The Earl of Nottingham | |
|---|---|
 The Earl of Nottinghamc. 1680 | |
| Lord Chancellor | |
| In office 1675–1682 | |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Shaftesbury |
| Succeeded by | Sir Francis North |
| Lord Keeper | |
| In office 1673–1675 | |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Shaftesbury |
| Succeeded by | Sir Francis North |
| Attorney General | |
| In office 1670–1673 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Bt |
| Succeeded by | Sir Francis North |
| Solicitor General | |
| In office 1660–1670 | |
| Preceded by | William Ellis |
| Succeeded by | Sir Edward Turnour |
| Member of Parliament forOxford University | |
| In office 1661–1674 Serving with Laurence Hyde | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Clayton John Mylles |
| Succeeded by | Laurence Hyde Thomas Thynne |
| Member of Parliament forCanterbury | |
| In office 1660–1660 Serving with Sir Anthony Aucher | |
| Preceded by | Sir Edward Master John Nutt |
| Succeeded by | Francis Lovelace Sir Edward Master |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Heneage Finch (1620-12-23)23 December 1620 |
| Died | 18 December 1682(1682-12-18) (aged 61) Great Queen Street,London |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Harvey (after 1646) |
| Parent(s) | Sir Heneage Finch Frances Bell Finch |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
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Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham,PC,DCL (23 December 1620 – 18 December 1682),Lord Chancellor ofEngland, was descended from the old family ofFinch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son ofSir Heneage Finch,Recorder of London, by his first wife Frances Bell, daughter ofSir Edmond Bell ofBeaupre Hall,Norfolk.[1]
He was the son ofSir Heneage Finch, younger son ofSir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet andElizabeth Finch, later 1st Countess of Winchilsea (née Heneage). In the register ofOxford University, he is entered as born inKent probably at the Finch ancestral seat ofEastwell Park in Kent.
He was educated atWestminster. He then transferred toChrist Church, Oxford as a gentleman commoner in Lent Term, 1635.[2] At Oxford, 'he remained between two and three years, reading very diligently' but did not graduate on account of his father's death.[3] After a short hiatus, he resolved to enter the profession of law, and became a member of theInner Temple in 1638, 'with the fixed resolve of mastering the science of the law'.[4] In his time at the Inn, he was said to have always applied the maxim 'a law student ought to read all the morning and to talk all the afternoon'.[5] He regularly attendeddisputations and soon became very eloquent, being said to have had 'fluency of speech and readiness of reply'.[6] He was also a note-taker, having attended cases on a regular basis not only as a student, but also into his practice.[7] He was called to the Bar on the 30th of January 1645,[8] and soon obtained a lucrative practice.[1]
In April 1660, he was electedMember of Parliament forCanterbury andMitchell in theConvention Parliament and chose to sit for Canterbury.[9] Shortly afterwards he was appointedSolicitor General, in which capacity he served as the prosecutor of theregicides of Charles I, and was created abaronet the day after he wasknighted. In May 1661 he was elected MP forOxford University in theCavalier Parliament.[9] In 1665 the university created him aD.C.L.[10] In 1670 he becameAttorney General, and in 1675 Lord Chancellor. He was createdBaron Finch in January 1673 andEarl of Nottingham in May 1681.[11]
During thePopish Plot, he played an active part in the interrogation of witnesses and preparation of the Crown's evidence. He is said to have been sceptical about the credibility of much of the evidence, and drew up a private report referring to the difficulties withTitus Oates' testimony.[12] In general he behaved with moderation and restraint during the Plot, as shown most notably in his impartial conduct, asLord High Steward, of the trial ofWilliam Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, (apart from a curious remark that it was now clear that theGreat Fire of London was a Catholic conspiracy).[13] Kenyon notes that during the examination of the informerMiles Prance, Finch threatened him with therack,[14] but such a lapse was most uncharacteristic of Finch, who was a humane and civilised man; in any case, the threat could hardly have been serious since the use of the rack had been declared illegal in 1628.
The original early 17th-century building was constructed in the village ofKensington asNottingham House for the Earl of Nottingham. It was acquired from his heir, who wasSecretary of State toWilliam III, in 1689, because the King wanted a residence near London but away from the smoky air of the capital, because he was asthmatic. At that time Kensington was a suburban village location outside London, but more accessible thanHampton Court, a water journey on theThames. A private road was laid out from the Palace toHyde Park Corner, broad enough for several carriages to travel abreast, part of which survives today asRotten Row. The Palace was improved and extended by SirChristopher Wren with pavilions attached to each corner of the central block, for it now needed paired Royal Apartments approached by the Great Stairs, a council chamber, and the Chapel Royal. Then, when Wren re-oriented the house to face west, he built north and south wings to flank the approach, made into a proper cour d'honneur that was entered through an archway surmounted by a clock tower. Nevertheless, as a private domestic retreat, it was referred to as Kensington House, rather than "Palace". The walled kitchen gardens at Kensington House supplied fruits and vegetables for theCourt of St. James's.[15]
On 30 July 1646, he was married to Elizabeth Harvey, daughter ofWilliam Harvey's younger brother Daniel, and his wife Elizabeth Kinnersley.[16] Together, Elizabeth and Heneage were the parents of six children, including:
Lord Nottingham died in Great Queen Street,London on 18 December 1682. He was buried in the church ofRavenstone in Buckinghamshire. His sonDaniel inherited his earldom, and would later also inherit theEarldom of Winchilsea.
According to theEncyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, his contemporaries on both sides of politics agree in their high estimate of his integrity, moderation and eloquence, while his abilities as a lawyer are sufficiently attested by the fact that he is still spoken of as the father ofequity. His most important contribution to the statute book isThe Statute of Frauds. While attorney-general he superintended the edition ofSir Henry Hobart's Reports (1671). He also publishedSeveral Speeches and Discourses in the Tryal of the Judges of King Charles 1. (1660);Speeches to both Houses of Parliament (1679);Speech at the Sentence ofViscount Stafford (1680). He leftChancery Reports in MS., and notes onCoke's Institutes.[18]
Lord Nottingham was also revered for his ability to speak, it being noted byPepys, in 1664: 'I do really think that he is a man of as great eloquence as ever I heard or ever hope to hear in all my life'.[19] By his contemporaries, he was styled the 'English Cicero' and the 'English Roscius'.[20] As example of his 'smooth-tongued'[21] prose, at a murder trial he spoke thus:
The same words that being spoken of a gentleman will bear no kind of action, when they are spoken to a Peer becomescandalum magnatum. The Peer recovers great damage; the King inflicts fine or imprisonment; so that upon the matter the offender is bound in chains, and brought and laid at my Lord's feet. Now, for him whose honour is thus guarded by the law, to avenge himself by his sword, is a most unpardonable excuse. I do not pretend, I do not offer to say, that the killing of a man is more capital in the case of a Peer than would be in the case of a private gentleman: but I do presume to affirm, that no provocation in the world can make that to be but manslaughter in the case of a Peer that would be murder in the case of a gentleman.[22]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nottingham, Earls ofs.v. Heneage Finch".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 824–825.
Media related toHeneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham at Wikimedia Commons| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Solicitor General 1660–1670 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General 1670–1673 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Shaftesbury (Lord Chancellor) | Lord Keeper 1673–1675 | Succeeded by Sir Francis North (Lord Keeper) |
| Lord Chancellor 1675–1682 | ||
| Parliament of England | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCanterbury 1660 With:Sir Anthony Aucher | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forOxford University 1661–1674 With:Laurence Hyde | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New title | Earl of Nottingham 7th creation 1681–1682 | Succeeded by |
| Baron Finch of Daventry 1673–1682 | ||
| Baronetage of England | ||
| New title | Baronet (of Raunston, Buckinghamshire) 1660–1682 | Succeeded by |
