Sir John Glanville, the elder (1542–1600) was an English Member of Parliament (MP) and judge, the first judge recorded as having reached the bench after beginning his career as an attorney. Born in Tavistock, he began as an attorney but joined Lincoln's Inn in 1567 and was called to the bar in 1574: his practice proved lucrative and he amassed a considerable fortune, building a mansion at Kilworthy near Tavistock. He became a serjeant-at-law in 1589, and was both Lent and Autumn Reader of his Inn in that same year. He sat as MP for Launceston in the Parliament of 1584-5, for Tavistock in 1586-7 and St Germans in 1593. He was appointed Judge of Common Pleas in 1598.
Sir John died in 1600 and is buried in Tavistock Church. He married Alice Skirret, and they had three sons and four daughters; their second son, Sir John Glanville the younger, was also distinguished as a lawyer and was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1640.