| Sir John Popham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1531 Huntworth, nr North Petherton, Somerset |
| Died | 10 June 1607 (aged 76) Wellington, Somerset |
| Occupation | Speaker of the House of Commons, Attorney General, Lord Chief Justice |
| Spouse | Amy Games |
| Parents | Alexander and Jane Popham (née Stradling) |
Sir John Popham (1531 – 10 June 1607) [1] was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1580 to 1583, Attorney General from 1 June 1581 to 1592 and Lord Chief Justice of England from 2 June 1592 to June 1607.
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He was born in Huntworth, near North Petherton in Somerset in 1531 to Alexander and Jane Popham (née Stradling). He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford where he read classics and divinity, and entered the Middle Temple before beginning his legal career as Recorder of Bridgwater and of Bristol.[2]
He served as an MP for Lyme Regis in 1558 and for Bristol in 1571 and 1572 and was a Justice of the Peace in Somerset. He was promoted to serjeant-at-law in 1578 and appointed solicitor-general in 1579. In 1581 he was elected speaker of the House of Commons and later that year appointed attorney-general. In 1592 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench on the death of Sir Christopher Wray, retaining the position until his death.
Popham is credited with maintaining the stability of the British State, and for being one of the "real colonisers" of the British Empire; hosting two Wabanaki tribesmen kidnapped on the Maine coast in 1605, subsequently funding and orchestrating the aborted Popham Colony at the mouth of the Kennebec River, Maine (1607–1608).
Popham became a very wealthy man, and amongst the many estates he owned was Publow in Somerset,[3] Littlecote in Wiltshire, and Hemyock Castle in Devon. In Peter Blundell's will[4] of 1599 Popham was asked to establish a free grammar school in the town of Tiverton, Devon. This he duly did. The school Blundell's was opened in 1604 and still exists to this day.
Popham presided over the trial of the Jesuit, Robert Southwell, in 1595 and passed sentence of death by hanging, drawing and quartering. He also presided over the trials of Mary, Queen of Scots (1587), Sir Walter Raleigh (1603) and the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot, including Guy Fawkes (1606). He sentenced Mary and Fawkes to death.
While working as the messenger to the Queen, Popham was imprisoned by the Earl of Essex with his henchman. Ever stoic, Popham replied that at his age, death would be “but cutting off a few years.” However, he was rescued and rowed to safety by Sir Ferdinando Gorges (1565–1647).
He was noted for his severity towards thieves and strict enforcement of the Penal Laws.
Popham's fortune was held in Chancery after his death, and his descendants were prevented for unknown reasons from accessing this inheritance. One story tells how one descendant changed his name to 'Smith' in a fit of rage, giving up on his inheritance.
John Popham married Amy Games, daughter and heiress of Hugh Games of Caselton, Glamorganshire. They had 7 children:
Sir John Popham died on 10 June 1607 at Wellington, Somerset.
His only son Francis married Anne Gardiner Dudley and was the father of Edward Popham, General-at-Sea, and Colonel Alexander Popham JP, MP, 1605–1669, who fought on the side of the Parliamentarians during the Civil War and had a garrison stationed at Littlecote House.
A descendant of Sir John Popham is Sir Home Riggs Popham (1762–1820), a British admiral who developed the Signal Code adopted by the Navy in 1803.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Christopher Wray |
Lord Chief Justice 1592–1607 |
Succeeded by Sir Thomas Fleming |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Sir Amias Paulet |
Custos Rotulorum of Somerset bef. 1594–1607 |
Succeeded by Sir Edward Phelips |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir Robert Bell |
Speaker of the House of Commons 1580–1583 |
Succeeded by Sir John Puckering |