Erasmus Earle
Encyclopedia
Erasmus Earle was an English lawyer and politician, who became sergeant-at-law to Oliver Cromwell
.
and educated at Norwich Grammar School. He was admitted a student of Lincoln's Inn
on 7 April 1612, and subsequently called to the bar there. Sir Julius Caesar appointed him steward of his manors of East Bradenham and Huntingfield Hall in 1626. He was a bencher of his inn between 1635 and 1641 inclusive, and was reader there in the autumn of 1639.
In 1640 he purchased Heydon Hall
from Sir Robert Kemp. In 1644 he was appointed with John Thurloe
secretary to the English Parliamentary commissioners for the treaty of Uxbridge
. On 4 January 1647 he was returned to Parliament for the City of Norwich. As a member of the Long Parliament
and Rump Parliament
, he was no radical, but with the group of conservative lawyers, including Nathaniel Bacon
, William Ellis, Nicholas Lechmere
, Lislibone Long, and William Stephens.
On 12 October 1648 he was called to the degree of serjeant-at-law
. The same year he was appointed steward, and the following year recorder of the city of Norwich. The latter office he held until 1653. The only public act of importance which marked his tenure of this office was the trial (for which he received a special commission) of some rioters in the streets of Norwich, showing their disgust at the suspension of the mayor by the parliament and their sympathy with the royalist cause. On Christmas Day 1648 Earle passed sentence of death on several of the ringleaders. Oliver Cromwell
, on assuming the protectorate (16 December 1653), appointed Earle one of the counsel to the state, an office which he also held under Richard Cromwell
, but he did not figure in any of the state trials of the period. On the Restoration
of 1660 he was again called to the degree of serjeant-at-law (22 June 1660) (Siderfin's Reports, 3). His name does not appear much in the reports, but he amassed by his practice a considerable fortune, and founded the county family of Earle of Heydon Hall. He died on 7 September 1667, and was buried in the parish church of Heydon, Norfolk
.
Erasmus Darwin
was his great-great-grandson, through his daughter Anne who married the barrister William Darwin; hence the Erasmus forename in the Darwin family.
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
.
Life
He was the only son of Thomas Earle of Sall, Norfolk and his wife Anne Founteyn (spellings vary). He was born at SallSall
Sall is a village and a church parish in the Favrskov municipality in the Danish region of Midtjylland. In former times the village has been known as Sal, Sald and Salle . The village itself has a population of 233 and is placed in the middle of the Sall Parish...
and educated at Norwich Grammar School. He was admitted 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...
on 7 April 1612, and subsequently called to the bar there. Sir Julius Caesar appointed him steward of his manors of East Bradenham and Huntingfield Hall in 1626. He was a bencher of his inn between 1635 and 1641 inclusive, and was reader there in the autumn of 1639.
In 1640 he purchased Heydon Hall
Heydon Hall
Heydon Hall is an Elizabethan house in parkland near the village of Heydon, Norfolk, England. The Hall is Grade I listed by English Heritage.-Location:...
from Sir Robert Kemp. In 1644 he was appointed with John Thurloe
John Thurloe
John Thurloe was a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell.-Life:...
secretary to the English Parliamentary commissioners for the treaty of Uxbridge
Treaty of Uxbridge
The Treaty of Uxbridge of early 1645 was a significant but abortive negotiation to try to end the First English Civil War.-Background:Parliament drew up 27 articles in November 1644 and presented them to Charles I of England at Oxford. Much input into these Propositions of Uxbridge was from...
. On 4 January 1647 he was returned to Parliament for the City of Norwich. As a member of the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
and Rump Parliament
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
, he was no radical, but with the group of conservative lawyers, including Nathaniel Bacon
Nathaniel Bacon (politician)
-Life:Nathaniel Bacon was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge.In 1617 he was called to the bar. A Parliamentarian, active in support of the New Model Army from 1644, Bacon became M.P. for Cambridge University in 1645, during the Long Parliament...
, William Ellis, Nicholas Lechmere
Nicholas Lechmere
Sir Nicholas Lechmere , of Hanley Castle in Worcestershire, was an English Judge and Member of Parliament.A nephew of Sir Thomas Overbury, Lechmere was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, and called to the bar as a member of Middle Temple in 1641. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he sided with...
, Lislibone Long, and William Stephens.
On 12 October 1648 he was called to 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...
. The same year he was appointed steward, and the following year recorder of the city of Norwich. The latter office he held until 1653. The only public act of importance which marked his tenure of this office was the trial (for which he received a special commission) of some rioters in the streets of Norwich, showing their disgust at the suspension of the mayor by the parliament and their sympathy with the royalist cause. On Christmas Day 1648 Earle passed sentence of death on several of the ringleaders. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, on assuming the protectorate (16 December 1653), appointed Earle one of the counsel to the state, an office which he also held under Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
, but he did not figure in any of the state trials of the period. On the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of 1660 he was again called to the degree of serjeant-at-law (22 June 1660) (Siderfin's Reports, 3). His name does not appear much in the reports, but he amassed by his practice a considerable fortune, and founded the county family of Earle of Heydon Hall. He died on 7 September 1667, and was buried in the parish church of Heydon, Norfolk
Heydon, Norfolk
Heydon, Norfolk, is an English village in the county of Norfolk and district of Broadland.Heydon is about five miles north of Reepham, and has no through road, making it isolated except from the south...
.
Family
By his wife, Frances, daughter of James Fountaine of Sall, Norfolk, he had four sons and two daughters.:- Frances Earle (born & died 23 September 1618)
- John Earle (26 August 1622 - 12 April 1667)
- Thomas Earle (27 April 1624 -9 August 1659)
- Edward Earle (29 August 1631 -3 October 1697)
- Ann Earle (1 May 1634-1691)
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
was his great-great-grandson, through his daughter Anne who married the barrister William Darwin; hence the Erasmus forename in the Darwin family.
External links
- http://www.lowestoftwitches.com/erasmus_earle.htm