Sir Leoline Jenkins (1625 – 1 September 1685) was a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
academic, diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties (e.g.
Nimègue), jurist and politician. He was a
clerical lawyer who served as
Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1668 to 1685, and enjoyed a high reputation for judicial integrity. As a statesman he served as Secretary of State from 1680 to 1684.
Biography
He was originally from
Llantrisant in south
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, son of Leoline (a common
anglicisation of ''
Llewellyn'') Jenkins, a small landowner. He himself spoke fluent
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
, and was fond of quoting Welsh proverbs, sometimes to the bewilderment of his listeners. He went to school in the nearby town of
Cowbridge
Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff.
The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council.
A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for ...
and then to
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 S ...
.
Civil War and Interregnum
He fought on the
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
side during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
. On the failure of the Royalist cause, he retired to
Glamorgan in 1648, and entered the household of the Welsh Royalist Sir John Aubrey, first of the
Aubrey baronets, at
Llantrithyd
Llantrithyd (also Llantriddyd) is a rural village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The Aubrey Baronets were lords of the manor of Llantrithyd for centuries: the family died out in the 1850s.
St Illtyd's Church
The church of St Il ...
, as did his two most valuable patrons,
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death.
Early life
Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 J ...
, the future
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir
Francis Mansell
Francis Mansell (bap. 23 March 1579 – 1 May 1665) was Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, on three occasions: from 1620 to 1621; from 1630 to 1648, when he was ejected by the Parliamentary visitation of the University of Oxford; and from 166 ...
, Jenkins' predecessor as Principal of Jesus College. He set up a small private school for the education of Aubrey's son and other local boys, but it was broken up by Parliament in 1651 as a seminary for potential
traitors. He moved with some of his pupils to
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 ...
, where he set up another school known popularly as "the Little Welsh Hall", but in 1655 he was forced to flee to the Continent. At the
Restoration of Charles II
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to b ...
he was made a fellow of Jesus College and became Principal on Mansell's retirement the following year.
Restoration
As Principal of Jesus College from 1661 to 1673, he was responsible for much construction work, including the college library. The position was one of several rewards he received from King
Charles II of England for his loyalty to the
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
cause during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
.
Judge
Due to his close friendship with Archbishop Sheldon, he was also created a judge, first of the
consistory court
A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the ...
of
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, then of the
Arches Court and finally of the Court of Admiralty. As Judge of the Court of Admiralty he won
Samuel Pepys' warm praise for his ability and integrity, although Pepys was told that his appointment had not been welcomed by the
advocates
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
at
Doctors Commons
Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...
. He played a crucial role in the development of English
Admiralty law as a coherent body of legal principles.
He was also an expert on
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
. On the death of the
queen mother
A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also u ...
Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...
at
Colombes in August 1669, Jenkins was sent to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
to argue that the disposition of her
personal property was governed by English, not French law: the result would be that the property would pass in its entirety to Charles II, rather than to his sister
Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, who would have been the
beneficiary under French law. His arguments were successful and on his return to England, Charles rewarded him with a
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
.
Diplomat
He was one of the Commissioners appointed to negotiate the abortive Union with
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in 1669. In the 1670s he spent much of his time on the Continent engaged in a number of diplomatic missions. Notably, he was England's principal representative at the Congress of
Nijmegen (1676-1679) which brought to an end the
Franco-Dutch War, and for a time the sole representative. Critics said that he was "in agony" at being left with the sole responsibility for making decisions. Certainly, as the English government ruefully admitted, Nijmegen was "far from being such a peace as his Majesty would have wished for", although the unsatisfactory outcome from the English point of view was largely due to the resentment of English interference by both French and Dutch representatives at the Congress, rather than to any blunder by Jenkins.
Secretary of State
Jenkins was made a privy counsellor in February 1680. During the
Exclusion Crisis he vehemently opposed Exclusion, and acted as the effective Government leader in the Commons. After the failure of Exclusion he played a major role in the so-called "
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
Revenge", the 1681-4 campaign to crush the
Whig opposition.
He served as
Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 26 April 1680 to 2 February 1681 and
Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 2 February 1681 to 14 April 1684. His major legislative achievements include authoring the
Statute of Frauds (29 Car. II c. 3) and the
Statute of Distributions (22 & 23 Car. II, c. 10), dealing with the inheritance of personal property. Whilst Secretary of State, he was served by the Welsh lawyer (and former student of Jesus College)
Owen Wynne, who has been called "an early example of the permanent civil servant."
As a Minister, if not noted for brilliance, he was hard-working and incorruptible. Though
Gilbert Burnet found him "heavy and dull" he could show great spirit and determination when necessary. At a meeting of the
Privy Council in October 1681, some of the Councillors, Jenkins wrote to a colleague, "were pleased to fall upon me" for not sharing with them important items of foreign policy. Jenkins staunchly defended the practice of keeping such information strictly confidential. He argued that the Secretaries of State "were not at liberty to carry any part of their intelligences to the Council, unless his Majesty directed it specifically": this was a rule which he had always followed and by which he was "indispensably bound".
In failing health, he retired in 1684 to his house at
Hammersmith and died there the following year. He never married.
He is regarded as the second founder of the eminent
Cowbridge Grammar School
Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by Cowbridge Comprehensive School.
Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling and refounded by Sir Leoline Jenkins, it had ...
, renowned for its academic standards which he had himself attended. He is buried in the
chapel of Jesus College, at which he had previously been a student before becoming Principal, and to which he bequeathed most of his estate.
Leoline Fellows
In his will, Jenkins stated: "It is but too obvious that the persons in
Holy Orders employed in his
Majesty's fleet at sea and foreign
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s are too few". To address this, he established two Fellowships at Jesus College, whose holders should serve as clergy "in any of his Majesty's fleets or in his Majesty's plantations" under the direction of the
Lord High Admiral and the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
respectively. The last such fellow,
Frederick de Winton, was appointed in 1876 and held his fellowship until his death in 1932. This category of fellowship was abolished in 1877 by the Oxford and Cambridge Universities Commission, without prejudice to the rights of existing holders such as de Winton.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Leoline
1625 births
1685 deaths
17th-century diplomats
17th-century Welsh judges
Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford
British Secretaries of State
English MPs 1661–1679
English MPs 1679
Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford
Founders of Welsh schools and colleges
Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Oxford
Members of the Privy Council of England
People from Llantrisant
People educated at Cowbridge Grammar School
People from Cowbridge
Principals of Jesus College, Oxford
Secretaries of State for the Northern Department
Secretaries of State for the Southern Department
Welsh diplomats
17th-century philanthropists
Knights Bachelor