Richard Raynsford
Encyclopedia
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...
(1605–1680) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
.
Career
The second son of Robert Raynsford of Staverton, NorthamptonshireStaverton, Northamptonshire
Staverton is a village and civil parish in the south-west of Northamptonshire, England. It is 2.3 miles west of Daventry, 7.9 miles east of Southam and 15.3 miles east of Leamington Spa...
, by his first wife, Mary, daughter of Thomas Kirton of Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The hamlet of Lower Thorpe lies just north of the village....
in the same county, he was born in 1605. He matriculated 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...
on 13 December 1622, but left the university without a degree. In 1630 he was elected recorder of Daventry
Daventry
Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
, being then a student of 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...
, where he was called to the bar on 16 October 1632, and elected treasurer in 1660. In 1653 he was elected recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
of Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, which borough he represented in the Convention parliament of 1660, and also in Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
's first parliament, until his elevation to the bench. As he was designated a member of the projected order of Knights of the Royal Oak
Knights of the Royal Oak
The Knights of the Royal Oak was an intended order of knighthood. It was proposed in 1660 at the time of the restoration of Charles II of England, known as the English Restoration. It was to be a reward to those Englishmen who faithfully & actively supported him during his exile in France...
, it is probable that during the Interregnum he had shown himself a king's friend.
On 26 October 1660 he was sworn 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 on 16 November 1663 was raised to the exchequer
Exchequer of pleas
The Exchequer of Pleas or Court of Exchequer was a court that followed equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law, and common law, in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia during the 1190s, to sit as an...
bench, having in the interval received the honour of knighthood. Raynsford presided over the commission which sat at Dublin during the earlier months of 1663 to supervise the execution of the Act of Settlement 1662
Act of Settlement 1662
The Act of Settlement 1662 passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the wholesale confiscation of their...
, and on his return to England was raised to the exchequer bench, 16 November the same year.
He was one of Sir Matthew Hale
Matthew Hale (jurist)
Sir Matthew Hale SL was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise Historia Placitorum Coronæ, or The History of the Pleas of the Crown. Born to a barrister and his wife, who had both died by the time he was 5, Hale was raised by his father's relative, a strict...
's colleagues in the commission which sat at Clifford's Inn
Clifford's Inn
Clifford's Inn was an Inn of Chancery which is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage, leading off Fleet Street, EC4.Founded in 1344 and dissolved in 1903, most of the original structure was demolished in 1934...
, 1667/72, to determine the legal questions arising out of the rebuilding of the quarters of London destroyed by the great fire. In the meantime he was transferred to the king's bench, 6 February 1668/9, and on 12 April 1676 he succeeded Hale as Chief Justice of the King's Bench
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
. On the return to Lord Shaftesbury's writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
he decided, 29 June 1677, an important point of constitutional law, viz. that the courts of law have no jurisdiction, during the parliamentary session, to discharge a peer committed by order of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, even though the warrant of commitment be such as would be void if issued by an ordinary tribunal. Raynsford was removed to make room for Sir William Scroggs
William Scroggs
Sir William Scroggs , Lord Chief Justice of England, was the son of an Oxford landowner; an account of him being the son of a butcher of sufficient means to give his son a university education is merely a rumour....
in June 1678. He died at Dallington, Northamptonshire
Dallington, Northamptonshire
Dallington is a former village about northwest of the centre of Northampton, the county town Northamptonshire, England. Dallington is now a suburb of Northampton....
, where he had his seat and founded an almshouse. His remains were interred in Dallington church.
Private life
Raynsford married at KingsthorpeKingsthorpe
Kingsthorpe was once a Northamptonshire village but is now an extremely affluent suburb to the north-west of the major town of Northampton, England. The River Nene flows through the area to the west...
, on 30 May 1637, Catherine, daughter of Rev. Samuel Clerke, D.D., rector of St. Peter's, Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, who survived him, and died on 1 June 1698. By her he had, with five daughters, six sons. Most of his children died early. His eldest son, Richard, matriculated at Queen's College, Oxford, on 15 June 1657, represented Northampton
Northampton (UK Parliament constituency)
Northampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Northampton which existed until 1974.It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until its representation was reduced to one member for the 1918 general election...
in the first parliament of James II
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...
, 1685–7, and died on 17 March 1702/3. His grand daughter Rebecca Brompton married John Garth
John Garth
John Garth was a British politician.-Offices:John Garth became the Recorder for Devizes in 1732. This role is roughly equivalent to the Town Clerk today. This position was held by a lawyer. He was elected Member of Parliament for Devizes in 1740 and was re-elected and served until his death in 1764...
MP who represented Devizes
Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)
Devizes is a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is now represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England....
.
Raynsford's portrait, by Gerard Soest, is at Lincoln's Inn; another, by Michael Wright, is at the Guildhall; a third, by Claret, was engraved by Tompson.