John Baynes (1758–1787) was an English lawyer and miscellaneous writer.

Life

Baynes was born at

Middleham, Yorkshire Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. ...

, and educated at Richmond Grammar School in the same county, under Anthony Temple. Proceeding to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, he graduated B.A. in 1777, gaining one of Dr. Smith's prizes for philosophy and the first medal for classics. In 1780 he took his M.A. Baynes was admitted to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1778 or 1779, and read law with Alan Chambre. In 1779 he was elected a fellow of Trinity, and remained one till his death. Besides practising as a special pleader, Baynes turned his attention to politics, and like his tutor, John Jebb, became a zealous whig. He joined the Constitutional Society of London, and took an active part in the meeting at York in 1779. At the general election of 1784 he supported the nomination of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

for Yorkshire, and inveighed against the late coalition of Portland and Lord North. Shortly before his death Baynes, with the junior fellows of Trinity, memorialised the senior fellows and master on the irregular election of fellows, but they were only answered by a censure. The memorialists appealed to the lord chancellor as visitor of the college, and the censure was removed from the college books. Baynes died in London from a putrid fever, on 3 August 1787, and was buried by the side of his friend Dr. Jebb in Bunhill Fields.

Works

Baynes contributed political articles to the London ''Courant''. He wrote (anonymously) political verses and translations from French and Greek poems; some of these were published in the ''

European Magazine ''The European Magazine'' (sometimes referred to as ''European Magazine'') was a monthly magazine published in London. Eighty-nine semi-annual volumes were published from 1782 until 1826. It was launched as the ''European Magazine, and London Re ...

'' (xii. 240). He is mentioned by

Andrew Kippis Andrew Kippis (28 March 17258 October 1795) was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer. Life The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to Carre's Grammar School in Sleaford, Lincolnshire he pass ...

as supplying materials for the ''

Biographia Britannica ''Biographia Britannica'' was a multi-volume biographical compendium, "the most ambitious attempt in the latter half of the eighteenth century to document the lives of notable British men and women". The first edition, edited by William Oldys (16 ...

''. The archæological epistle to

Jeremiah Milles Rev. Jeremiah Milles (1714–1784)
Bodleian Library, Oxford. Accessed 26 November 2016.

, on the Rowley poems was ascribed to Baynes, because it passed through his hands to the press; but he denied the authorship. Cannon in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' suggests

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

used Baynes to have it published.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Baynes, John 1758 births 1787 deaths 18th-century English lawyers 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers People from Middleham Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Burials at Bunhill Fields