Sir John Jeffreyson (1635–1700) was an English-born judge whose entire judicial career was spent in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was unusual among Irish judges of the time in holding the rank of English

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 ...

. He was considered an outstanding lawyer, and was noted for his staunchly

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 ...

political views.Ball, F.Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray and Co 1926 Vol. 2 pp.58-9

Early life

He was born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, son of John Jeffreyson, a

mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

, and Margaret Walton, daughter of Hugh Walton, an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the city. He went to school in

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark i ...

and matriculated from

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

in 1652.

Career

He entered

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 1651 and 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 ...

in 1661. He became

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 ...

of Durham in 1679, a Bencher of Gray's Inn in 1682 and Serjeant in 1683. He was a convinced Tory in politicsBall pp. 11-13 and a close friend of the noted loyalist cleric Thomas Cartwight,

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...

, but after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, unlike Bishop Cartwright, he did not follow King

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

into exile. He strongly supported the King's policy of religious toleration, and was recommended for promotion to the English High Court bench in 1688 as a reward for his good service to the Crown.

Judge in Ireland

His career was not permanently damaged by the

. Perhaps surprisingly, given his record of loyalty to the previous regime, he was sent to Ireland as a judge of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

in 1690: presumably, his experience and legal ability were thought to outweigh his Tory opinions, although this tolerant attitude did not last. He joined the

King's Inn The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1692. He was made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1693. His political views inevitably led to conflict at a time when the Irish Bench was riven with political differences: he was removed from the Privy Council in 1695 but restored to his place on it in 1697. He acted as Commissioner of the Great Seal of Ireland 1696–7. As was customary then for High Court judges he attended the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...

to act as their legal adviser.

Death and family

He died in 1700 and was buried in

St. Peter's Church, Aungier Street, Dublin St. Peter's Church was a former Church of Ireland parish church located in Aungier Street in Dublin, Ireland, where the Dublin YMCA building now stands. It was built on land that formerly belonged to the Carmelites, Whitefriars in Dublin. It s ...

(which was demolished in 1983). He married Elizabeth Cole of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

in 1664; they had one daughter, Margaret, who married Captain Walker. Margaret was a friend of the Irish-born author,

Mary Davys Mary Davys (1674?–1732) was an Irish novelist and playwright. Early life Davis was born in Ireland: nothing is known about her childhood, including her birth name. Comments by Jonathan Swift, who was at Trinity College Dublin with her hus ...

, who dedicated her first novel, ''The Amours of Alcippus and Lucippe'', later renamed ''The Lady's Tale'' (1704) to Margaret. Mrs Davys in the dedication praises Margaret's "unexceptional temper", and refers to their old acquaintance in England, suggesting that their friendship was of long standing.Bowden, Martha, introduction to '' The Reform'd Coquet'' by

, reissued by the University of Kentucky 1999 Elrington Ball described Jeffreyson as a fine lawyer, but ''a Tory above all''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffreyson, John People from Durham, England 1635 births 1700 deaths Serjeants-at-law (England) Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn Justices of the Irish Common Pleas