Long Parliament. It was one of the chief ...

. The only result, however, was Herbert's own impeachment by the House of Commons in 1641 and his imprisonment.He was impeached for “advising, contriving, and publishing certain false, scandalous, and malicious Articles of High Treason against” John Pym, John Hampden, and others. See Proceedings against Sir Edward Herbert, knt. the King's Attorney General, upon an Impeachment for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, 4 Howell State Trials 119. He was convicted after trial in Lords and sentenced to: “1. That the said sir Edward Herbert, his majesty's Attorney-General, is, by Sentence of this house, disabled, and made incapable of being a Member-assistant, or pleader, in either House of Parliament, and of all offices, saving that of Attorney-General, which he now holds. 2. That Mr. Attorney-General shall be forthwith committed to the prison of the Fleet during the pleasure of this house.” At 130. Later in life he lived in exile with the royal family in Holland and in France, becoming

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of Sta ...

to King Charles II in April 1653, an office which he had refused in 1645. He resigned that office the next year. He died in Paris.

Marriage and progeny

Herbert married Margaret Smith, widow of Thomas Carey of Sunninghill Park, Berkshire and daughter of Thomas Smith of

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the ...

and Parson's Green,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. Herbert's sons included: *

Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington Admiral Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington (c. 1648 – 13 April 1716) was an English admiral and politician. Dismissed by King James II in 1688 for refusing to vote to repeal the Test Act, which prevented Roman Catholics from holding publi ...

(1648–1716); *Sir Edward Herbert (c. 1648–1698).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Edward 1590s births 1658 deaths Edward Herbert Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Attorneys General for England and Wales English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 High Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire