Life

Wynne, the youngest son of the Welsh civil servant Owen Wynne

Owen Wynne (civil servant)

-Life:Wynne, born in 1652, was from Llechylched, Anglesey, north Wales and was part of a family that claimed descent from Hwfa ap Cynddelw, lord of Llifon in the twelfth century. Wynne was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, matriculating in 1668 and obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1672...

, was baptised at St. Margaret's, Westminster

St. Margaret's, Westminster

The Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London...

 in 1692. His father, who served as secretary to Sir Leoline Jenkins

Leoline Jenkins

Sir Leoline Jenkins was a Welsh academic, jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer serving in the Admiralty courts, and diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties .-Biography:...

 and succeeding Secretaries of State

Secretary of State (England)

In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary....

, died in 1700. William Wynne was educated at Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

, matriculating

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...

 in 1709, obtaining his BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1712 and his MA in 1723. He became 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 1712 and was called to the bar in 1718. He was assisted in his legal career by family ecclesiastical connections – John Wynne

John Wynne

John Wynne was Bishop of St Asaph and of Bath and Wells , having previously been Principal of Jesus College, Oxford .-Life:...

, Bishop of St Asaph

Bishop of St Asaph

The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph.The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of St Asaph in the town of...

 from 1715 onwards, was a relative, and his father-in-law was a trusted adviser to successive Bishops of Hereford

Bishop of Hereford

The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...

. Wynne was one of the lawyers who represented Francis Atterbury

Francis Atterbury

Francis Atterbury was an English man of letters, politician and bishop.-Early life:He was born at Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, where his father was rector. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he became a tutor...

, Bishop of Rochester

Bishop of Rochester

The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...

, in his trial in 1723 on charges of high treason. He also advised Edmund Gibson

Edmund Gibson

Edmund Gibson was a British divine and jurist.-Early life and career:He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's College, Oxford...

, Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

 in the 1740s, on legal matters concerning the marriage of Gibson's daughter. Wynne 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...

 in 1736.

Wynne's writings included Observations Touching the Dignity and Antiquity of the Degree of Serjeant at Law (1756) (written at a time when the position of the serjeants 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...

 was under threat), and The Life of Sir Leoline Jenkins (1724), using papers inherited from his father. He died on 16 May 1765 and was buried in Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

 seven days later. One of his sons was the lawyer Edward Wynne

Edward Wynne (jurist)

-Life:Wynne was the son of William Wynne, sergeant-at-law, and was baptized at St Clement Danes, London on 25 February 1734. He was admitted as a member of the Middle Temple in 1749 . He matriculated at Jesus College, Oxford in 1753, but left the college without taking a degree. His wealth meant...

.