Edmund Prideaux

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sir Edmund Prideaux (d. 1659) was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament.

He was elected MP for Lyme Regis in the Long Parliament and represented the constituency until his death in the various parliaments of the Commonwealth. He was Solicitor General from 1648 to 1649, and Attorney General from 1649 to 1659, and also served as Recorder of Exeter and of Bristol. Though a loyal supporter of the Commonwealth, he avoided becoming a regicide, giving up his office as Solicitor General immediately before the trial of the King; his successor conducted the prosecution. Shortly after the end of the trial he accepted office as Attorney General.

He was also "Master of the Posts Messengers and Couriers", a highly lucrative post from which he was believed to have amassed a large fortune, but he made important reforms in the postal service.

Political offices
Preceded by
Geoffrey Palmer
Solicitor General for England and Wales
1648-1649
Succeeded by
John Cooke
Preceded by
William Steele
Attorney General of England and Wales
1649-1659
Succeeded by
Robert Reynolds

[edit] References

  • D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
  • Concise Dictionary of National Biography
  • Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page