Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford, PC, KC (22 July 1719) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

Early life

Finch was second son of

Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC (23 December 162018 December 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage ...

and the former Elizabeth Hervey (eldest daughter of Daniel Hervey). His paternal grandparents were Hon.

Sir Heneage Finch Sir Heneage Finch (15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English nobleman, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commo ...

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

(third son of

Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet JP ( – 18 December 1614) was an English politician, knight, sheriff, and MP. Early life Finch was second, but eldest surviving son, of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell, Kent, and the former Catherine Moyle. Among ...

and

Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea Elizabeth Finch, ''née'' Heneage, 1st Countess of Winchilsea (9 July 1556 – 23 March 1634) was an English peeress. Early life Elizabeth was born on 9 July 1556. She was the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Heneage, who was Chancellor ...

) and Frances Bell (daughter of Sir Edmond Bell of

Beaupré Hall Beaupré Hall was a large 16th-century house mainly of brick, which was built by the Beaupres in Outwell, Norfolk, England and enlarged by their successors the Bells. Like many of Britain's country houses it was demolished in the mid-20th cent ...

). He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he matriculated on 18 November 1664.

Career

In 1673, he became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

of 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 ...

;

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 ...

and bencher in 1677; and in 1679, during the chancellorship of his father, was appointed Solicitor General, being returned to parliament for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and in 1685 for

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

. In 1682, he represented the crown in the attack upon the Corporation of London, and next year in the prosecution of Lord Russell, when, according to

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academic, ...

, and in several other trials afterwards, he showed more of a vicious eloquence in turning matters with some subtlety against the prisoners than of strict or sincere reasoning. He does not, however, appear to have exceeded the duties of prosecutor for the crown as they were then understood. In 1684, in the trial of

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 ...

, he argued that the unpublished treatise of the accused was an overt act, and supported the opinion of

Jeffreys Jeffreys is a surname, which may refer to: People: (See also the common variants Jeffries and Jefferies) * Alec Jeffreys (born 1950), British biologist and discoverer of DNA fingerprinting * Anne Jeffreys (1923–2017), American actress and sing ...

that ''scribere est agere'' (to write is to act). The same year he was counsel for James II in his successful action 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� ...

for

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

, and in 1685 prosecuted Oates for the crown for

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

. Finch, however, though a

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 ...

and a crown lawyer, was a staunch churchman, and on his refusal in 1686 to defend the royal dispensing power he was summarily dismissed by James. He was the leading counsel in June 1688 for the Seven Bishops, when he strangely exposed and very boldly ran down the dispensing power, but his mistaken tactics were nearly the cause of his clients losing their case. He sat again for Oxford University in the convention parliament, which constituency he represented in all the following assemblies except that of 1698, until his elevation to the peerage. He was, however, no supporter of the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current dynasty, reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the Politics and governm ...

, advocated a regency in James's name, and was one of the few who 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. ...

opposed the famous vote that James had broken the contract between king and people and left the throne vacant. He held no office during William's reign, and is described by

John Macky John Macky (died 1726) was a Scottish spy. He was the first person to inform the British authorities of James II's intended invasion of England in 1692 after the former king had fled from France to England. In October 1693 he was made inspector o ...

as always a great opposer of the administration. In 1689, he joined in voting for the reversal of Lord Russell's attainder, and endeavoured to defend his conduct in the trial, but was refused a hearing by the House. He opposed the Triennial Bill of 1692, but in 1696, spoke against the bill of association and test, which was voted for the king's protection, on the ground that though William was to be obeyed as sovereign he could not be acknowledged rightful and lawful king. In 1694, he argued against the crown in the bankers case. In 1703, he was created Baron Guernsey and a

privy councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and after the accession of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

in 1714,

Earl of Aylesford Earl of Aylesford, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1714 for the lawyer and politician Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Guernsey. He had already been created Baron Guernsey in the Peerage of England in ...

, being reappointed a privy councillor and made

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

, which office he retained until February 1716.

Works

According to

(''Memoirs'', p. 71; published by Roxburghe Club, 1895) he was accounted one of the greatest orators in England and a good common lawyer; a firm asserter of the prerogative of the crown and jurisdiction of the church; a tall, thin man. He was eloquent, industrious, and judicious, with inflexible integrity. Many of his legal arguments are printed in ''State Trials'' (see esp. viii. 694, 1087, ix. 625, 880, 996, X. 126, 319, 405, 1199, xii. 183, 353, 365). Wood attributes to him on the faith of common rumour the authorship of ''An Antidote against Poison . . .Remarks upon a Paper printed by Lady (Rachel) Russel'' (1683), ascribed in ''State Trials'' (ix. 710) to Sir

Bartholomew Shower Sir Bartholomew Shower (1658–1701) was an English lawyer and politician, Recorder of London and a distinguished High Tory. Life He was born in Northgate Street, Exeter, on 14 December 1658, the third son of William Shower, merchant, of Exeter, ...

; but see the latter's allusion to it on p. 753. In ''Hist. of His Own Times'', i. 556. Swift has appended a note, an arrant rascal, but Finch's great offence with the dean was probably his advancement by George I. rather than his conduct of state trials as here described.

Personal life

On 16 May 1678, he was married to Elizabeth Banks, daughter and co-heiress of Sir

John Banks John Banks or Bankes may refer to: Politics and law *Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet (1627–1699), English merchant and Member of Parliament * John Banks (American politician) (1793–1864), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania *John Gray Banks (188 ...

Aylesford Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone. Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village s ...

. Together, Elizabeth and Heneage were the parents of three sons and six daughters, including: * Lady Elizabeth Finch (1679–1757), who married

Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley, (c. 16769 April 1731), of Red Hall, near Wakefield, Bramham Hall, Yorkshire and Queen Street, Westminster was an England, English Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and House of Comm ...

. *

Heneage Finch, 2nd Earl of Aylesford Heneage Finch, 2nd Earl of Aylesford (1683–1757) was a British peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Lord Guernsey from 1714 to 1719. Origins He was the son and heir of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford (died 1719). Career From 1 ...

(1683–1757), who married Mary Fisher, daughter of Sir Clement Fisher, 3rd Baronet. * Lady Anne Finch (d. 1751), who married

William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth (14 October 1672 – 15 December 1750), was Lord Privy Seal from 1713 to 1714. He was a Hanoverian Tory, supporting the Hanoverian succession following the death of Queen Anne. Life The only son of George ...

. * Hon. John Finch (d. 1739/40), who married his cousin Elizabeth Savile in 1726. * Lady Frances Finch (d. 1759), who married Sir John Bland, 5th Baronet. He died on 22 July 1719. Upon his death, his eldest son Heneage succeeded him as 2nd Earl of Aylesford. The 2nd Earl died in 1757, and since this date the earldom has been held by his direct descendants, six of whom in succession have borne the Christian name of Heneage.

References

External links

Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford (1647?-1719), Lord Chancellor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aylesford, Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of 1649 births 1719 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster 1 Finch, Heneage Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Privy Council of Ireland People educated at Westminster School, London Finch, Heneage Finch, Heneage Heneage Members of the Inner Temple 17th-century King's Counsel English King's Counsel English MPs 1679 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 Peers of England created by Queen Anne People from Aylesford 18th-century King's Counsel