Sir Robert EyrePC (1666 – 28 December 1735) was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in theEnglish andBritish House of Commons from 1698 to 1710. He served asSolicitor-General and then as a judge, and ultimately asChief Justice of the Common Pleas.
Eyre was the eldest son ofSir Samuel Eyre of New House,Whiteparish,Wiltshire and his wife Martha Lucy, daughter of Francis Lucy of Westminster and Brightwalton, Berkshire. He was educated at theCity Grammar School, Salisbury,[1] was admitted atLincoln's Inn on 2 April 1683,[2] and matriculated atLincoln College, Oxford on 11 May 1683.[3] In 1690, he was called to the bar. He married Elizabeth Rudge, daughter of Edward Rudge, MP, with £4,000, on 6 December 1694. He succeeded his father in 1698.[4]
Eyre became deputy recorder of Salisbury in 1693 and became Recorder in 1695 for the rest of his life. At the1698 English general election, he was returned asMember of Parliament forSalisbury. He was nominally a Whig, but had a tendency to independence, particularly to make trouble. He was returned again at the two general elections of 1701 and at the1702 English general election. He became Recorder of Southampton in 1703, serving until 1723, and recorder and alderman of Bristol in 1704, serving until 1728. He was returned again as MP for Salisbury at the1705 English general election. In 1707 he became a QC and bencher of his Inn.[4]
Eyre was returned to Parliament again at the1708 British general election and was appointedSolicitor-General from 1708 to 1710. He became Treasurer of his Inn in 1709. He was particularly active at this time in relation to the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell. In 1710, he was appointed apuisne judge of the Court ofQueen's Bench, and was knighted on 6 May 1710. He did not stand for Parliament again. In 1718, he gave an opinion favouring the view of thePrince of Wales, rather than that of theking over the education of the prince's children, and was therefore passed over for promotion to beLord Chief Justice of King's Bench. However, he was appointedLord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1723 and then appointed asChief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1725, a post in which he served until his death. He was a governor of Charterhouse by 1723.[4]
Eyre's wife Elizabeth died in 1724. He died at his house inBloomsbury Square, Central London on 28 December 1735.[5] He and his wife had three sons and a daughter. He was succeeded by his sonRobert.[4]
"Eyre, Robert".Dictionary of National Biography. London:Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Solicitor General for England and Wales 1708–1710 | Succeeded by |
| Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1723–1725 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Chief Justice of the Common Pleas 1725–1735 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of England | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSalisbury 1698–1707 With:Charles Fox 1698–1701, 1701–1707 Sir Thomas Mompesson 1701 | Succeeded by Parliament of Great Britain |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by Parliament of England | Member of Parliament forSalisbury 1707–1710 With:Charles Fox 1707–1710 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
