Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Wikipedia
Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC (23 December 1621 – 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage Finch, recorder of London, by his first wife Frances Bell, daughter of Sir Edmond Bell of Beaupre Hall, Norfolk.
In the register of Oxford University he is entered as born in Kent, and probably his native place was Eastwell in that county. He was educated at Westminster and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he remained until he became a member of the Inner Temple in 1638. He was called to the bar in 1645, and soon obtained a lucrative practice.
He married Elizabeth Harvey, daughter of William Harvey, 30 July 1646.[1] He was a member of the Convention Parliament of April 1660, and shortly afterwards was appointed Solicitor General, being created a baronet the day after he was knighted. In May of the following year he was chosen to represent the University of Oxford in Parliament, and in 1665 the university created him a D.C.L. In 1670 he became Attorney General, and in 1675 Lord Chancellor. He was created Baron Finch in January 1673 and Earl of Nottingham in May 1681.
Finch and Nottingham House, now Kensington Palace: The original early 17th-century building was constructed in the village of Kensington as Nottingham House for the Earl of Nottingham. It was acquired from his heir, who was Secretary of State to William III, in 1689, because the King wanted a residence near London but away from the smoky air of the capital, because he was asthmatic. At that time Kensington was a suburban village location outside London, but more accessible than Hampton Court, a water journey on the Thames. A private road was laid out from the Palace to Hyde Park Corner, broad enough for several carriages to travel abreast, part of which survives today as Rotten Row. The Palace was improved and extended by Sir Christopher Wren with pavilions attached to each corner of the central block, for it now needed paired Royal Apartments approached by the Great Stairs, a council chamber, and the Chapel Royal. Then, when Wren re-oriented the house to face west, he built north and south wings to flank the approach, made into a proper cour d'honneur that was entered through an archway surmounted by a clock tower. Nevertheless, as a private domestic retreat, it was referred to as Kensington House, rather than 'Palace'. The walled kitchen gardens at Kensington House supplied fruits and vegetables for the Court of St. James's.
He died in Great Queen Street, London one year later, and was buried in the church of Ravenstone in Bucks. His son Daniel inherited his earldom, and would later also inherit the Earldom of Winchelsea.
His contemporaries of both sides of politics agree in their high estimate of his integrity, moderation and eloquence, while his abilities as a lawyer are sufficiently attested by the fact that he is still spoken of as the father of equity. His most important contribution to the statute book is The Statute of Frauds. While attorney-general he superintended the edition of Sir Henry Hobart's Reports (1671). He also published Several Speeches and Discourses in the Tryal of the Judges of King Charles 1. (1660); Speeches to both Houses of Parliament (1679); Speech at the Sentence of Viscount Stafford (1680). He left Chancery Reports in MS., and notes on Coke's Institutes.
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| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Ellis | Solicitor General 1660–1670 | Succeeded by Sir Edward Turnour |
| Preceded by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Bt | Attorney General 1670–1673 | Succeeded by Sir Francis North |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Shaftesbury (Lord Chancellor) | Lord Keeper 1673–1675 | Succeeded by Sir Francis North (Lord Keeper) |
| Lord Chancellor 1675–1682 | ||
| Parliament of England | ||
| Preceded by Unknown | Member of Parliament for Mitchell with Thomas Carew 1660 | Succeeded by Thomas Carew John Alleyn |
| Preceded by Thomas Clayton John Mylles | Member of Parliament for Oxford University with Laurence Hyde 1661–1674 | Succeeded by Laurence Hyde Thomas Thynne |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New title | Earl of Nottingham 7th creation 1681–1682 | Succeeded by Daniel Finch |
| Baron Finch of Daventry 1673–1682 | ||
| Baronetage of England | ||
| New title | Baronet (of Raunston, Buckinghamshire) 1660–1682 | Succeeded by Daniel Finch |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nottingham, Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 23 December 1621 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 1682 |
| Place of death | |
Annotations
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“Finch, Sir Heneage, cr Baron Finch 1674, Earl of Nottingham 1681 (1621-82). Of Ravenstone, Bucks.; a cousin of the “Sir Heneage Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea (1628-89). A distinguished constitutional lawyer and judge: Solicitor-General 1660-1670, Attorney General 1670-3; Lord Keeper 1673-5; Lord Chancellor 1675-82. He was M.P. for Canterbury in 1660, and for Oxford University 1661-73, and served on the Admiralty Commission 1674-9. He held strong Anglican and conservative views, but was respected on all sides for his ability, eloquence and probity.”
Per L&M CompanionContrast with his cousin: http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/766.php
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Wheatley adds the following in a footnote: “Heneage Finch, son of Sir Heneage Finch, Recorder of London [That’s three Sir Heanage Finch’s if you’re keeping score] was born December 23rd, 1621. He was called to the bar in 1645, and soon obtained considerable fame as a counsel. He was styled ‘the silver-tongued lawyer’, ‘the English Cicero’, and ‘the English Roscius’.