Sir Thomas Darnell, 1st Baronet (died ) was an English landowner, at the centre of a celebrated state legal case in the reign of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

, often known as the 'Five Knights' Case' but to the lawyers of the period ''

Darnell's Case The ''Five Knights' case'' (1627) 3 How St Tr 1 (also Darnel's or Darnell's case) (K.B. 1627), is an English ''habeas corpus'' case of major significance in the history of English and later United Kingdom constitutional law. The case was brought ...

''.

Life

Darnell was a landowner with estates in

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 ...

. He was 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 ...

, of Heyling in the County of Lincoln, at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

on 6 September 1621. He was committed to the

Fleet Prison Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846. History The prison was built in 1197 off what is now ...

in March 1627, by warrant signed only by the attorney-general, for having refused to subscribe to the forced loan of that year. Application for a ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

'' having been made on his behalf, the writ was issued returnable on 8 November 1627. The case came on for argument on 15 November. Meanwhile, a warrant for Darnell's detention had been signed by two privy councillors, in which, however, no ground for confinement was alleged except the special command of the king. Darnell was represented by Serjeant-at-law John Bramston, but asked for time to consider his new position, which being granted, he was remanded. The cases of his four comrades, John Corbet, Walter Earle,

John Heveningham Sir John Heveningham (c. 1577 – 17 June 1633) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1628 to 1629. Life Heveningham was the son of Sir Arthur Heveningham, of Heveningham, Suffolk and was baptised there on 26 March 1577 ...

, and Edmund Hampden, were proceeded with, Bramston,

William Noy William Noy (1577 – 9 August 1634) was an English jurist. He was born on the family estate of Pendrea in St Buryan, Cornwall. He left Exeter College, Oxford, without taking a degree, and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1594. From 1603 until his ...

William Calthorpe Sir William Calthorpe {{post-nominals, country=GBR, KB (30 January 1410 – 15 November 1494) was an English knight and Lord of the Manors of Burnham Thorpe and Ludham in Norfolk. He is on record as High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1442, ...

, and

John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned m ...

being for the applicants, and the attorney-general,

Robert Heath Sir Robert Heath (20 May 1575 – 30 August 1649) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1625. Early life Heath was the son of Robert Heath, attorney, and Anne Posyer. He was educated at Tunbridge gra ...

, representing the crown. On 22 November Chief-justice Nicholas Hyde gave judgment, in which his colleagues

John Doddridge Sir John Doddridge (akas: Doderidge or Dodderidge; 1555–1628) was an English lawyer, appointed Justice of the King's Bench in 1612 and served as Member of Parliament for Barnstaple in 1589 and for Horsham in 1604.Fuidge He was also an antiquari ...

, Jones, and James Whitelocke concurred, to the effect that the returns to the writs were sufficient. The prisoners remained in custody until 29 January 1628, when they were released. Darnell was living in 1634, and died before 1640. By his wife Sara, daughter of Thomas Fisher, and sister of Sir Thomas Fisher, bart., he had no male issue.

References

* ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, Thomas Baronets in the Baronetage of England 1630s deaths 17th-century English landowners English landowners Year of birth missing