Francis Beaumont (died 1598) of

Grace-Dieu Grace-Dieu is a placename of Leicestershire, England, named after Grace Dieu Priory which fell into disrepair following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. The ruins are visible from the main road to Loughborough. Grace Dieu Mano ...

in the parish of Belton in Leicestershire, was a judge.

Origins

He was the eldest son of the judge John Beaumont, sometime

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

, by his second wife Elizabeth Hastings, daughter of

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG (c. 1431 – June 1483) was an English nobleman. A loyal follower of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, he became a close friend and one of the most important courtiers of King Edward IV, w ...

. His father was removed from the bench in 1552 for "scandalously abusing his position".

Life

Nothing is recorded of his early education. He was a Fellow-Commoner of

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

, when Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

visited

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. No record survives of his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

nor of his having graduated. He studied law in 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 ...

, 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 ...

, and practised with success and high reputation. In 1572 he was elected 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

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

. In 1581 he was elected

Autumn Reader A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic. Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annu ...

of the Inner Temple. In 1589 he was called to the degree of

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 ...

and on 25 January 1592-3 was appointed a Judge of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

Marriage and children

He married Anne Pierrepont, daughter of Sir George Pierrepont, knight, of

Holme Pierrepont Holme Pierrepont is a hamlet and civil parish located south-east of the city of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is in the Gamston ward of the Rushcliffe local authority in the East Midlands region. The population of the civil parish ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, and widow of Thomas Thorold of Marston, Lincolnshire. By his wife, who predeceased him, he had three sons and one daughter as follows: *Sir Henry Beaumont (1581–1605), who was knighted in 1603 and died aged 24; *

Sir John Beaumont, 1st Baronet Sir John Beaumont, 1st Baronet (c.1582/3 – April 1627) of Grace Dieu in the parish of Belton in Leicestershire, England, was a poet best known for his work ''Bosworth Field'' (a poem about the Battle of Bosworth Field). Origins He was born ...

Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont ( ; 1584 – 6 March 1616) was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher. Beaumont's life Beaumont was the son of Sir Francis Beaumont of Grace Dieu, near Thrin ...

, the dramatist. *Elizabeth Beaumont, wife of Sir Thomas Seyliard of Kent.

Death

In 1598 Beaumont caught

gaol fever Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

(now believed to have been

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

) whilst presiding at the Assizes of the

Northern Circuit {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Northern Circuit is a court circuit in England. It dates from 1176 when Henry II sent his judges on circuit to do justice in his name. The Circuit encompassed the whole of the North of England but in 1876 i ...

, which was one of many so-called

Black Assizes Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

where disease spread from prisoners to attendees at court and caused widespread deaths within a few days. Beaumont died at home at Grace-Dieu on 22 April 1598, and was buried on 12 June following, with heraldic attendance, in the parish church of Belton.

Legacy

William Burton, the historian of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, who was 23 when Beaumont died, called him a "grave, learned, and reverend judge".Cooper's Athen. Cantab, ii. 246Dyce's Beaumont and Fletcher's Works, i. xix, xxii, lxxxvii, lxxxxixIntroduction to Dr. Grosart's edition of the Poems of Sir John Beaumont in Fuller's Worthies Library (1869)Cal. Chanc. Proc.temp. Eliz. i. 61Coke's Reports, ix. 138Foss's Judges of England, v. 408, 411, 414, 421, 456Dugdale's Orig. Jurid. 166, 186Chronicles Ser. 98Nichols's Leicestershire, iii. 649, 655, 656, 666*, and pl. lxxvii. fig. 4Originalia Eliz. page 3, r. 126Strype's Annals, iii. 92Talbot Papers, G. 472, 505, 529, H. 207Willis's Not. Parliamentary. iii. (2) 95.

References

DNB references

These references are found in the DNB article referred to above.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Francis Year of birth missing 1598 deaths English MPs 1572–1583 Masters of the Rolls Serjeants-at-law (England) People from North West Leicestershire District