Thomas Powys (judge)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sir Thomas Powys (1649 – 4 April 1719), of Henley, near Ludlow, Shropshire and Lilford cum Wigsthorpe, Northamptonshire, was an English lawyer, judge and Tory politician, who sat in the
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 ...
and
British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
between 1701 and 1713. He was
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 ...
to
King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
and was chief prosecutor at the trial of the Seven Bishops in June 1688. He served as
Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern a ...
from 1713 to 1714, but was dismissed.


Early years

Powys was the second son of Thomas Powys of Henley Hall in
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
and his first wife, Anne Littleton, daughter of Sir Adam Littleton, 1st Baronet. His father was serjeant-at-law and a Bencher of
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 ...
. He was the younger brother of Sir
Littleton Powys Sir Littleton Powys Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (1647?– 16 March 1732) was a Justice of the King's Bench. Early years He was the eldest son of Thomas Powys of Henley Hall in Shropshire, serjeant-at-law, a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, and the ...
(1647–1732). Powys was educated at
Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...
, and matriculated at
Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
on 20 May 1664, aged 15. He was admitted at
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 ...
on 19 February 1696 and was called to the bar in 1673.


Career

Powys was attorney-general for Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire from 1680 to 1686 and was knighted on 23 April 1686. He became solicitor-general in 1686, when Heneage Finch was dismissed. Having acquiesced in the appointment of Roman Catholics to office, and argued in favour of the king's dispensing power, he was promoted to attorney-general in December 1687, the same year that he became treasurer of Lincoln's Inn.


Trial of the Seven Bishops

Powys conducted the prosecution of the Seven Bishops in June 1688. The charge was
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 a ...
, in presenting to the King a petition against the enforcement of his second
Declaration of Indulgence The Declaration of Indulgence, also called Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, was a pair of proclamations made by James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland in 1687. The Indulgence was first issued for Scotland on 12 February and t ...
. The acquittal of the Bishops was a disastrous blow to the Crown's prestige, and Powys was heavily criticised for incompetence: inexplicably he forgot to adduce evidence that the Petition had ever been presented, so that the trial almost collapsed at the outset. However, given the immense public sympathy for the Bishops, and that two of the four judges directed the jury to acquit, it is unlikely that any prosecutor could have secured a conviction.


Parliamentary career

Powys was removed from office after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, and built up a lucrative private practice at the bar. He acquired a reputation for fairness, especially in defence of state prisoners, among whom was
Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet (c. 1645 – 28 January 1697) was an English Jacobite conspirator, who succeeded to the Baronetcy of Fenwick on the death of his father in 1676. He was involved in a Jacobite plot to assassinate the monarch. He was ...
, and at the bar of both houses of parliament. Powys 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 of ...
for
Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...
at the first general election of 1701. At the second general election of 1701, he was returned again for Ludlow, and also stood unsuccessfully at Cardigan Boroughs. After the accession of
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
, he was made Prime serjeant in June 1702. At the
1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...
, he was returned for both Ludlow and
Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...
and opted to remain at Ludlow. He was involved in Tory groupings, but by 1704 was generally supporting the Court. He was returned again at the
1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...
. He remained neutral over the choice of Speaker in October 1705 on the regency bill but spoke on the Court side on the Regency bill in December and January 1706 and voted against the ‘place clause’ on 18 February 1706. In 1707 he was appointed
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 ...
of Ludlow, holding the post until 1719. When Harley resigned from the Administration in February 1708, Powys joined the opposition. He was returned as a Tory for Ludlow at the
1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...
. He voted against the impeachment of Dr
Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...
in 1710, and on 7 May 1710 presented an address to the Queen from the corporation of Ludlow in favour of Sacheverell. At the
1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...
he was returned again for Ludlow. He was one of the ‘worthy patriots’ who exposed the mismanagement of the previous ministry. He had been agitating Lord Harley for preferment since the Tory administration was formed and was rewarded on 8 June 1713 with the post of judge of the Queen's Bench but as he and his brother, Sir Littleton Powys, too frequently formed judgments in opposition to the rest of the court, he, as the more active and able of the two, was removed, on Lord-chancellor Cowper's advice, when
George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first ...
came to England (1714).Sainty, p. 36 His position as
King's Serjeant 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 ...
was restored to him after an appeal, and he held the position for the rest of his life. After 1713 he did not stand for parliament.


Later life and legacy

Powys lived in
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
prior to acquiring
Lilford Hall Lilford Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean stately home in Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. The 100-room house is located in the eastern part of the county, south of Oundle and north of Thrapston. History It was started in 1495 as a Tudor ...
in 1711, induced to inspect it by his friend, Sir Edward Ward. Powys is buried at
Achurch Achurch (formerly Asenciran sometimes referred to as Thorpe Achurch) is a village in the civil parish of Thorpe Achurch, in North Northamptonshire, England. Situated on a small rise above the River Nene, 5 miles South of the market town of Ound ...
. He died in 1719, and was buried at Lilford. He was twice married: first to Sarah, daughter of Ambrose Holbech of Mollington, Warwickshire; and secondly, to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Philip Meadows. He had issue by both; and his great-grandson Thomas Powys, was created Lord Lilford in 1797. His portrait hangs at the Tarlton Law Library,
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.


References

* * ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Powys, Thomas 1649 births 1719 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Shrewsbury School English barristers 18th-century English judges Serjeants-at-law (England) Justices of the King's Bench Members of Lincoln's Inn English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 Attorneys General for England and Wales Solicitors General for England and Wales