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Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, Of Gray's Inn
Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet (1634 – 11 July 1700) was a Welsh lawyer and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for Chester and later Beaumaris, and was appointed Speaker for two English Parliaments during the reign of Charles II. He later served as Solicitor General during the reign of James II. Williams had a bitter personal and professional rivalry with Judge Jeffreys (the hanging judge). Early life Williams was born in Anglesey, the eldest son of Hugh Williams and Emma Dolben. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, followed by Gray's Inn, to which he was admitted in 1650. Parliament After unsuccessfully standing for Chester in the 1673 by-election, Williams was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency in the 1675 by-election. His profile grew, and he was elected to become Speaker of the House of Commons, a post which he held during the 3rd (Exclusion Bill Parliament, 1680–1681) and 4th ( 1681; Oxford Parliament) parliaments of Charl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 century; however, in its current usage it was created by James VI and I, James I of England in 1611 as a means of raising funds for the crown. Baronets rank below barons, but seemingly above all grand cross, knights grand cross, knight commander, knights commander and knight bachelor, knights bachelor of the British order of chivalry, chivalric orders, that are in turn below in chivalric United Kingdom order of precedence, precedence than the most senior British chivalric orders of the order of the Garter, Garter and the order of the Thistle, Thistle. Like all British knights, baronets are addressed as "Sir" and baronetesses as "Dame". They are conventionally seen to belong to the lesser nobility, although William Thoms in 1844 wrote tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl Of Peterborough
Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough (15 November 1621 – 19 June 1697) was an English soldier, peer and courtier. Early life Styled Lord Mordaunt from 1628, he was the eldest son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough. He was educated at Eton, under Sir Henry Wotton, and shortly before the outbreak of the First English Civil War was sent to France to be out of harm's way. :s:Mordaunt, Henry, second Earl of Peterborough (DNB00) He returned to England in 1642, and served for a little while in the parliamentary army, where he commanded his ailing father's troop of horse. In April 1643, after his father's death, he deserted to the king at Oxford. Now Earl of Peterborough, he joined the Cavaliers and fought at the battles of Bristol, Gloucester and Newbury in 1643. At Newbury, he was wounded in the arm and thigh, and had his horse shot under him. In command of a regiment raised at his own expense he served in the west during the following summer and winter, at Cropr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montgomeryshire (UK Parliament Constituency)
Montgomeryshire () was a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Created in 1542, it elected one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP), formerly known as the knight of the shire, by the First-past-the-post voting, first-past-the-post system of election. It was abolished following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies prior to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 general election and replaced by Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (UK Parliament constituency), Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr. The Montgomeryshire (Senedd constituency), Montgomeryshire Senedd constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999 (as an Assembly constituency). Boundaries and political history The seat was based on the ancient county of Montgomeryshire, in the Subdivisions of Wales, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the show trials and executions of at least 22 men and precipitated the Exclusion Bill Crisis. During this tumultuous period, Oates weaved an intricate web of accusations, fueling public fears and paranoia. However, as time went on, the lack of substantial evidence and inconsistencies in Oates's testimony began to unravel the plot. Eventually, Oates himself was arrested and convicted for perjury, exposing the fabricated nature of the conspiracy. Background Development of English anti-Catholicism The fictitious Popish Plot must be understood against the background of the English Reformation and the subsequent development of a strong anti-Catholic nationalist sentiment among the mostly Protesta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Dangerfield
Thomas Dangerfield (c. 165022 June 1685) was an English conspirator, who became one of the principal informers in the Popish Plot. His violent death at the hands of the barrister Robert Francis was clearly a homicide, although whether the killing was murder or manslaughter was a matter of considerable public debate at the time. Biography Dangerfield was born about 1650 at Waltham Abbey, Essex, the son of a farmer. At the age of about 12 in about 1662, he ran away from home to London, and never returned to his home. He began his career of crime by robbing his father of both horses and money, and, after a rambling life, which brought him to Scotland, France, Spain and Portugal, took to coining counterfeit money, for which offence and numerous others he was many times imprisoned: it was said later that to describe his career one need simply list every capital crime known to English law. Lord Chief Justice Scroggs later referred to him with contempt as "that fellow from Chel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Commons Library
The House of Commons Library is the library and information resource of the lower house of the British Parliament. It was established in 1818, although its original 1828 construction was destroyed during the burning of Parliament in 1834. The library has adopted the phrase "Contributing to a well-informed democracy" as a summary of its mission statement. History The Library was established in 1818 and a purpose-designed library was built for it by Sir John Soane and completed in 1828. This building, along with much of the medieval Palace of Westminster, to which it was added, was destroyed by fire in 1834. In the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, the Library was given four large rooms on the river front of the principal floor of the new palace, each 40 feet by 25 feet and some 20 ft high. This suite was fully opened by 1852, and two additional rooms added in the mid/late 1850s. One of these was to comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Parliament (1681)
The Oxford Parliament, also known as the Third Exclusion Parliament, was an English Parliament assembled in the city of Oxford for one week from 21 March 1681 until 28 March 1681 during the reign of Charles II of England. This was the last time Parliament met outside Westminster. Summoning Parliament to meet in Oxford, a Royalist stronghold which had been Charles I's capital during the Civil War, was designed to deprive the Whig opposition of the grassroots support from the London masses, which was an important factor in earlier stages of the Exclusion Crisis. Succeeding the Exclusion Bill Parliament, this was the fifth and last parliament of the King's reign. Both Houses of Parliament met and the King delivered a speech to them on the first day. The Speaker was William Williams, who had been the Speaker in the previous Parliament. He was elected unanimously and delivered a speech on 22 March. The Oxford Parliament was dismissed after another Exclusion Bill was presented wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exclusion Bill Parliament
The Exclusion Bill Parliament was a Parliament of England during the reign of Charles II of England, named after the long saga of the Exclusion Bill. Summoned on 24 July 1679, but prorogued by the king so that it did not assemble until 21 October 1680, it was dissolved three months later on 18 January 1680/81. Background Succeeding the long Cavalier Parliament and the short-lived Habeas Corpus Parliament of March to July 1679, this was the third parliament of the King's reign. Its character was much influenced by the aftermath of the Popish Plot crisis. On 15 May 1679, the supporters of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC, FRS (22 July 1621 – 21 January 1683), was an English statesman and peer. He held senior political office under both the Commonwealth of England and Charles II, serving as Chancellor of the ..., had introduced the Exclusion Bill into the House of Commons of England, Commons with the aim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Wales, an individual must belong to one of these inns. Located at the intersection of High Holborn and Gray's Inn Road in Central London, the Inn is a professional body and provides office and some residential accommodation for barristers. It is ruled by a governing council called "Pension", made up of the Masters of the Bench (or "benchers") and led by the Treasurer#In the Inns of Court, Treasurer, who is elected to serve a one-year term. The Inn is known for its gardens (the "Walks"), which have existed since at least 1597. Gray's Inn does not claim a specific foundation date; none of the Inns of Court claims to be any older than the others. Law clerks and their apprentices have been established on the present site since at latest 1370, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanging Judge
"Hanging judge" is a colloquial phrase for a judge who has gained notoriety for handing down punishment by sentencing convicted persons to death by hanging, or otherwise imposing unusually harsh sentences. Hanging judges are officers of the court with mandates, as opposed to extralegal lynch law. Historical examples 17th century * George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys * Salathiel Lovell * John Toler, 1st Earl of Norbury 19th century * Matthew Baillie Begbie, Vancouver and Victoria judge * Isaac C. Parker, U.S. district judge 20th century * Nikolai Krylenko, Bolshevik revolutionary, prosecutor, and Minister of Justice of the USSR * Roland Freisler, president (presiding judge) of the Nazi ''Volksgerichtshof'' (d. 3 February 1945) * Vasiliy Ulrikh, Soviet jurist, chief presiding judge at the Moscow Show Trials during the Great Purge * Lord Goddard, Lord Chief Justice of England * , Polish judge at communist political trials, including that of Witold Pilecki and the Warsa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving as Lord High Steward in certain instances). His conduct as a judge was to enforce royal policy, resulting in a historical reputation for severity and bias. Early years and education Jeffreys was born at the family estate of Acton Hall, in Wrexham, in Wales, the sixth son of John and Margaret Jeffreys. His grandfather, John Jeffreys (died 1622), had been Chief Justice of the Anglesey circuit of the Great Sessions. His father, also John Jeffreys (1608–1691), was a Royalist during the English Civil War, but was reconciled to the Commonwealth and served as High Sheriff of Denbighshire in 1655. His brothers were people of note. Thomas, later Sir Thomas (knighted in 1686), was the English Consul in Spain and a Knight of Alcántara. William w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
