Sir William Ellis (1609–1680) was an English lawyer, judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1679.
He was second son of Sir Thomas Ellis of Grantham, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1627.[1] Having entered Gray's Inn on 6 November 1627 he was called to the bar on 9 February 1634. He represented Boston, Lincolnshire, in the Short parliament of 1640, and also in the Long parliament.
After Pride's Purge he was readmitted to the House of Commons on 4 June 1649. On 24 May 1654 he was appointed solicitor-general. Shortly afterwards he was elected an ancient of his inn. As solicitor-general he took part in the prosecution of John Gerhard, Peter Vowell, and Summerset Fox on the charge of corresponding with Charles Stuart and conspiring to assassinate the Lord Protector. The trial took place in June 1654. Gerhard and Vowell were convicted and beheaded. The same year he was again returned to parliament for Boston, and in 1656 for Grantham. He was a member of the committee appointed to frame statutes for Durham College in March 1656. In June 1658 he was engaged in the prosecution of John Hewet and John Mordant, charged with levying war against the Protector. Hewet was found guilty and Mordant acquitted. One of Oliver Cromwell's last acts was to sign a patent creating Ellis a baronet, but it may not have passed the great seal. He was continued in the office of solicitor-general by Richard Cromwell. At the election in January 1658-9 he retained his seat for Grantham. In the debate on the competency of the Scottish members he spoke at length in support of their claims (18 March 1659).
Re-elected for Grantham in 1660, he was excluded from the house on the score of his opinions. In autumn 1664 he was appointed reader at Gray's Inn, of which he had been elected a bencher in 1659; on 26 August 1669 he took the degree of serjeant-at-law, and on 10 April 1671 he was advanced to the rank of king's Serjeant and knighted. He was raised to the bench in 1673, taking his seat in the Court of Common Pleas on the first day of Hilary term. The only case of public interest which came before him was that of Barnardiston v. Swaine, an election case. Ellis was removed in 1676, without reason assigned, but reinstated on 5 May 1679, having been returned to parliament for Boston in the preceding February. He died on 3 December 1680 at his chambers in Serjeants' Inn.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Ellis, William (1609-1680)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Parliament suspended since 1629 |
Member of Parliament for Boston 1640–1653 With: Sir Anthony Irby 1640-1648 |
Succeeded by Not represented in Barebones Parliament |
| Preceded by Not represented in Barebones Parliament |
Member of Parliament for Boston 1654 |
Succeeded by Sir Anthony Irby |
| Preceded by Sir Anthony Irby Francis Mussenden |
Member of Parliament for Boston 1659-1660 With: Sir Anthony Irby 1660 |
Succeeded by Sir Anthony Irby Thomas Hatcher |
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