Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet, SL (1598 – 5 May 1670) 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 ide ...

lawyer and politician. Born in East Carlton, Northamptonshire, he obtained a BA from

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, in 1616 and a MA 1619. He 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 Inn an ...

on 14 June 1616 and called to the bar on 23 May 1623. He married Margaret Moore, daughter of Francis Moore, a

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 writ ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, by whom he had six children: *Thomas Palmer (died young) * Lewis Palmer (1630–1713) *

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pal ...

(1642–1661) *Edward Palmer *Elizabeth Palmer *Frances Palmer Palmer was elected to the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

in 1640, representing Stamford. He was a manager of Strafford's

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

, giving advice on points of law and the procedural rights of the accused. He joined in the protestation of 3 May 1641 in defence of the Protestant religion, and the act for prolongation of the Parliament on 11 May 1641. After the latter, he joined Hyde and Falkland in supporting the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

in his opposition to his new council. Upon the passage of the

Grand Remonstrance The Grand Remonstrance was a list of grievances presented to King Charles I of England by the English Parliament on 1 December 1641, but passed by the House of Commons on 22 November 1641, during the Long Parliament. It was one of the chief even ...

, he rose to protest against

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of th ...

's motion to print it, creating a tremendous tumult. The next day, he referred to the majority as "A Rabble of inconsiderable persons, set on by a juggling Junto," and was committed to the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

for a few weeks. After the passage of the

Militia Ordinance The Militia Ordinance was passed by the Parliament of England on 15 March 1642. By claiming the right to appoint military commanders without the king's approval, it was a significant step in events leading to the outbreak of the First English Civ ...

, he withdrew from Parliament to become

Commissioner of Array A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...

for

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. In 1643, he was awarded a DCL by the

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, and was a member of the royalist Parliament that met there in 1644. Appointed Solicitor General in 1645, he was captured at the fall of Oxford and compounded his estates for £500 in September 1648. He practised law in

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during the 1650s. Palmer was committed to the Tower again on 9 June 1655 on suspicion of raising forces against

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, but was released the following year. Palmer prospered 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 ...

, being made

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

on 31 May 1660, and

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 can ...

of the Middle Temple the next month. He was knighted on 1 June 1660, created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 7 June 1660, and

in October 1660. During this period, he was active as counsel to the crown and in prosecutions, particularly that of the

regicides Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

in 1662. A strong supporter of the

royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...

, he joined with Hyde, now Earl of Clarendon, who was assembling a collaboration to enact legislation. Geoffrey obtained a seat at Ludgershall for his elder son, Geoffrey, in March 1661 by forcing the sheriff to deliver the election writ to his agent, but Geoffrey died in October; his son Lewis was elected for

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated populati ...

at the same election. He briefly enjoyed an appointment as

Chief Justice of Chester The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the county palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine (w ...

from 1661 to 1662, and was

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Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

from 1662 until his death on 5 May 1670, in his house at Hampstead Fields,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. His funeral was attended by a large number of nobles and judges, and he was interred at East Carlton. His monument is in the south transept of St Peter's Church, East Carlton. His estates included the manors of East and West Carlton, Northamptonshire, which his family had held from the 15th century and the

Carlton Curlieu Hall Carlton Curlieu Hall is a privately owned 17th-century country house at Carlton Curlieu, Leicestershire. It is the home of the Palmer family and is a Grade II* listed building. John Bale purchased land at Carlton Curlieu in 1549 and in 1575 his ...

estate, Leicestershire, which he purchased in 1664.''Palmer Manuscripts'', National Archives: Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Record Office Ref No. DE1110

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Sir Geoffrey, 1st Baronet Attorneys General for England and Wales Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the Middle Temple English MPs 1640–1648 Serjeants-at-law (England) Solicitors General for England and Wales 1598 births 1670 deaths 17th-century English lawyers