Robert Shute (died April 1590) 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 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 parliament. ...

from 1571 to 1581. Shute was born at Gargrave, West Riding of Yorkshire, and was the son of Christopher Shute, of Oakington, Cambridgeshire. He was admitted to

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

probably in 1542, or 1544. He was admitted to

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 Wa ...

in 1550 and was called to the bar in 1552. He was Recorder of Cambridge from 1558 until his death in 1590. He was reader for his Inn in 1568. In 1571, Shute was elected

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

. He was re-elected MP for Cambridge in 1572. In 1576 he was treasurer of his Inn. He became 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 w ...

in 1577 and was

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 ...

from 1579 to 1586. He became a

justice of the Queen'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 moder ...

in 1586. Shute married Thomasine Burgoyne, daughter of Christopher Burgoyne, of Longstanton, Cambridgeshire and Thomasine Freville. His son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...

was MP for St Albans. His daughter Jane married John Hatton, also of Longstanton, and had several children, including

Sir Thomas Hatton, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Hatton, 1st Baronet (c.1583 – 23 September 1658) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1621 and 1640. Hatton was the son of John Hatton of Longstanton, Cambridgeshire and his wife J ...

and the Royalist politician Sir Robert Hatton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shute, Robert Year of birth missing 1590 deaths People from Cambridge Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Serjeants-at-law (England) English MPs 1571 English MPs 1572–1583 16th-century English judges