Portrait of Sir William Gregory (1625–1696)

Sir William Gregory (1 March 1625 – 28 May 1696) was a British

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

. Born the son of the vicar of

Fownhope Fownhope is a village in Herefordshire, England, an area of outstanding natural beauty on the banks of the River Wye. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 999. The village has a church, St. Mary's Parish Church; primary school, ...

, he was educated at Hereford Cathedral School and

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) 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 members of ...

and was then

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 ...

from

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. In 1653 he married Katharine, only daughter and heiress of James Smith of Tillington, by whom he had an only son, James, who died in 1691 before his father. It was not until 1677 that William gained prominence, being elected a

Serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...

.''The Lives of the Speakers of the House of Commons, from the Time of King Edward III to Queen Victoria: Comprising the Biographies of Upwards of One Hundred Distinguished Persons, and Copious Details of the Parliamentary History of England from the Most Authentic Documents'' on Google Books
/ref> In March 1677 the election of Sir Thomas Williams as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Weobly was called into question and declared void, so William Gregory offered himself as a candidate and was elected without opposition on 9 March. After only a year in Parliament he was elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons in the Habeas Corpus Parliament, as a compromise between Parliament, who wished to reelect Sir Edward Seymour and the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

, who was averse to him. During his time in Parliament Gregory was instrumental in the passing of the

Habeas Corpus Act 1679 The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of Parliament in England (31 Cha. 2 c. 2) during the reign of King Charles II. It was passed by what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of '' ...

, and was subsequently knighted and then confirmed as

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

. In 1689 he was appointed

Chief Justice of the King's Bench Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

, a position he held until his death. How Caple Court - panoramio - PJMarriott

In 1677 Gregory purchased the manor and estate of How Caple,

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...

, from Edward Caple, whose family had held it since 1289, and subsequently added to it with the purchase of lands in Woolhope and

, including the manors of

and Sellershope, spending most of his free time at How Caple, where he commenced the building of How Caple Court. He was afflicted with

kidney stone Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...

s, an illness he bore well: a 1694 letter to Sir Edward Harley says:

My distemper hath been very sharp upon me this winter, and I have not been out of my chamber these three months. My trust is that God, who hath hitheto of his goodness supported me under it, will sanctifie it unto me.

He left adequate funds in his will to rebuild the parish church of St Andrew and St Mary at How Cable (1693–1695), with the exception of the chancel, which remains medieval. The building is apparently admiredPevsner makes no comment on the architectural virtues but notes the "crazy"

chancel screen In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Over ...

with twisted columns and, perhaps uniquely, an arch formed also of a twisted roll, part of the 1690s rebuilding. for its architectural beauty despite being built in a time where architectural design was at its lowest ebb. A more detailed account of Sir William's political career is available a
The History of Parliament Online

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, William 1625 births 1696 deaths Alumni of All Souls College, Oxford English barristers Speakers of the House of Commons of England English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 Justices of the Common Pleas Justices of the King's Bench Members of Gray's Inn