Sir Edward Phelips (c. 1555/15601614) was an English lawyer and politician, the Speaker of the English House of Commons from 1604 until 1611, and subsequently

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

from 1611 until his death in 1614. He was an elected MP from 1584, and in 1588, following a successful career as a lawyer, he commissioned

Montacute House Montacute House is a late Elizabethan era, Elizabethan mansion in Montacute, South Somerset, England. An example of English architecture created during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic architecture, Gothic to the more Classica ...

to be built as a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

for himself and his family on the family estate in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He was knighted in 1603 and one of his major roles was as the opening prosecutor during the trial of the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

ters. He married Margaret Newdigate, and his son, Sir Robert Phelips, inherited his land and property.

Life

He was fourth and youngest son of Thomas Phelips (1500–1588) of

Montacute Montacute is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 831 (2011 census). The name Montacute is thought by some to derive from the Latin "Mons Acutus", referring to the conically acute St ...

, Somerset, by his wife Elizabeth (d. 1598), daughter of John Smythe of

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a populat ...

in the same county. His father stood godfather to Thomas Coryate. Edward was born about 1560: according to Coryate, who refers to him as a patron, he was about 53 in 1613. He joined 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 ...

, where he was autumn reader in 1596. In 1584 he entered parliament as MP for Bere Alston, followed by terms as MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in 1586, Penryn in 1593 and

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

in 1597. In 1601 he was elected

knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

for

. On 11 February 1603 he was named serjeant-at-law, but Queen Elizabeth died, and he did not proceed to his degree until the following reign. On 17 May he was made king's serjeant and knighted. In November he took part in the trial of

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

. He was re-elected to parliament for Somerset on 11 February 1604, and on 19 March was elected speaker. According to Sir Julius Cæsar, he was the best speaker for some decades, and although long-winded, did expedite some business for the king. On 17 July 1604 he was granted the office of justice of common pleas in the

county palatine of Lancaster Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. In this capacity he was very active against Catholics; he is said to have declared that, as the law stood, all who were present when mass was celebrated were guilty of

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

. He was one of those appointed to examine the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, and in January 1606 opened the indictment against Guy Fawkes. He was also chancellor to

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, Queen Anne. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; and Fr ...

. On 2 December 1608 he was granted the reversion of the

, but did not succeed to the office until January 1611. In 1613 he was involved in the celebrations at the

wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate The wedding of Frederick V of the Palatinate (1596–1632) and Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, Princess Elizabeth (1596–1662), daughter of James VI and I, was celebrated in London in February 1613. There were fireworks, masques (small, ...

. He helped organise '' The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn'' and paid

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

£110 for the scenery and stage-works. he was appointed ranger of all

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

s, parks, and chases in England. Besides his London house in

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street that forms part of the City of London#Boundary, western boundary of the City of London. The east side of the street is entirely within the City,Wanstead Wanstead () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, where he entertained the king, Phelips built a large mansion in

, which is still standing, and in the possession of

the National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. He died on 11 September 1614, having married, firstly, Margaret (d. 28 April 1590), daughter of Robert Newdegate of Newdegate,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, by whom he had two sons, Sir Robert and Francis; secondly, Elizabeth (d. 26 March 1638), daughter of Thomas Pigott of Doddershall House,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

Parliamentary convention

It was under Phelips that the "1604 rule" was established: a parliamentary convention that "no motion can be put by the Government to the Commons twice in the same parliamentary session if the wording is exactly or substantially the same." The rule was invoked 12 times between 1604 and 1920; and was also invoked in 2019 in relation to the

Brexit withdrawal agreement The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...

References

;Attribution , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelips, Edward 16th-century births 1614 deaths Speakers of the House of Commons of England Masters of the Rolls Year of birth uncertain Knights Bachelor English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 Members of the Parliament of England for Bere Alston