Sir Nicholas Lechmere of Hanley Castle

Hanley Castle

Hanley Castle is a village in Worcestershire, England, between the towns of Malvern and Upton upon Severn and a short distance from the River Severn. It lies in the administrative area of Malvern Hills District, and is part of the informal region known as The Malverns...

 in Worcestershire

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

, was an English Judge and 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,...

.

A nephew of Sir Thomas Overbury

Thomas Overbury

Sir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...

, Lechmere was educated at Wadham College, Oxford

Wadham College, Oxford

Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...

, and called to the bar as a member of 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 1641. On the outbreak of the Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, he sided with Parliament

Roundhead

"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...

, and in 1648 was elected MP for Bewdley

Bewdley (UK Parliament constituency)

Bewdley was the name of a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1605 until 1950. Until 1885 it was a parliamentary borough in Worcestershire, represented by one Member of Parliament; the name was then transferred to a county constituency from 1885 until...

. He was present at the Battle of Worcester

Battle of Worcester

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...

 in 1651. After the expulsion 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...

 he represented Worcester

Worcester (UK Parliament constituency)

Worcester is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since 1885 it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election; from 1295 to 1885 it elected two MPs....

 in all three elected parliaments of the Protectorate

The Protectorate

In British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653–1659 during which the Commonwealth of England was governed by a Lord Protector.-Background:...

, and resumed his seat for Bewdley in the brief resurrection of the Rump

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....

.

After 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 Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

, Lechmere did not return to Parliament, but continued his legal career. He had already served as Attorney General

Attorney General

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

 to the Duchy of Lancaster

Duchy of Lancaster

The Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held in trust for the Sovereign, and is used to provide income for the use of the British monarch...

 from 1654, and had become a bencher

Bencher

A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can be elected while still a barrister , in recognition of the contribution that the barrister has made to the life of the Inn or to the law...

 of his inn in 1655. He became a Reader of the Middle Temple in 1669. In 1689, he was made a 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...

, knighted and raised to the bench as a baron of 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...

, in which role he continued until 1700.

He married Penelope Sandys, daughter of Sir Edwin Sandys

Edwin Sandys

Edwin Sandys may refer to:*Edwin Sandys , Bishop of London, Worcester, Archbishop of York*Edwin Sandys , a founder of the colony of Virginia, son of the above...

, and they had a number of children. His grandson, Nicholas

Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere

Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere was an English lawyer and politician who served as Attorney-General and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster....

, also a lawyer, served as both Solicitor-General

Solicitor General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...

 and Attorney-General, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Lechmere in 1721.