William Ellis (solicitor-general)
Encyclopedia
Sir William Ellis was an English lawyer, judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons
at various times between 1640 and 1679.
, Lincolnshire
. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge
, graduating B.A. in 1627. Having entered Gray's Inn
on 6 November 1627 he was called to the bar on 9 February 1634. He represented Boston, Lincolnshire
, in the Short parliament
of 1640, and also in the Long parliament
.
After Pride's Purge
he was readmitted to the House of Commons on 4 June 1649. On 24 May 1654 he was appointed solicitor-general
. Shortly afterwards he was elected an ancient of his inn. As solicitor-general he took part in the prosecution of John Gerhard, Peter Vowell
, and Summerset Fox
on the charge of corresponding with Charles Stuart and conspiring to assassinate the Lord Protector. The trial took place in June 1654. Gerhard and Vowell were convicted and beheaded. The same year he was again returned to parliament for Boston, and in 1656 for Grantham
. He was a member of the committee appointed to frame statutes for Durham College
in March 1656. In June 1658 he was engaged in the prosecution of John Hewet and John Mordant, charged with levying war against the Protector. Hewet was found guilty and Mordant acquitted. One of Oliver Cromwell
's last acts was to sign a patent creating Ellis a baronet, but it may not have passed the great seal. He was continued in the office of solicitor-general by Richard Cromwell
. At the election in January 1658-9 he retained his seat for Grantham. In the debate on the competency of the Scottish members he spoke at length in support of their claims (18 March 1659).
Re-elected for Grantham in 1660, he was excluded from the house on the score of his opinions. In autumn 1664 he was appointed reader at Gray's Inn, of which he had been elected a bencher in 1659; on 26 August 1669 he took the degree of serjeant-at-law
, and on 10 April 1671 he was advanced to the rank of king's Serjeant and knighted. He was raised to the bench in 1673, taking his seat in the Court of Common Pleas
on the first day of Hilary term. The only case of public interest which came before him was that of Barnardiston v. Swaine, an election case. Ellis was removed in 1676, without reason assigned, but reinstated on 5 May 1679, having been returned to parliament for Boston in the preceding February. He died on 3 December 1680 at his chambers in Serjeants' Inn.
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
at various times between 1640 and 1679.
Life
He was second son of Sir Thomas Ellis of GranthamGrantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, graduating B.A. in 1627. Having entered Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, 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...
on 6 November 1627 he was called to the bar on 9 February 1634. He represented Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston (UK Parliament constituency)
Boston was a parliamentary borough in Lincolnshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1547 until 1885, and then one member from 1885 until 1918, when the constituency was abolished.-History:...
, in the Short parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
of 1640, and also in 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...
.
After Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
he was readmitted to the House of Commons on 4 June 1649. On 24 May 1654 he was appointed 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...
. Shortly afterwards he was elected an ancient of his inn. As solicitor-general he took part in the prosecution of John Gerhard, Peter Vowell
Peter Vowell
Peter Vowell was a schoolteacher executed as a Catholic and Royalist conspirator.In May 1654 Vowell, from Islington, was arrested for his part in a plot to assassinate Oliver Cromwell as the Lord Protector and his guard of thirty mounted troops, travelled to Hampton Court...
, and Summerset Fox
Summerset Fox
Summerset Fox was a Catholic and Royalist conspirator who pled guilty to an indictment of high treason.In May 1654 Fox, Peter Vowell, and John Gerard were arrested for plotting to assassinate Oliver Cromwell as he travelled to Hampton Court, with a guard of thirty mounted troops. Fox's role was to...
on the charge of corresponding with Charles Stuart and conspiring to assassinate the Lord Protector. The trial took place in June 1654. Gerhard and Vowell were convicted and beheaded. The same year he was again returned to parliament for Boston, and in 1656 for Grantham
Grantham (UK Parliament constituency)
Grantham was a Parliamentary constituency in Lincolnshire, England.The constituency was created in 1468 as a parliamentary borough which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until the union with Scotland, and then to the Parliament of Great Britain...
. He was a member of the committee appointed to frame statutes for Durham College
Durham College (17th-century)
New College, Durham was a university institution set up by Oliver Cromwell, to provide an alternative to the older University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. It also had the aim of bringing university education to Northern England. The idea met with opponents, including John Conant.Such a...
in March 1656. In June 1658 he was engaged in the prosecution of John Hewet and John Mordant, charged with levying war against the Protector. Hewet was found guilty and Mordant acquitted. One of 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....
's last acts was to sign a patent creating Ellis a baronet, but it may not have passed the great seal. He was continued in the office of solicitor-general by 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...
. At the election in January 1658-9 he retained his seat for Grantham. In the debate on the competency of the Scottish members he spoke at length in support of their claims (18 March 1659).
Re-elected for Grantham in 1660, he was excluded from the house on the score of his opinions. In autumn 1664 he was appointed reader at Gray's Inn, of which he had been elected a bencher in 1659; on 26 August 1669 he took 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...
, and on 10 April 1671 he was advanced to the rank of king's Serjeant and knighted. He was raised to the bench in 1673, taking his seat in 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 the first day of Hilary term. The only case of public interest which came before him was that of Barnardiston v. Swaine, an election case. Ellis was removed in 1676, without reason assigned, but reinstated on 5 May 1679, having been returned to parliament for Boston in the preceding February. He died on 3 December 1680 at his chambers in Serjeants' Inn.