Sir Francis Winnington was a successful lawyer in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, who became Solicitor-General

Solicitor General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...

 to King Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

.

He entered the Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

 in 1656 and was called to the bar in 1660 and rose steadily, serving as counsel in various Parliament

Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

ary impeachment

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

s. In January 1672, he became attorney-general to the king's brother, the Duke of York

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

 and was knighted on 16 December 1672. He was appointed as Solicitor General in 1675 and chosen as MP for Windsor

Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)

Windsor is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In its modern form, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 at a by-election in 1677 on the king's recommendation.

During the hysteria of the Popish Plot

Popish Plot

The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...

, his allegiances changed, and he participated in impeaching the Lord Danby

Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds

Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, KG , English statesman , served in a variety of offices under Kings Charles II and William III of England.-Early life, 1632–1674:The son of Sir Edward Osborne, Bart., of Kiveton, Yorkshire, Thomas Osborne...

. This led to his dismissal as Solicitor General. However he was elected as MP for Worcester

Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)

Worcester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885 it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election; from 1295 to 1885 it elected two MPs....

 in 1679 (twice) and again in 1681. While Parliament was not sitting, he defended political allies in the court and also the city he represented

Worcester

The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...

 when its corporation was attacked by Quo warranto

Quo warranto

Quo warranto is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right or power they claim to hold.-History:...

 proceedings, as well as Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

. His legal services remained in demand in the reign of James II of England

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

. He was elected as MP for Tewkesbury

Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Tewkesbury is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 in 1689, 1692 and 1695, though he had not initially sought the seat.

He married twice. By his first wife Elizabeth Herbert, he had a daughter Elizabeth who married Richard Dowdeswell of Bushbury MP. His second marriage was to Elizabeth, sister and coheir of Edward Salwey

Edward Salwey

Edward Salwey was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659.Salwey was the son of Humphrey Salwey of Stanford-on-Teme and his wife Anne Littleton, daughter of of Sir Edward Littleton. He matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford on 10 November 1621 aged 18. He was...

, who brought him Stanford Court at Stanford-on-Teme

Stanford-on-Teme

Stanford-on-Teme is a village and, with the village of Orleton just under one mile away, also a civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England.-External links:*...

, Worcestershire

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

 to add to property he had already bought there with his considerable earnings. By her he had four sons and three daughters, including Salwey Winnington

Salwey Winnington

Salwey Winnington , of Stanford Court, Worcestershire, was an English landowner and Member of Parliament ....

, Francis Winnington

Francis Winnington (MP)

Francis Winnington of Broadway was an English politician and barrister.Francis was the son of Francis Winnington of Broadway, the second son of Sir Francis Winnington. He matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford on 29 March 1721, at the age of 17, and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple on 9...

 and Edward Winnington, later Jeffreys

Edward Jeffreys

Edward Winnington or Jeffreys was a son of Sir Francis Winnington and a younger brother of Salwey Winnington.Winnington was called to the bar at the Middle Temple on 18 May 1694...

.

Sources

Paul D. Halliday, 'Winnington, Sir Francis (1634–1700)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 10 March 2008
Burkes Peerage and Baronetage