John Verney (judge)

Sir John Verney KC PC
Attorney General to the Queen Consort
In office May 1729 – 20 November 1737
Chief Justice of Cheshire
In office 1732–1738
Preceded by	John Willes
Succeeded by	Matthew Skinner
Master of the Rolls
In office 9 October 1738 – 1741
Preceded by	Sir Joseph Jekyll
Succeeded by	Sir John Strange
Personal details
Born	23 October 1699 Brasted, Kent
Died	5 August 1741
Nationality	British
Political party	Tories
Relations	George Verney, 12th Baron Willoughby de Broke
Children	John, 14th Baron Willoughby de Broke
Profession	Barrister, Judge, Politician

Sir John Verney, KC PC (23 October 1699 – 5 August 1741) was a British barrister, judge and politician.

He was born in Brasted, Kent on 23 October 1699 to George Verney, 12th Baron Willoughby de Broke. In 1714 he matriculated to New College, Oxford, and became a student of the Middle Temple the following year. He was called to the Bar in 1721, and in an attempt to gain contacts for his work as a barrister he became a Member of Parliament (MP) for Downton with the help of his brother-in-law, Anthony Duncombe, in 1722. On 16 September 1724 he married Abigail, the daughter of Sir Edward Harley, the younger brother of Queen Anne's Tory minister, Robert Harley, created Earl of Oxford.

Verney sat in Parliament as a Tory, speaking out against the Whig Prime Minister Robert Walpole. In 1726 he switched sides, however, and Walpole made him a judge in Wales as a reward. In 1727 he became a King's Counsel, and in 1728 a Bencher at Lincoln's Inn, having switched Inns some time earlier. In the 1727 election he campaigned in Radnor, but lost and was again returned for Downton.

...
Wikipedia