Sir John Skynner, PC (1724 – 26 November 1805) was an English judge and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1771 to 1777. He was born in London the son of John Skynner of

Great Milton Great Milton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,042. The School Great Milton church of England primar ...

, Oxfordshire and educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he matriculated in 1742. He entered

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 ...

in 1739 to study law and was

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 ...

in 1748. He became attorney-general to the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

from 1770 to 1777, made K.C. in 1771 and a bencher at Lincoln's Inn the same year. He was appointed

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 ...

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

from 1771 to 1780, second

justice of Chester The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the county palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine ...

from 1772 to 1777 and recorder of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from 1776 to 1797. He was elected Member of Parliament for New Woodstock from 1771 to 1777. He gave up his seat in 1777: he was made a serjeant-at-law on 27 November 1777 and on 1 December was appointed

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...

, a post he held until 1787, after which he was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

. He was knighted on 23 November 1777. He retired in 1786 to the Great House in Great Milton which had inherited from his mother. He died at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1805 and was buried in the south aisle of Great Milton church. He had married Martha, the daughter of Edward Burn, with whom he had a daughter, Frederica, who married Richard Ryder, the Home Secretary.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Skynner, John 1724 births 1805 deaths Lawyers from Oxfordshire People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn 18th-century English judges Chief Barons of the Exchequer Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Knights Bachelor Serjeants-at-law (England)