John Glynn

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 wri ...

of Glynn (1722–1779) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1768 to 1779. Glynn was born to a family of Cornish

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

. He inherited his father's estate at Glynn in the parish of

Cardinham Cardinham ( kw, Kardhinan) (the spelling 'Cardynham' is almost obsolete) is a civil parish and a village in mid Cornwall, England. The village is approximately three-and-a-half miles (6 km), east-northeast of Bodmin. The hamlets of Fletch ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, on the deaths of his elder brother and his nephew. Glynn was admitted to 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 I ...

on 21 January 1740–1741. On 28 January 1747/8, he was called to the Bar. In 1763, Glynn became serjeant-at-law, and in the following year

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 ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. Known for his skill as a pleader, Glynn was engaged in many celebrated cases. Elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

in 1768, Glynn served in Parliament until his death. In 1772, he was elected Recorder of London. Glynn's speeches in Parliament were highly praised.

Glynn County, Georgia Glynn County is located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 79,626. The county seat is Brunswick. Glynn County is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. H ...

was named after John Glynn in recognition for his support for the cause of American independence in Parliament.

Early life

The second son of William Glynn of Glynn House in Cardinham, Cornwall, who married Rose, daughter of John Prideaux of Prideaux Place, Padstow, he was baptised at Cardinham on 3 August 1722. He matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, on 17 May 1738, but did not proceed to a degree. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1748. His elder brother died in June 1744, leaving an only son of weak intellect, against whom his uncle took out a commission in lunacy, and was appointed receiver of the family estates. The youth's mother was so much incensed that she left all her own property to distant connections. The lunatic died in December 1762, and Glynn came into the possession of his nephew's property.

Legal career

On 24 January 1763 Glynn was created a serjeant-at-law, but as a result of his opinions in opposition to the court, he was never promoted to the rank of king's serjeant. In 1764 he was appointed recorder of Exeter. His position at the bar and his opinions brought Glynn to take the lead in the cases connected with

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he ...

. They were in close consultation throughout the summer of 1763. He then acted for Wilkes in his application for a writ of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...

in May 1763, in the action against

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, (6 October 1716 – 8 June 1771) was a British statesman of the Georgian era. Due to his success in extending commerce in the Americas, he became known as the "father of the colonies". President of the ...

, and in the trial which took place in 1764 on the republication of '' The North Briton'' in volumes. He was the advocate of

John Almon John Almon (17 December 1737 – 12 December 1805) was an English journalist and writer on political subjects, notable for his efforts to secure the right to publish reports on the debates in Parliament. He was born in Liverpool and came to Londo ...

in 1765, pleaded in the king's bench against the outlawry of Wilkes in 1768, and was counsel for Alderman James Townsend in his action in June 1772 against the collector of

land tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value r ...

, which Townsend had refused to pay, urging the nullity of Parliament through the irregularity of the Middlesex election. Glynn represented Woodfall before

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

in the case of the

Letters of Junius ''Letters of Junius'' (or Junius: ''Stat nominis umbra'') is a collection of private and open letters critical of the government of King George III from an anonymous polemicist ( Junius) claimed by some to be Philip Francis (although Junius' real ...

, of which a subset were alleged to constitute

seditious libel Sedition and seditious libel were criminal offences under English common law, and are still criminal offences in Canada. Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection ...

. The verdict was mistrial; the Crown decided against further pursuit. Glynn also enjoyed a large share of general business. His advocacy secured the acquittal of Miss Butterfield, accused of poisoning William Scawen.

Politician

On a by-vacancy in the representation of

in 1768, Glynn was named by Wilkes, at the request of the majority of its freeholders, as the candidate in the "Wilkes and liberty" interest. John Horne Tooke was active in raising subscriptions to defray the election expenses. The ministerial candidate was Sir William Beauchamp Proctor, who had been ousted by Wilkes in March 1768. On the first day of polling (8 December), armed ruffians with "Liberty" and "Proctor" in their hats stormed the polling booth at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...

and one man was killed. This affair was the subject of popular engravings. After six days' polling, Glynn won by 1,542 votes to 1,278. When 1,565 freeholders of Middlesex addressed George III against the illegal act of the majority in the House of Commons, Glynn presented their petition, and in three cartoons at least he is represented on his knees presenting their address to the monarch (24 May 1769). At the dissolution in 1774 he was re-elected without opposition. In the winter of 1770 Glynn, influenced by

Lord Shelburne William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, (2 May 17377 May 1805; known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history), was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first ...

, moved for a committee to inquire into the administration of justice in cases relating to the press, and to settle the power of juries. He argued the question with John Dunning and Alexander Wedderburne. About the same time he was associated with

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled '' The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-ri ...

Sir William Meredith Sir William Meredith, 3rd Baronet (c. 1725 – 2 January 1790), was a British landowner who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1780. A Rockingham Whig, he served as a Lord of the Admiralty from 1765 to 1766. Early life Meredith was the so ...

and others in a committee on the modification of the criminal law. They deliberated for two years, and on their report a bill was introduced for the repeal of eight or ten statutes, but it was thrown out in the Lords. After meeting Glynn in 1770, Lord Chatham wrote, "I find him a most ingenious, solid, pleasing man, and the spirit of the constitution itself. I never was more taken by a first conversation in my life. Glynn was one of the leading members of the

Society of the Bill of Rights The Society of Gentlemen Supporters of the Bill of Rights was a British pressure group formed on 20 February 1769 to support John Wilkes after he was expelled from the House of Commons. The Society was formed at the London Tavern in Bishopsgate in ...

, which at the end of 1770 addressed a provocative letter to the American colonies. On 17 November 1772 Glynn was elected Recorder of London to replace James Eyre.The votes were Glynn, 13;

Edward Bearcroft Edward Bearcroft, KC (30 April 1737 – 20 November 1796) was an English barrister, judge, and politician. Origins and education Born on 30 April 1737, he was the second son of the Reverend Philip Bearcroft DD, then Preacher later Master of the ...

K.C., later chief justice of Chester, 12; and Hyde, the senior city counsel, 1.

Family and death

Glynn was married on 21 July 1763 to Susanna Margaret, third daughter of Sir John Oglander of

Nunwell Nunwell is the location of Nunwell House, near Brading on the Isle of Wight, which was the home of the Oglander family for many centuries. It is in the civil parish of Brading. The present family are not direct descendants through the male line a ...

in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. She had been born on 1 September 1744 and died at Catherine Place, Bath, on 20 May 1816. They had three sons and a daughter. Glynn suffered from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

and had to be carried into the House in April 1769 to vote against the motion for seating Henry Luttrell for Middlesex. In 1778 a deputy was allowed on account of his illness to act for him as recorder. On 16 September 1779 he died, and was buried at Cardinham on 23 September.

Works

Glynn edited in 1775–1776 eight numbers of ''The Whole Proceedings on the King's Commission of the Peace for the City of London.''

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Glynn, John 1722 births 1779 deaths Politicians from Cornwall Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Whig (British political party) MPs Serjeants-at-law (England) Recorders of London