Sir John Willes was an English lawyer and judge who was the longest-serving Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas

The Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, was the second highest common law court in the English legal system until 1880, when it was dissolved. As such, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was one of the highest judicial officials in England, behind only the Lord...

 since the 15th century. He was also a 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,...

.

He was born at Bishop's Itchington

Bishop's Itchington

Bishop's Itchington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England.The village is on the B4451 road about southwest of Southam, and about northeast of Junction 12 on the M40 motorway...

 in Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

; his father , the vicar of the parish, was a younger son of the long-established Willes family of Newbold Comyn

Newbold Comyn

Newbold Comyn is a park that is found on the eastern edge of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It is described by some people as a country park in all but name.- History :...

. Dr. Edward Willes, Bishop of Bath and Wells

Bishop of Bath and Wells

The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...

, was his brother.

Willes was educated at Lichfield Grammar School and Trinity College, Oxford

Trinity College, Oxford

The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...

, and was also elected a fellow of All Souls

All Souls College, Oxford

The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....

. He joined Lincoln's Inn

Lincoln's Inn

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...

, and was called to the bar in 1713; in 1719 he became a King's Counsel, and in 1726 he was appointed a judge on the Chester

Justice of Chester

The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the County Palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830....

 circuit.

He had meanwhile entered Parliament as MP for Launceston

Launceston (UK Parliament constituency)

Launceston, also known at some periods as Dunheved, was a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the British House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and one member from 1832 until 1918...

 in 1722, and subsequently also represented Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis was a parliamentary borough in Dorset represented in the English House of Commons, later in that of Great Britain, and finally in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was formed by an Act of Parliament of 1570 which amalgamated the existing boroughs of Weymouth and...

 and West Looe

West Looe (UK Parliament constituency)

West Looe was a rotten borough represented in the House of Commons of England from 1535 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1797 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election...

. In 1734 he was appointed Attorney General

Attorney General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...

, and knighted. In 1735 he purchased the manor of Astrop, Kings Sutton, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

 where he built a new mansion Astrop House, (now a Grade II* listed building). In 1737 he was elevated to become Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas

The Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, was the second highest common law court in the English legal system until 1880, when it was dissolved. As such, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was one of the highest judicial officials in England, behind only the Lord...

, the third most senior judge in the English legal system as it then existed, and held this post until his death in 1761; at the same time he was appointed to the Privy Council

Privy council

A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

.

Of his children John was a Member of Parliament; Edward followed his father to the Bar and in due course became Attorney General and a judge of the Court of King's Bench.Sir John also encouraged his younger cousin Edward Willes of Newbold Comyn to become a barrister and he went on to have a distinguished career, ending as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.

In character he was described by Horace Walpole as a man of open character, sharp intelligence and strong passions which could not be concealed : he was notorious for gambling and womanising. He was notably severe towards practitioners, especially attorneys in his court.