Edward Wynne (baptised 25 February 1734 – 27 December 1784) was an English lawyer and scholar.

Life

Wynne was the son of William Wynne, sergeant-at-law, and was baptised at

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is now situated near the 19th-century Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in Aldwych. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th cent ...

, London on 25 February 1734. He was admitted as a member of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1749 (being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1758). He

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

in 1753, but left the college without taking a degree. His wealth meant that he did not need to work actively as a lawyer. On his father's death in 1765, he inherited the estate of Little Chelsea in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London; he also owned the manor of Polsew at St Erme, near

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

in Cornwall. On his mother's death in 1779, he inherited property in Somerset. He owned a house in Essex Street, London, as well as property in

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

and Wales. His inheritance also included his father's library, which contained the collections of Narcissus Luttrell. Wynne had a library of almost 2,800 volumes, including many books on English law and

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

. In 1765, he published ''A Miscellany Containing Several Law Tracts'', which included some of Wynne's own works and one of his father's works (''Observations Touching the Antiquity and Dignity of the Degree of Serjeant at Law''). His most important work was ''Eunomus, or, Dialogues Concerning the Law and Constitution of England'' (1768), an attempt to explain English legal principles and defend it against charges that it was only interesting to lawyers. It also attempt to refute criticism of cost and delay in the legal process. It reached its fifth edition in 1822, although it was overshadowed by

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, Justice (title), justice, and Tory (British political party), Tory politician most noted for his ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', which became the best-k ...

's ''

Commentaries on the Laws of England The ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'' (commonly, but informally known as ''Blackstone's Commentaries'') are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarend ...

''. Wynne, who never married, died of cancer of the mouth, at his house in

Little Chelsea Little Chelsea was a hamlet, located on either side of Fulham Road, half a mile southwest of Chelsea, London. The earliest references to the settlement date from the early 17th century, and the name continued to be used until the hamlet was surr ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 27 December 1784. He was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, in the same grave as his parents. His property was divided between his sister and his brother, who was a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

. His library was auctioned after his death in a sale that lasted eleven days.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynne, Edward 1734 births 1784 deaths Members of the Middle Temple Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford British barristers British legal writers Burials at Westminster Abbey