George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys 15 May
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys 15 May
On 15 May George Jeffreys born in 1645. He is also known as "The Hanging Judge". He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor. As a judge he enforces Royal policy, resulting in a historical reputation for severity and bias.
Jeffreys was worn at the family estate of Acton hall of Wrexham in North Wales. He was sixth son of his parents. His parent were John and Margaret Jeffreys. His grandfather John Jeffreys had been chief justice of the Anglesey circuit of great sessions. His father was a Royalist during the English civil war.
Despite his Protestantism and his role as a prosecutor of Catholics, Jeffreys became increasingly prominent in the court party of Charles and James. In 1680 he fought against the Exclusion Bill, which would have prevented James from succeeding to the throne, and in 1683 he became lord chief justice. Meanwhile, he served as prosecutor and judge, respectively, in the treason trials of Lord William Russell and Algernon Sidney. Although the evidence against these two Whig defendants was flimsy, Jeffreys had them convicted and executed. He sentenced Titus Oates to a severe flogging and imprisonment in May 1685, and in the same month James II made him Baron Jeffreys of Wem.
During the “Bloody Assizes” that followed the collapse (July 1685) of the insurrection of James Scott, duke of Monmouth, Jeffreys prosecuted the rebels with ferocity, executing perhaps 150 to 200 persons and ordering hundreds of others sold into slavery in the colonies. At the same time, he profited by extorting money from the victims. Nevertheless, James II made him lord chancellor in September 1685. As one of the most influential royal advisers, Jeffreys took charge of the ecclesiastical commission that forced the Church of England to accept James’s pro-Catholic policies. When William of Orange, stad holder of Holland (later King William III), overthrew James’s government in December 1688, Jeffreys tried to escape from the country disguised as a sailor, but he was arrested and died four months later in the Tower of London.
Jeffreys was worn at the family estate of Acton hall of Wrexham in North Wales. He was sixth son of his parents. His parent were John and Margaret Jeffreys. His grandfather John Jeffreys had been chief justice of the Anglesey circuit of great sessions. His father was a Royalist during the English civil war.
Despite his Protestantism and his role as a prosecutor of Catholics, Jeffreys became increasingly prominent in the court party of Charles and James. In 1680 he fought against the Exclusion Bill, which would have prevented James from succeeding to the throne, and in 1683 he became lord chief justice. Meanwhile, he served as prosecutor and judge, respectively, in the treason trials of Lord William Russell and Algernon Sidney. Although the evidence against these two Whig defendants was flimsy, Jeffreys had them convicted and executed. He sentenced Titus Oates to a severe flogging and imprisonment in May 1685, and in the same month James II made him Baron Jeffreys of Wem.
During the “Bloody Assizes” that followed the collapse (July 1685) of the insurrection of James Scott, duke of Monmouth, Jeffreys prosecuted the rebels with ferocity, executing perhaps 150 to 200 persons and ordering hundreds of others sold into slavery in the colonies. At the same time, he profited by extorting money from the victims. Nevertheless, James II made him lord chancellor in September 1685. As one of the most influential royal advisers, Jeffreys took charge of the ecclesiastical commission that forced the Church of England to accept James’s pro-Catholic policies. When William of Orange, stad holder of Holland (later King William III), overthrew James’s government in December 1688, Jeffreys tried to escape from the country disguised as a sailor, but he was arrested and died four months later in the Tower of London.
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