John Hippisley (1530–1570) was an English barrister and politician.

Life

Born in Ston Easton, Somerset, he was the son of John Hippisley and Agnes Aleyn. His father had acquired the manor of Ston Easton (major) from the Crown in 1544, for £500; John inherited the manor on his father’s death in 1558. John became a senior lawyer at 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 ...

in London and was described by Dr Hubert Hall in his social study ''Society in the Elizabethan Age'' as "perhaps the most successful country practitioner of his time". He made a contribution towards the cost of building the

Middle Temple Hall 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 a ...

, and the expressions of gratitude from the Masters of the Bench suggest that he gave a considerable sum. John represented

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

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 ...

between 1562 and 1566 after briefly serving as MP for

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and withi ...

and was also

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

– the City's senior Judge – from 1551 until his death. In 1559 he bought the manor of Whitnell, where his grandfather had been tenant and bailiff, and in 1561 he bought the manor of

Cameley Cameley is a village in the civil parish of Temple Cloud with Cameley, within the Chew Valley in Somerset, and on the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills, in the Bath and North East Somerset Council area just off the A37 road. It is located fr ...

and built Cameley Court. With his mother Agnes still living in the manor house at

Ston Easton Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. History Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ant ...

, and managing the estate there, John seems to have preferred to live at Cameley, and is described as being "of Cameley" in the 1623 Visitation of Somersetshire. In 1564 John obtained a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, and in 1570 he bought the manor of

Emborough Emborough is a village and civil parish north of Shepton Mallet, and north east of Wells, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It adjoins the parish of Ston Easton. It is situated on the B3139 between Radstock and Wells, just off the A ...

. John's career was cut short when he died, aged just 40, on 12 August 1570. He was buried in Cameley nine days later and was succeeded by his son, also called John.

References

* ''Some Notes on the Hippisley Family'', A. E. Hippisley & I. FitzRoy Jones (Eds), Wessex Press 1952

External links

Detailed history of the Hippisley family
1530 births 1570 deaths Politicians from Somerset Members of the Middle Temple English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1559 16th-century English judges {{1563-England-MP-stub