Sir William Fortescue, KC, PC (1687 – 15 December 1749) was a British judge. He was the son of Henry Fortescue and his wife Agnes, and a descendant of the noted lawyer John Fortescue. Fortescue was educated at Barnstaple Grammar School (where he met John Gay

John Gay

John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...

, who would become a lifelong friend) and matriculate

Matriculation

Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

d to Trinity College

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,...

, Oxford in 1705. He married his cousin, Mary Fortescue (daughter of Edmund Fortescue

Edmund Fortescue

Sir Edmund Fortescue was an English royalist commander.-High Sheriff:In 1642 he was appointed sheriff of Devon. It was an object of considerable importance to the king to secure as sheriffs trustworthy men of local influence, and the selection of so young a man as Fortescue, whose father was still...

) on 7 July 1709, who bore him a daughter before her death on 1 August 1710. Her death prompted him to become a barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

, and he was admitted to 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 1714, transferring to Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 later in the same year before his call to the Bar

Call to the bar

The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...

 in July 1715.

Fortescue was a "sound and businesslike" barrister, and a "good lawyer", and built up a strong practice. He first became involved in politics in 1724, when Robert Walpole

Robert Walpole

Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....

 (the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

) employed him as his secretary. In 1727 he was returned as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Newport

Newport (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)

Newport was a parliamentary borough located in Newport , which was abolished in for the 1885 general election. It was occasionally referred to by the alternative name of Medina....

, and despite his duties as an MP and secretary to Walpole he continued his practice as a barrister. In 1730 he became a King's Counsel, and the same year was made Attorney General for the Duchy of Cornwall

Duchy of Cornwall

The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...

. On 9 February 1736 he was appointed a Baron of the Exchequer, having resigned as a MP and as Attorney General. He was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas

Court of Common Pleas (England)

The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...

 on 7 July 1738, replacing John Comyns

John Comyns

Sir John Comyns SL , of Writtle in Essex, was an English judge and Member of Parliament. He was educated at Felsted....

, and on 5 November 1741 he succeeded Sir John Verney as Master of the Rolls

Master of the Rolls

The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...

, becoming a Privy Councillor on 19 November. He remained Master of the Rolls until his death on 15 December 1749.

As well as his work as a barrister and judge, Fortescue was also involved in the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 literary scene - John Gay introduced him to Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...

, and he became a founding member of the Scriblerus Club

Scriblerus Club

The Scriblerus Club was an informal group of friends that included Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Gay, John Arbuthnot, Henry St. John and Thomas Parnell. The group was founded in 1712 and lasted until the death of the founders, starting in 1732 and ending in 1745, with Pope and Swift being...

. He was the co-author of "Stradling versus Stiles" with Pope, and Pope dedicated Imitation of the First Satire of Horace to him.