Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet, SL (1598 – 5 May 1670) was an English lawyer and politician.

Early life and family

Born in East Carlton, Northamptonshire, he obtained a BA from

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, 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 entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

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 of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, 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

Career

Palmer was elected to the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

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

impeachment Impeachment is a 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 Eur ...

, 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 a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

in his opposition to his new council. Upon the passage of the Grand Remonstrance, he rose to protest against

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Roundhead, Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of ...

'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, he withdrew from Parliament to become Commissioner of Array for

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. In 1643, he was awarded a DCL by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, and was a member of the royalist Parliament that met there in 1644. Appointed

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the 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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

during the 1650s. Palmer was committed to the Tower again on 9 June 1655 on suspicion of raising forces against Cromwell, but was released the following year. Palmer prospered at the Restoration, being made

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

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 c ...

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 serjeant-at-law 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 (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...

, 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 had a population of 8,82 ...

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 ( ...

from 1661 to 1662, and was recorder of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. 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 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 201 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