Sir John Walter (1566 – 17 November 1630) was an English judge and

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 o ...

. Walter was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford and the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

. He was called to the bar in 1590 and became a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of his inn in 1605. He practised in the

Exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government revenu ...

and Chancery courts, becoming counsel to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and in 1613 was appointed attorney general and trustee to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. He purchased the manor of

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domesday B ...

from George Owen in 1616, and

Cutteslowe Cutteslowe is a suburb of north Oxford, England, between Sunnymead and Water Eaton. Archaeology and toponym The toponym "Cutteslowe" is derived from Old English. The earliest known record of it is from AD 1004 as ''Cuðues hlaye'', which seems ...

from John Lenthall between 1611 and 1625. He was knighted in 1619, and in 1621 was elected to Parliament as member for East Looe. In 1625 he was appointed Chief Baron of the court of the Exchequer. Having opposed

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

over the law of treason, in 1630 he was ordered not to sit again as a judge. He married, firstly, Margaret Offley, daughter of William Offley, and they had two children: * Sir William Walter, 1st Baronet (c. 1604 – 1675) * Edward Walter * David Walter (died 1679), of Godstow * John Walter * Mary Walter, married Sir John Cope * Elizabeth Walter (1613–1701), married

Sir Francis Burdett Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet (25 January 1770 – 23 January 1844) was a British politician and Member of Parliament who gained notoriety as a proponent (in advance of the Chartists) of universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, vo ...

. * Catherine Walter * Margaret Walter After the death of his first wife he was remarried, in 1622, to Anne Witham, daughter of William Witham. This marriage was childless. He settled Wolvercote on Anne and any children he might have with her (there were none), with remainder to David; she died childless in 1636. He died on 17 November 1630 and was buried at

in Oxfordshire.

References

*''Concise Dictionary of National Biography''
www.thepeerage.com
1566 births 1630 deaths People from Oxfordshire Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple English knights Chief Barons of the Exchequer 16th-century English people Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1621–1622 {{17thC-England-MP-stub