Christopher Turnor (judge)
Encyclopedia
Sir Christopher Turnor was an English
judge, knight
and royalist
.
He was eldest son of Christopher and Ellen Turnor of Milton Ernest
, Bedfordshire. He matriculated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
in 1623. In later years he contributed towards the rebuilding of the college chapel, begun in 1668.
In November 1633 he was called to the bar at the Middle Temple
. On 7 March 1639 he was appointed Receiver General
of South Wales
, jointly with William Watkins. He was elected a bencher
in 1654.
During the English Civil War
he supported the royalist
side, and at the Restoration
in July 1660 was made serjeant-at-law
, third baron of the exchequer, and knighted. In October of that year he was placed on the commission for the trial of the regicides.
At the Gloucester
autumn assizes
in 1661 he displayed a degree of circumspection unusual in that age. One William Harrison was missing under suspicious circumstances, and John Perry swore that his mother Joan and his brother, Richard Perry, had murdered him. The grand jury found a true bill, but Turnor refused to try the case until Harrison's body should be produced. Sir Robert Hyde
, before whom the same case came at the next Lent assizes, was less cautious. He allowed the case to proceed, the jury convicted the prisoners, and they were executed; but some years afterwards their innocence was established by Harrison's reappearance. Turnor surrendered the receivership of South Wales on 16 June 1662.
At York
in the winter of 1663-4 he opened the commission under which several puritans implicated in the northern plot were sentenced to death. In the administration of the Conventicle
and Five Mile
acts he appears to have shown as much leniency towards the accused as the rigour of these statutes permitted. He was a member of the special court of summary jurisdiction created to adjudicate on disputes between owners and occupiers of property in the districts ravaged by the Great Fire of London
.
In recognition of the services which in this capacity he rendered to the public, his portrait, painted for the corporation of London
by Michael Wright
in 1671, was placed in Guildhall
. There is also an engraved portrait of him at Lincoln's Inn
. Another portrait, by Sir Peter Lely
, is at Stoke Rochford House
. He died in May 1675, and was buried on the 19th in the church at Milton Ernest
.
He married Joyce, sister of Sir Philip Warwick
, and they had 2 children. Their son Edmund (d. 1679) was father of a son of the same name who died childless in 1764. Their daughter Joyce married James Master of Gray's Inn
and East Langdon
, Kent, on 18 December 1667; she was the maternal grandmother of Sir George Pocock
and mother-in-law of George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
. Turnor's wife Joyce died in 1707.
The estate of Milton Ernest was eventually sold to the judge's youngest brother, Sir Edmund Turnor (knighted 1663, died 1707) of Stoke Rochford
, Lincolnshire, ancestor of Edmund Turnor
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
judge, knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
and royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
.
He was eldest son of Christopher and Ellen Turnor of Milton Ernest
Milton Ernest
Milton Ernest is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, and is about north of Bedford itself. It has a population of 754...
, Bedfordshire. He matriculated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
in 1623. In later years he contributed towards the rebuilding of the college chapel, begun in 1668.
In November 1633 he was called to the bar at the 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...
. On 7 March 1639 he was appointed Receiver General
Receiver General
A Receiver General is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. Receiver General is an alternative title for a Treasurer.-See also:...
of South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, jointly with William Watkins. He was elected 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...
in 1654.
During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
he supported the royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
side, and at 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...
in July 1660 was made 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...
, third baron of the exchequer, and knighted. In October of that year he was placed on the commission for the trial of the regicides.
At the Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
autumn assizes
Assizes
Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
in 1661 he displayed a degree of circumspection unusual in that age. One William Harrison was missing under suspicious circumstances, and John Perry swore that his mother Joan and his brother, Richard Perry, had murdered him. The grand jury found a true bill, but Turnor refused to try the case until Harrison's body should be produced. Sir Robert Hyde
Robert Hyde
Sir Robert Hyde was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench.-Early career:Hyde, who was born at his father's house, Heale, near Salisbury, in 1595, was second son of Sir Lawrence Hyde, attorney-general to Anne, the consort of James I, by his wife, Barbara Castilion of Marsh Benham,...
, before whom the same case came at the next Lent assizes, was less cautious. He allowed the case to proceed, the jury convicted the prisoners, and they were executed; but some years afterwards their innocence was established by Harrison's reappearance. Turnor surrendered the receivership of South Wales on 16 June 1662.
At York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
in the winter of 1663-4 he opened the commission under which several puritans implicated in the northern plot were sentenced to death. In the administration of the Conventicle
Conventicle Act 1664
The Conventicle Act of 1664 was an Act of the Parliament of England that forbade conventicles...
and Five Mile
Five Mile Act 1665
The Five Mile Act, or Oxford Act, or Nonconformists Act 1665, is an Act of the Parliament of England , passed in 1665 with the long title "An Act for restraining Non-Conformists from inhabiting in Corporations". It was one of the English penal laws that sought to enforce conformity to the...
acts he appears to have shown as much leniency towards the accused as the rigour of these statutes permitted. He was a member of the special court of summary jurisdiction created to adjudicate on disputes between owners and occupiers of property in the districts ravaged by the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
.
In recognition of the services which in this capacity he rendered to the public, his portrait, painted for the corporation of London
Corporation of London
The City of London Corporation is the municipal governing body of the City of London. It exercises control only over the City , and not over Greater London...
by Michael Wright
John Michael Wright
John Michael Wright was a portrait painter in the Baroque style. Described variously as English and Scottish, Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and acquired a considerable reputation as an artist and scholar during a long sojourn in Rome...
in 1671, was placed in Guildhall
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
. There is also an engraved portrait of him at 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...
. Another portrait, by Sir Peter Lely
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.-Life:...
, is at Stoke Rochford House
Stoke Rochford Hall
Stoke Rochford Hall is a large house built in scenic grounds, with a nearby golf course, next to the A1 in south Lincolnshire, England.-History:...
. He died in May 1675, and was buried on the 19th in the church at Milton Ernest
Milton Ernest
Milton Ernest is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, and is about north of Bedford itself. It has a population of 754...
.
He married Joyce, sister of Sir Philip Warwick
Philip Warwick
Sir Philip Warwick , English writer and politician, born in Westminster, was the son of Thomas Warwick, or Warrick, a musician....
, and they had 2 children. Their son Edmund (d. 1679) was father of a son of the same name who died childless in 1764. Their daughter Joyce married James Master of 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...
and East Langdon
East Langdon
East Langdon is a village in the Dover district of Kent, England, five miles NE of Dover town.East Langdon was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The word Langdon goes back to Old English, meaning long hill...
, Kent, on 18 December 1667; she was the maternal grandmother of Sir George Pocock
George Pocock
Sir George Pocock, KB was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He rose to the rank of admiral.Pocock was from Chieveley in Berkshire, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the navy. George Pocock entered the navy in 1718, serving aboard under the patronage of his maternal uncle, Captain...
and mother-in-law of George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington
Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, KB PC was a British naval officer and statesman of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His career included service as First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of King George II.-Naval career:Byng was born at Wrotham, Kent, England...
. Turnor's wife Joyce died in 1707.
The estate of Milton Ernest was eventually sold to the judge's youngest brother, Sir Edmund Turnor (knighted 1663, died 1707) of Stoke Rochford
Stoke Rochford
Stoke Rochford is a small village near Grantham in Lincolnshire.-Geography:For administration purposes, the parish is shared with Easton, which also has a country estate of its own. Stoke Rochford's church is in the parish of Easton, and so is the post office. The southern boundary of the parish...
, Lincolnshire, ancestor of Edmund Turnor
Edmund Turnor
Edmond Turnor was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1880....
.