John Wray (28 August 1782–16 February 1869) was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and the first Receiver of the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

, its chief financial officer, to which office he was appointed on 7 July 1829. Wray was born in Hull,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. He graduated from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

in 1804, and at the time of his death was the most senior member of the college. He was admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1805 and

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 1823. As Receiver, he had equal authority with the two Joint Commissioners,

Charles Rowan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Rowan (''circa'' 1782 – 8 May 1852) was an officer in the British Army, serving in the Peninsular War and Waterloo and the joint first Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, head of the London Metropolita ...

and

Richard Mayne Sir Richard Mayne KCB (27 November 1796 – 26 December 1868) was a barrister and the joint first Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, the head of the London Metropolitan Police (1829–1868). With an incumbency of 39 years, he was a ...

, and worked in harmony with them in establishing the new police force. His function in persuading

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es to turn over funds to the Metropolitan Police was invaluable. He retired in April 1860, aged 78. He is buried in the churchyard of

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

's parish church, Cottingham.Photograph of the Wray family memorial
/ref> Wray was also the founder and, for 43 years, Chairman of the University Life Assurance Society. The University Life Assurance Society was established in 1825 and was acquired by The Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1919.

References

Receivers of the Metropolitan Police 1782 births 1869 deaths People from Kingston upon Hull English barristers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn 19th-century English lawyers {{UK-law-bio-stub