John Fountaine (1600–1671) was commissioner of the great seal of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1659 to 1660. He was imprisoned for refusing to pay the parliament's war tax in 1642, during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

. Admitted to the bar in 1629, Fountaine distinguished himself by refusing to pay the war tax levied by parliament and, pursuant to a resolution of 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. ...

was "secured and disarmed" and imprisoned in the

Gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

. He is thought to have been a member of parliament, due to having been granted the privilege of attending services in St. Margaret's Church while imprisoned, though he does not appear on surviving lists of members. He was involved in royalist organizing in 1645, but later recommended compromise, and joined the anti-royalist government. For this,

Edward Foss Edward Foss (16 October 1787 – 27 July 1870) was an English lawyer and biographer. He became a solicitor, and on his retirement from practice in 1840, devoted himself to the study of legal antiquities. His ''Judges of England'' (9 vols., 1848� ...

labelled him "Turncoat Fountaine". In 1651 he was pardoned and restored to full citizenship, and later appointed to various public offices. He continued to hold offices after the Restoration.

References

* * English tax resisters 1600 births 1671 deaths {{England-bio-stub