Edward Herbert (politician)
Sir Edward Herbert (c. 1591–1658) was Attorney-General and a member of Parliament under Kings James I and Charles I.
He was born the son of Charles Herbert of Aston, Montgomeryshire, admitted to the Inner Temple in November 1609 and was called to the bar in 1618. He was the cousin of Edward Herbert, Baron Herbert of Cherbury.
He entered parliament in 1620 as Member of Parliament for the borough of Montgomery and then sat for Downton, Wiltshire between 1625 and 1629.
Having become Attorney-General he was instructed by Charles I to take proceedings against some members of Parliament who had been concerned in the passing of the Grand Remonstrance; the only result, however, was Herbert's own impeachment by the House of Commons and his imprisonment. He lived at Aston in Montgomeryshire with his wife, Margaret, daughter of the Master of Requests, Thomas Smith of Abingdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) & Parson's Green, Middlesex, and widow of Thomas Carey of Sunninghill Park, Berkshire. Later in life, he lived in exile with the royal family in Holland and in France, becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to Charles II, an office which he had refused in 1645. He died in Paris. One of Herbert's sons was Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, and another was Sir Edward Herbert (c. 1648-1698).
[edit] References
"Herbert, Edward (1591?-1657)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Edward Littleton |
Solicitor General 1640–1641 |
Succeeded by Oliver St John |
| Preceded by Sir John Banks |
Attorney General 1641–1645 |
Succeeded by Thomas Gardiner (Royal) Oliver St John (Parliamentary) |
| Preceded by Thomas Gardiner |
Attorney General (to the Royal Court in exile) 1649–1653 |
Succeeded by None |
| Preceded by Sir Richard Lane |
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal 1653–1658 |
Succeeded by Sir Edward Hyde |
