Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry (157814 January 1640) was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge during the early 17th century.

Education and early legal career

He entered

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, in 1592, and the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1594, becoming bencher of the society in 1614, reader in 1616, and holding the office of treasurer from 1617 till 1621. His exceptional legal abilities were rewarded early with official promotion. On 16 November 1616 he was made

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

in spite of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

's opposition, who, although allowing him to be "a well trained and an honest man", objected that he was "bred by my Lord Coke and seasoned in his ways". On 14 March 1617 he was 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 ...

and was knighted.

Political and judicial career

He was returned for Droitwich to the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of 1621; and on 11 January in that year was 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 ...

. He took part in the proceedings against

Bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

for corruption, and was manager for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in the impeachment of Edward Floyd for insulting the elector and electress palatine. On 1 November 1625 he was made

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of ...

; in this capacity, he delivered Charles I's reprimand to the Commons on 9 March 1626, when he declared that "liberty of counsel" alone belonged to them and not "liberty of control". On 10 April 1628 he received the title of ''Baron Coventry of Aylesborough'' in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. At the opening of parliament in 1628, he threatened that the king would use his prerogative if further thwarted in the matter of supplies. In the subsequent debates, however, while strongly supporting the king's prerogative against the claims of the parliament to executive power, he favoured a policy of moderation and compromise. He defended the right of the council in special circumstances to commit people to prison without showing cause, and to issue general warrants. He disapproved of the king's sudden dissolution of parliament, and agreed to the liberation on

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

of the seven imprisoned members on condition of their giving security for their good behaviour. He showed less subservience than Bacon to the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...

, and his resistance to the latter's pretensions to the office of Lord High Constable greatly incensed the duke. Buckingham taunted Coventry with having gained his place by his favour; Coventry replied, "Did I conceive I had my place by your favour, I would presently unmake myself by returning the seal to his Majesty". After this defiance Buckingham's sudden death alone probably prevented Coventry's displacement. He passed sentence of death on Lord Audley in 1631, drafted and enforced the proclamation of 20 June 1632 ordering the country gentlemen to leave London, and in 1634 joined in

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

's attack on the

Earl of Portland Earl of Portland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1633 and secondly in 1689. What proved to be a long co-held title, Duke of Portland, was created in 1716 and became extinct in 1990 upon the death of t ...

for peculation. The same year, in an address to the judges, he supported the proposed levy of

ship money Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs cou ...

on the inland as well as the maritime counties on the plea of the necessity of effectually arming, "so that they might not be enforced to fight", "the wooden walls" being in his opinion "the best walls of this kingdom". He voted in Star Chamber in 1633 to remove the Irish judge Lord Sarsfield from office for corruption, censuring him severely for hearing a murder case in private and for bullying the jury into returning a guilty verdict. In the

Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...

Coventry was one of

John Lilburne John Lilburne (c. 161429 August 1657), also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "'' freeborn rights''", defining them as rights with which e ...

's judges in 1637, but he generally showed conspicuous moderation, inclining to leniency in the cases of Richard Chambers in 1629 for seditious speeches, and of Henry Sherfield in 1632 for breaking painted glass in a church. He prevented also the hanging of men for resistance to

impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is a type of conscription of people into a military force, especially a naval force, via intimidation and physical coercion, conducted by an organized group (hence "gang"). European nav ...

, and pointed out its illegality, since the men were not subject to

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

. While contributing thirty horse to the Scottish expedition in 1638, and lending the king £10,000 in 1639, he gave no support to the forced loan levied upon the city in the latter year.

Summary

Lord Coventry held the great seal for nearly fifteen years (1625–40), and was enabled to collect a large fortune. He was an able judge, and he issued some important orders in chancery, probably alluded to by Wood, who ascribes to him a tract on "The Fees of all law Officers". Bulstrode Whitelocke accuses him of mediocrity, but his contemporaries in general have united in extolling his judicial ability, his quick despatch of business and his sound and sterling character. Clarendon in particular praises his statesmanship, and compares his capacity with Lord Strafford's, adding, however, that he seldom spoke in the council except on legal business and had little influence in political affairs; to the latter circumstance, he owed his exceptional popularity. He describes him as having "in the plain way of speaking and delivery a strange power of making himself believed", as a man of "not only firm gravity but a severity and even some morosity", as "rather exceedingly liked than passionately loved".

Family

Lord Coventry was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Coventry, judge of the common pleas (a descendant of John Coventry,

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

in the reign of Henry VI), and of Margaret Jeffreys of Earls Croome, or Croome D'Abitot, in

. He married: 1. Sarah, (sister of Sir Edward Sebright of Besford in Worcestershire, and daughter of John Sebright by Anne Bullingham), by whom besides a daughter he had one son, :*

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, who succeeded him as 2nd baron, and 2. Elizabeth, daughter of John Aldersley of Spurstow, Cheshire, and widow of William Pitchford, by whom he had four more sons and four more daughters: :*

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, father of Sir John Coventry :*Francis, :*

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, Secretary of State (1672–1680) and :* Sir William Coventry, the statesman; :*Anne married Sir William Savile, 3rd baronet (1629) and then Thomas Chicheley of

Wimpole Wimpole is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. Until 1999, the main settlement on the A603 was officially known and signed as ''New Wimpole and Orwell, Camb ...

(1645) :*Mary married Sir Henry Frederick Thynne, 1st Baronet :*Margaret married Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper, later Earl of Shaftesbury :*Dorothy married Sir John Pakington, 2nd Baronet.''Burke's Peerage'' (1939 edition). Thomas Coventry, 5th baron (died 1699), was created

Earl of Coventry Earl of Coventry is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation for the Villiers family was created in 1623 and took its name from the city of Coventry. It became extinct in 1687. A decade later, the second ...

in 1697 with a special limitation, on the failure of his own male issue, to that of Walter, youngest brother of the lord keeper, from whom the present earl of Coventry is descended.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coventry, Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron 1578 births 1640 deaths 16th-century English lawyers 17th-century English judges 17th-century English nobility Attorneys general for England and Wales Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford 1 Peers of England created by Charles I English MPs 1621–1622 Lord chancellors of England Members of the Parliament of England for Droitwich Recorders of London 16th-century English politicians