Sir Francis Wythens SL KC (c. 1635 – 9 May 1704) of Eltham, Kent was a British judge and politician.

Life

Born to William Wythens and his wife Frances King, Wythens matriculated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

on 13 November 1650 before joining the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

on 27 November 1654. He 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 ...

there on 9 February 1660, later becoming a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

. In 1677 he became Deputy Steward of Westminster; this started his interest in politics, and in September 1679 he was returned as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. This was done illegally; supporters of the King were brought in to boost Wythens's votes, and a book containing 700 votes for the other candidate "was artificially mislaid and lost by the officers trusted". On 25 November 1679 he defended Thomas Knox, accused of libel against

Titus Oates Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the " Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Early life Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father Samuel (1610� ...

, and on 2 July 1680 prosecuted

Henry Care Henry Care (1646–1688) was an English political writer and journalist, or " Whig propagandist", whose speciality was anti-Catholicism. Life Care edited a paper called the ''Weekly Pacquet of Advice from Rome''. It began as a serial publication ...

for publishing Roman Catholic works. These marked him as a member of the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

political faction, which was in power at the time; he was rewarded with a knighthood in 1680 and promotion to

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. As a result of his corrupt election, when Parliament eventually met in October 1680 he was expelled from the House of Commons. Despite this setback his work at the bar continued to increase; he prosecuted

Edward Fitzharris Edward Fitzharris (1648? – 1681) was an Anglo-Irish conspirator. His prosecution following the waning of public belief in the Popish Plot hoax became a struggle for jurisdiction involving the courts and the two Houses of Parliament. He was e ...

and took part in other high-profile trials, and when the Tory domination of British politics increased, was made a

Serjeant-at-Law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

in April 1683. On 25 April he became a

Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern a ...

, apparently because he could be trusted to implement royal policy. Wythens oversaw the prosecution of the

Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...

ters and the conviction of

for perjury before travelling to the West Counties following the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...

in 1683 recorded his shock at Wythens' drunken and riotous behaviour just days after he sat on the court which condemned

Algernon Sidney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England ...

to death for treason. He was dismissed as a Justice on 21 April 1687, apparently for refusing to institute martial law in peacetime; he was replaced by Richard Allibond. Wythens's removal has been called "one of the most serious charges against James II". After a return to practise as a barrister, Wythens died on 9 May 1704. He died in 1704. He had married in 1685, Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Thomas Taylor, 1st Bt., of Park House, Maidstone, Kent and had one daughter.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wythens, Francis 1635 births 1704 deaths Justices of the King's Bench Year of birth uncertain Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple English MPs 1680–1681