John Puleston (c.1583–1659) was a Welsh barrister and judge.

Life

He was son of Richard Puleston of Emral,

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

, by Alice, his wife, daughter of David Lewis of Burcot in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. He was a member of 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 ...

, and reader of his inn in 1634, was recommended by the House of Commons as a

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 February 1643. The king Charles I not appointing him, he received by parliamentary order the degree of serjeant-at-law on 12 October 1648. Puleston was appointed by parliament a

justice of the common pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas (England), Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court o ...

on 1 June 1649. With

Francis Thorpe Francis Thorpe (1595–1665) was an English barrister, judge and politician. Early life He was the eldest son of Roger Thorpe of Birdsall, North Yorkshire and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Danyell of Beswick. He was admitted a st ...

, he tried John Morris, governor of

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II of England, Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-cent ...

, at York assizes for high treason in August of the same year. He was also, with Philip Jermyn, appointed in the same year to try

John Lilburne John Lilburne (c. 161429 August 1657), also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "'' freeborn rights''", defining them as rights with which e ...

. He was a commissioner in April 1650, under the proposed act for establishing a high court of justice, and was placed in the commission of December 1650 for the trial of offenders in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. During the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

, it is now recognised, a group of barristers from the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

tradition, as justices, preserved it as an active force in the judiciary. Puleston was one such judge, with Sir John Glyn,

Sir Matthew Hale Sir Matthew Hale (1 November 1609 – 25 December 1676) was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise ''Historia Placitorum Coronæ'', or ''The History of the Pleas of the Crown''. Born to a barrister and ...

, Robert Nicholas and Peter Warburton.

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, on becoming

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') is a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometime ...

in 1653, did not renew Puleston's patent. He died 5 September 1659.

Family

Puleston's wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Francis Wolryche of

Dudmaston Hall Dudmaston Hall is a 17th-century country house in the care of the National Trust in the Severn Valley, Shropshire, England. Dudmaston Hall is located near the village of Quatt, a few miles south of the market town of Bridgnorth, just off the ...

, predeceased him in 1658. By her he had two sons, to whom

Philip Henry Philip Henry (24 August 1631 – 24 June 1696) was an English Nonconformist clergyman and diarist. His son Matthew Henry was a notable commentator on the Bible and also a Presbyterian minister. Early life Philip Henry was born at Whitehall, ...

was appointed tutor on 30 September 1653, succeeding Thomas Chaloner. Hamlet Puleston the writer was Puleston's nephew.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Puleston, John 1580s births 1659 deaths Welsh barristers Serjeants-at-law (England) 17th-century Welsh judges