John Parker (''

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

'' 1631–1680) was an English judge and an MP for Rochester during the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

Biography

Parker was the son and heir of Richard Parker, of Shorne, Northfleet, Kent, and Priscilla, daughter of Robert Edolph of Hinxhill, Kent. For many years Parker lived at

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

and was recorder of that town by 1632, but he was not called to the bar until 8 June 1638. He continued to be the recorder and on 16 April 1649 the Council of State demanded his attendance as the recorder of Gravesend. During the

he was one of the gentlemen of the county of Kent trusted by the Council of State to carry out their wishes. In 1653 he was on the commission responsible selling estates of Royalists sequestrated for their actions in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In the same year he was a trustee for the lands previously belonging to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

and oversaw the sale of property belonging to the royal family. Parker was member for Rochester in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

Protectorate Parliaments of 1654 and 1656, and was summoned by Cromwell as assistant to the Other House. Parker joined the Fleet Street Inn in 1655 the year in which he was created a serjeant, and later that year appointed a serjeant-at-law and a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...

on 11 February 1656. In 1657 he was head of the Kentish assessments which dealt with issues such as poor prisoners, and forests. In 1659 he was appointed a circuit judge, and was reappointed that year as a Baron of the Exchequer by the new Protector

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

, and the Rump Parliament from May 1659 to 30 June 1659, from 25 June 1659 to 20 November 1659, and on 19 January 1660. He was removed from the post at the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

but was reappointed a sergeant and held the position until the early 1680s when he disappears from the historical record.

Works

Whether this Parker or his contemporary name sake John Parker issued a book entitled ''Government of the People of England, precedent and present'' in 1650, remains unknown. notes: a small tract in the Thomason Collection at the British Museum.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, John 17th-century English judges 1631 births 1680 deaths People from Rochester, Kent Barons of the Exchequer Serjeants-at-law (England) English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658