Sir Giles Eyre (c. 1635–1695) was an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, member of parliament, and judge. The son of Giles Eyre and his wife Anne, Eyre attended

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

before gaining admittance to

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

in 1653, then joining

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

on 19 October 1654. While his

call 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 t ...

on 7 November 1661 would normally herald the start of a legal career, by this point Eyre had already been returned as MP for Downton. Joining the opposition under Lord Warton, Eyre laid aside the debate on the Thirty-Nine Articles before abandoning his seat at the 1661 general election in favour of Gilbert Raleigh. Out of Parliament, Eyre became Deputy

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

of Salisbury in 1675, receiving a promotion to Recorder in 1681. Replaced in October 1684 when Salisbury's charter was removed, he was reinstated on the return of the charter in October 1688. Following the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

and James II's flight, Eyre was returned for the Salisbury Parliamentary constituency, playing a role in drafting the

Bill of Rights 1689 The Bill of Rights 1689 (sometimes known as the Bill of Rights 1688) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the Monarchy of England, Engl ...

; he is thought to be the author of ''Reflections upon the late great revolution: written by a lay-hand in the country for the satisfaction of some neighbours''. On 8 May 1689, he was made a

Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern ...

and a Serjeant-at-Law, receiving a knighthood soon afterwards; he held this position "with great credit" until his death on 2 June 1695. On 18 November 1662, he had married Dorothy Ryves; by the time of her death on 15 January 1668, she had borne him three sons. Ryves was buried in Whiteparish Church, with an inscription attached to the grave "implying the impossibility of his ever being united to another"; he then married Christabella Wyndham, who on her death was buried in the same grave.Foss (1870) p.243 His eldest son Giles was a lunatic, but a younger son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

was MP for Downton. Their daughter Dorothy later married

Richard Frewin Richard Frewin, M.D. (c.1681–1761) was an English physician and professor of history. Early life and education Frewin, the son of Ralph Frewin of London, was admitted as a King's Scholar at Westminster in 1693, and elected thence to a Westminst ...

. A painting of Giles Eyre by Thomas Hudson (1701–1779) was formally in the possession of Cider House Galleries Ltd.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, Giles 1695 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Justices of the King's Bench Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1660 English MPs 1689–1690 17th-century English lawyers