Sir Francis Winnington (7 November 1634 – 1 May 1700) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at various times between 1677 and 1698. He became Solicitor-General to King Charles II.

Biography

Winnington entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply 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 I ...

in 1656 and was called to the bar in 1660 and rose steadily, serving as counsel in various

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

ary

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

s. In January 1672, he became attorney-general to the king's brother,

the Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

and was knighted on 16 December 1672. He was appointed as Solicitor General in 1675 and chosen as MP for Windsor at a by-election to the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

in 1677 on the King's recommendation. During the hysteria of the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate ...

, Winnington's allegiances changed, and he participated in impeaching the

Lord Danby Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, (20 February 1632 – 26 July 1712), was a prominent English people, English politician. Under King Charles II of England, Charles II (and known at the time as Lord Danby), he was the leading figure in ...

. This led to his dismissal as Solicitor General. However he was elected as MP for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

in 1679 (twice) and again in 1681. While Parliament was not sitting, he defended political allies in the court and also the city he represented when its corporation was attacked by

Quo warranto In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or ...

proceedings, as well as

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His legal services remained in demand in the reign of

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. He was elected as MP for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

in 1689, 1692 and 1695, though he had not initially sought the seat.

Family

Winnington married first Elizabeth Herbert of Powick, he had a daughter Elizabeth who married in 1676 Richard Dowdeswell of Bushbury MP, his colleague in the representation of Tewkesbury. Winnington second and last marriage was to Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Salwey and third and youngest sister and coheir of Edward Salwey, who brought him Stanford Court at Stanford-on-Teme,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

to add to property he had already bought there with his considerable earnings. They had four sons and three daughters, including Salwey Winnington, Francis Winnington and Edward Winnington, later Jeffreys.

Notes

References

* * ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winnington, Francis 1634 births 1700 deaths English lawyers Knights Bachelor Solicitors General for England and Wales English MPs 1661–1679 Members of the Middle Temple 17th-century English lawyers English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 Politicians from Worcestershire Politicians from Gloucestershire