John Doddridge
Encyclopedia
Sir John Doddridge (1555 – 1628) was an English lawyer, judge and Member of Parliament, known also as an antiquarian and writer. From a habit of shutting his eyes while listening intently to a case, he acquired the nickname of 'the sleeping judge.' As a lawyer he was influenced by humanist
ideas, and was familiar with Aristotle
, and the debates of the period between his supporters and the Ramists. He was also a believer in both the rationality of the English common law
and its connection with custom.
, and was educated at Exeter College, Oxford
, where he graduated BA
on 16 February 1577, entering the Middle Temple
about the same time. In 1588 he was elected Member of Parliament
for Barnstaple
. He early became a member of the Society of Antiquaries, then recently founded. In 1602 and 1603 he delivered some lectures at New
Inn on the law of advowson
s. In Lent 1603 he discharged the duties of reader at his inn.
On 20 January 1604 he took the degree of serjeant-at-law
, and.about the same time he was appointed Serjeant to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
. He was relieved of the status of Serjeant and appointed solicitor-general
on 29 October 1604. Between 1603 and 1611 he sat in parliament as member for Horsham
, Sussex
. He took part in the conference in the Painted Chamber
at Westminster, held 25 February 1606, on the question whether Englishmen and Scotchmen born after the accession of James I to the English throne were naturalised by that event in the other kingdom. Doddridge adopted the common-law view that no such reciprocal naturalisation took place, and the majority in the conference were with him. The question was, however, subsequently decided in the opposite sense by Lord Chancellor Ellesmere and twelve judges in the exchequer chamber (Calvin's Case).
Doddridge was knighted on 5 July 1607, and created a justice of the king's bench
on 25 November 1612. On 4 February 1614 the university of Oxford conferred on him the degree of MA Unlike Sir Edward Coke, he showed no reluctance to give extrajudicial opinions; Francis Bacon
wrote to the king with reference to Peacham's Case that Doddridge was ready to give an opinion in secret. Nevertheless he signed the letter refusing to stay proceedings at the instance of the king in the Commendam Case (27 April 1616). On being summoned to the king's presence, all the judges except Coke receded from the position they had taken in the letter; Doddridge went further to accommodate the king.(Unclear- further than what?)
Doddridge sat on the commission appointed in October 1621 to examine into the right of the archbishop George Abbot to install the newly elected bishops John Williams
, John Davenant
, and Valentine Cary
who objected to be consecrated by him on account of his accidental homicide in a hunting accident. Directed at the time of interest in the Spanish Match
(August 1623) by warrant under the great seal to soften the rigour of the statutes against recusants, Doddridge, according to Yonge, was hoped to discover a way to dispense with the statutes altogether. He concurred in the judgment delivered by Chief-justice Nicholas Hyde
on 28 November 1627 in Darnell's Case
, refusing to admit to bail the five knights committed to prison for refusing to subscribe the forced loan of that year, and he was arraigned by the House of Lords in April of the following year to justify his conduct. His plea was that the ' king holds of none but God.'
He died on 13 September 1628, at his house Great Fosters
, near Egham
, and was buried in Exeter Cathedral
. He married three times, his last wife being Dorothy, daughter of Sir Amias Bampfield of North Molton
, Devon, widow of Edward Hancock of Combe Martin. He left no issue.
Thomas Hearne
's Curious Discourses contain two brief tracts by Doddridge: (1) Of the Dimensions of the Land of England; (2) A Consideration of the Office and Duty of the Heralds in England. A Dissertation on Parliament was published as the work of Doddridge by his nephew John Doddridge of the Middle Temple, in a volume entitled Opinions of sundry learned Antiquaries touching the Antiquity, Power, &c. of the High Court of Parliament in England, London, 1658: reprinted in 1679. It is of doubtful authenticity. The original edition of the work on deeds known as Sheppard's Touchstone of Common Assurances, and the work on the Office of Executor, assigned by Anthony Wood
to Thomas Wentworth, both of which were published anonymously in 1641, have been ascribed to Doddridge. A small treatise on the royal prerogative (Harl. MS. 5220) also purports to be his work.
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
ideas, and was familiar with Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, and the debates of the period between his supporters and the Ramists. He was also a believer in both the rationality of the English common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
and its connection with custom.
Life
He was son of Richard Doddridge, merchant, of BarnstapleBarnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
, and was educated at Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, where he graduated BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
on 16 February 1577, entering 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...
about the same time. In 1588 he was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Barnstaple
Barnstaple (UK Parliament constituency)
Barnstaple was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Barnstaple in Devon, in the South West of England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member.The constituency...
. He early became a member of the Society of Antiquaries, then recently founded. In 1602 and 1603 he delivered some lectures at New
New
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.New or NEW may refer to:- Film and music :* New , a 2004 Tamil movie* "New" , a song by No Doubt from Return of Saturn...
Inn on the law of advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
s. In Lent 1603 he discharged the duties of reader at his inn.
On 20 January 1604 he took the degree of serjeant-at-law
Serjeant-at-law
The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...
, and.about the same time he was appointed Serjeant to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
. He was relieved of the status of Serjeant and appointed 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...
on 29 October 1604. Between 1603 and 1611 he sat in parliament as member for Horsham
Horsham (UK Parliament constituency)
Horsham is a parliamentary 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.- Boundaries :...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. He took part in the conference in the Painted Chamber
Painted Chamber
The Painted Chamber was part of the original Palace of Westminster. It was destroyed by fire in 1834.Because it was originally a royal residence, the Palace did not include any purpose-built chambers for the two Houses. Important state ceremonies, including the State Opening of Parliament, were...
at Westminster, held 25 February 1606, on the question whether Englishmen and Scotchmen born after the accession of James I to the English throne were naturalised by that event in the other kingdom. Doddridge adopted the common-law view that no such reciprocal naturalisation took place, and the majority in the conference were with him. The question was, however, subsequently decided in the opposite sense by Lord Chancellor Ellesmere and twelve judges in the exchequer chamber (Calvin's Case).
Doddridge was knighted on 5 July 1607, and created a justice of the king's bench
King's Bench
The Queen's Bench is the superior court in a number of jurisdictions within some of the Commonwealth realms...
on 25 November 1612. On 4 February 1614 the university of Oxford conferred on him the degree of MA Unlike Sir Edward Coke, he showed no reluctance to give extrajudicial opinions; Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
wrote to the king with reference to Peacham's Case that Doddridge was ready to give an opinion in secret. Nevertheless he signed the letter refusing to stay proceedings at the instance of the king in the Commendam Case (27 April 1616). On being summoned to the king's presence, all the judges except Coke receded from the position they had taken in the letter; Doddridge went further to accommodate the king.(Unclear- further than what?)
Doddridge sat on the commission appointed in October 1621 to examine into the right of the archbishop George Abbot to install the newly elected bishops John Williams
John Williams (archbishop)
John Williams was a British clergyman and political advisor to King James I. He served as Bishop of Lincoln 1621–1641, Keeper of the Great Seal also known as Lord Keeper or Lord Chancellor 1621–1625, and Archbishop of York 1641–1650...
, John Davenant
John Davenant
John Davenant was an English academic and bishop of Salisbury from 1621.-Life:He was educated at Queens’ College, Cambridge, elected a fellow there in 1597, and was its President from 1614 to 1621...
, and Valentine Cary
Valentine Cary
Valentine Cary was an English clergyman, who became bishop of Exeter.-Life:He was an illegitimate son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon...
who objected to be consecrated by him on account of his accidental homicide in a hunting accident. Directed at the time of interest in the Spanish Match
Spanish Match
The Spanish Match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles, the son of King James I of England, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain...
(August 1623) by warrant under the great seal to soften the rigour of the statutes against recusants, Doddridge, according to Yonge, was hoped to discover a way to dispense with the statutes altogether. He concurred in the judgment delivered by Chief-justice Nicholas Hyde
Nicholas Hyde
Sir Nicholas Hyde was Lord Chief Justice of England.He was the son of Lawrence Hyde and Ann Sybill and the brother of Henry Hyde and Lawrence Hyde, who became attorney-general...
on 28 November 1627 in Darnell's Case
Darnell's Case
The Five Knights' case, also called Darnel's or Darnell's case, was an important case in English law, fought by five knights in 1627 against forced loans placed on them by King Charles I in a common law court...
, refusing to admit to bail the five knights committed to prison for refusing to subscribe the forced loan of that year, and he was arraigned by the House of Lords in April of the following year to justify his conduct. His plea was that the ' king holds of none but God.'
He died on 13 September 1628, at his house Great Fosters
Great Fosters
Great Fosters is a 16th century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park and is still adjacent to the town of Egham, Surrey, England. It is a Grade I listed building, close to Heathrow and the M25 London orbital motorway.-History:...
, near Egham
Egham
Egham is a wealthy suburb in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.-Demographics:Egham town has a...
, and was buried in Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England....
. He married three times, his last wife being Dorothy, daughter of Sir Amias Bampfield of North Molton
North Molton
North Molton is a village in north Devon, England.A feature of the village is the church of All Saints, which has a tall tower, nave and two aisles. The rood screen is Perpendicular in style and there are two parclose screens of different designs. The font is octagonal and also Perpendicular...
, Devon, widow of Edward Hancock of Combe Martin. He left no issue.
Works
Doddridge is the author of the following posthumous works:- The Lawyer's Light (a manual for students), London, 1629.
- History of Wales, Cornwall, and Chester (chiefly from records at the Tower), London, 1630.
- A Compleat Parson (based on his lectures on advowsons), London, 1630; 2nd ed. 1641.
- The English Lawyer (including a reprint of the Lawyer's Light and a treatise for practitioners and judges), London, 1631.
- Law of Nobility and Peerage, London, 1658.
Thomas Hearne
Thomas Hearne
Thomas Hearne or Hearn , English antiquary, was born at Littlefield Green in the parish of White Waltham, Berkshire.-Life:...
's Curious Discourses contain two brief tracts by Doddridge: (1) Of the Dimensions of the Land of England; (2) A Consideration of the Office and Duty of the Heralds in England. A Dissertation on Parliament was published as the work of Doddridge by his nephew John Doddridge of the Middle Temple, in a volume entitled Opinions of sundry learned Antiquaries touching the Antiquity, Power, &c. of the High Court of Parliament in England, London, 1658: reprinted in 1679. It is of doubtful authenticity. The original edition of the work on deeds known as Sheppard's Touchstone of Common Assurances, and the work on the Office of Executor, assigned by Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood was an English antiquary.-Early life:Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood , BCL of Oxford, where Anthony was born...
to Thomas Wentworth, both of which were published anonymously in 1641, have been ascribed to Doddridge. A small treatise on the royal prerogative (Harl. MS. 5220) also purports to be his work.