John Popham (judge)

Sir John Popham (1531 – 10 June 1607) of Wellington, Somerset, was Speaker of the House of Commons (1580 to 1583), Attorney General (1581 to 1592) and Lord Chief Justice of England (1592 to 1607).

Origins

Popham was born in 1531 at Huntworth in the parish of North Petherton, near Bridgwater, in Somerset, the second son of Alexander Popham (c. 1504 – 1556) of Huntworth, twice MP for Bridgwater in 1545 and 1547, by his wife Jane Stradling, a daughter of Sir Edward Stradling (died 1535) of St Donat's Castle, Glamorgan; one of Jane's brothers is Thomas Stradling. St Donat's Castle situated on the south coast of Glamorgan was a short sail across the Bristol Channel into the inland port of Bridgwater on the River Parret. The Popham family had held the manor of Huntworth since the 13th century when Sir Hugh de Popham (tempore Edward I) (a younger son of the Popham family of the manor of Popham, Hampshire) married Joan de Kentisbury, daughter and heiress of Sir Stephen de Kentisbury of Huntworth. His nephews included George Popham, founder of Popham Colony (of which Sir John was one of the principal financial backers) and Sir William Pole (1561–1635), the historian of Devon.

Education

He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he read classics and divinity, and entered the Middle Temple as a law student.

Career

He served as an MP for Lyme Regis in 1558 and for Bristol in 1571 and 1572 and was a Justice of the Peace in Somerset. He served in the honourable position of Recorder of Bridgwater and of Bristol. He was promoted to serjeant-at-law in 1578 and appointed Solicitor-General in 1579. In 1581 he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons and later that year was appointed Attorney-General. In 1592 following the death of Sir Christopher Wray, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, which position he retained until his death.

Popham is credited with maintaining the stability of the British State, and for being one of the "real colonisers" of the British Empire; hosting two Wabanaki tribesmen kidnapped on the Maine coast in 1605, subsequently funding and orchestrating the aborted Popham Colony at the mouth of the Kennebec River, Maine (1607–1608).

Popham became a very wealthy man, and amongst the many estates he owned was Publow in Somerset, Littlecote in Wiltshire, and Hemyock Castle in Devon. In Peter Blundell's will of 1599 Popham was asked to establish a free grammar school in the town of Tiverton in Devon, which resulted in his founding of Blundell's School which opened in 1604 and still exists to this day.

Famous trials

In 1595 Popham presided over the trial of the Jesuit Robert Southwell and passed a sentence of death by hanging, drawing and quartering. He also presided over the trials of Sir Walter Raleigh (1603) and the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot, including Guy Fawkes (1606). He was also involved in the trial at Fotheringhay Castle of Mary, Queen of Scots (1587) which resulted in her execution.

While working as the messenger to the Queen, Popham was imprisoned by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex with his henchman. Ever stoic, Popham replied that at his age, death would be "but cutting off a few years". However, he was rescued and rowed to safety by Sir Ferdinando Gorges (1565–1647).

He was noted for his severity towards thieves, and for strict enforcement of the Penal Laws.

Marriage and children

John Popham married Amy AdamsHistory of Parliament (''alias'' Games), daughter and heiress of Hugh (''alias'' Howel) Adams (''alias'' Games) of Castleton, Glamorgan, a fortified manor house 800 metres north-east of the village of St Athan. Castleton was from the early 12th century the caput