Memorial to James Reynolds in St Edmundsbury Cathedral

Sir James Reynolds (1686–1739) was an English lawyer 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 1717 until 1725 when he was appointed a judge. He was

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who ...

from 1730 to 1738. He should not be confused with his close relative (most likely his nephew) Sir James Reynolds who was Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas in the same era. Reynolds was the son of James Reynolds of Helions Bumpstead in

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and his second wife Bridget Parker. He was educated at Bury Grammar School and was admitted at Queens' College, Cambridge in 1702 and at

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 Inn ...

in 1703. He then entered Lincoln's Inn in 1705 and was called to the Bar in 1712. Reynolds became Recorder of Bury St Edmunds in 1712 and

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 ...

in 1715.Foss, p.553 He was returned as

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 ...

for Bury St Edmunds at a by-election on 16 May 1717. At the 1722 general election, he was elected MP for Bury St Edmunds again. He vacated his seat and his position as Recorder on 2 April 1725 when he was appointed a judge of the

Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

. As a barrister, Reynold's most notable case was the lawsuit on the question as to whether King

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had sole rights over the care and education of his grandchildren (1718). He argued unsuccessfully that the future King

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had the right to determine how his children should be educated. George I showed that he did not bear any grudge against Reynolds by appointing him a judge of the Court of King's Bench in 1725. George II made him Chief Baron in 1730. He retired, apparently for health reasons, in 1738 and died the following February. He was buried in St. Edmundsbury Cathedral, and a memorial was raised to him there. He married twice, firstly to Mary Smith and secondly to Alice Rainbird, but had no children.Foss p.553 Foss praises him as a judge who throughout his career endeavoured to do his duty "without fear or affection, prejudice or passion". The year after his death another Sir James Reynolds, who had been Chief Justice of Common Pleas in Ireland, was appointed a Baron of the English Court of Exchequer. Their precise relationship has been a matter of some debate, but it seems that the Chief Baron, though two years younger, was the Irish Chief Justice's uncle,Ball p.113 the latter being the son of Robert Reynolds, a much older half-brother of the Chief Baron.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Sir James, junior 1686 births 1739 deaths People from Braintree District 18th-century English judges Chief Barons of the Exchequer Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge