Sir Thomas Clarke (1703 – 13 November 1764) was a British judge who served as

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

. He was the son of a carpenter and a pawnbroker from

St Giles in the Fields St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. It stands within the London Borough of Camden and belongs to the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as a monastery and ...

, and was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

between 1715 and 1721 thanks to the help of

Zachary Pearce Zachary Pearce, sometimes known as Zachariah (8 September 1690 – 29 June 1774), was an English Bishop of Bangor and Bishop of Rochester. He was a controversialist and a notable early critical writer defending John Milton, attacking Richard Ben ...

. On 10 June 1721 he matriculated to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, graduating with a BA in 1724. He became a fellow of Trinity College in 1727, and a member of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

the same year. Clarke was evidently knowledgeable in

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

, and was mentioned in a poem called the ''causidicade'' as a possible Solicitor General in 1742.Foss (1870) p.167 He became a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

(KC) in 1740, and in 1742 left Gray's Inn to join

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 ...

, which he became a bencher of in 1754. In 1747 he was elected a

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 St Michael's, and in 1754 was returned for

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...

. After the death of the

Sir John Strange Sir John Strange (1696 – 18 May 1754) was a British politician and judge. Life He was born to another John Strange of Fleet Street, London and his second wife, Mary Plaistowe. He studied Law at the Middle Temple on 11 July 1712 before starti ...

, Clarke was offered the position. The job was originally offered to William Murray, later Lord Mansfield, but he turned it down. If he had accepted, Clarke might instead have succeeded Murray as

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney ...

. Clarke was officially appointed on 25 May 1754, and was knighted at the same time. In June 1754 he was invested as a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

(PC). Clarke evidently discharged his duties "with great credit" for ten years, until his death in office on 13 November 1764. He was buried in the

Rolls Chapel The Maughan Library () is the main university research library of King's College London, forming part of the Strand Campus. A 19th-century neo-Gothic building located on Chancery Lane in the City of London, it was formerly the home to the headqu ...

, now the main library of

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. Clarke was a close friend of the second Earl of Macclesfield, and this friendship combined with his unclear parentage started rumours that Clark was in fact Macclesfield's son. "He left a large fortune behind him, which he had acquired solely by the practice of his profession, the greater part of it being bequeathed by him to the third earl of Macclesfield, the grandson of his old benefactor." In his will, Clarke left his Flitcroft-designed home, Branch Hill Lodge, to Macclesfield. Outside politics and law, Clarke was a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS), and "devoted himself to philosophical pursuits".

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Thomas 1703 births 1764 deaths Masters of the Rolls People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Fellows of the Royal Society British King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain